🎭 Masks We Wear- A One-Day Papier-Mâché Storytelling Workshop with Dale Compton
📍 Mælkebøtten 170 (entrance from the backside of the house), Christiania, Copenhagen
📅 28. June, 2025. 11:00AM
🎟️ Sign-up required via this form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScTC83l4l67s85V77OmZn83OojD4x9my3K1KFJwCiFJpC_Obw/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=104133511962420942696
We’re so excited to invite you to a special creative experience in Christiania - a one-day storytelling and mask-making workshop led by artist Dale Compton.
Dale is a self-taught papier-mâché artist whose journey began not in an art studio, but during a silent meditation retreat deep in the Portuguese mountains. It was there, while helping to repurpose discarded offerings into altars, that Dale discovered the quiet power of paper, glue, and intention. Each piece created was not just art, but an act of healing - of giving form to the unseen.
After a chance encounter with a Tibetan monk who spoke of “the soul of the paper,” Dale began to explore papier-mâché as a spiritual conduit - an alchemical process of transformation where humble scraps become sacred sculpture. Inspired by the philosophies of Wabi-Sabi and animism, Dale treats every project as a ritual: no mold, no plan, only presence.
Since then, Dale has led community projects in southern France, created ephemeral spirit animals for solstice festivals, and taught workshops across Europe focused on “Art as Offering.” Now based in Copenhagen, Dale offers intimate sessions where tourists and locals alike learn not just how to craft - but how to channel intention, stillness, and story into every layer of pulp.
🌿 About the Workshop
In this one-day workshop, Dale will guide you in exploring the emotional and symbolic "masks" we wear - shaped by fear, trauma, habit, or identity. Through a gentle and playful introduction, you’ll learn to externalize these feelings by crafting your own mask or character out of papier-mâché. As we create, we give form to the invisible. We reconnect to the childlike wonder of making things - not for display, but for meaning.
As Barny Løvetand Holmberg reminded us - when Christiania was just taking it's first baby steps, its very existence depended on people arriving and being allowed to leave the backpack of burden and fakery at the gates, stepping in as themselves. No need to perform, no need to pretend. In that same spirit, today we will craft symbolic masks that honor this cornerstone: be yourself.
The second part of the workshop includes group activities where you’ll explore the stories behind what you made, and experience how this type of play can help us see and shift our inner patterns. This isn’t therapy - but it is deeply therapeutic.
🫖 Comfort & Community
Herbal tea will be available throughout the day
A welcome glass of wine or peppermint drink to ease into the space
You are warmly encouraged to bring snacks or treats to share with others - or just for yourself. Sharing food is part of how we build a sense of community, even in a single day.
🛠️ No previous art experience is needed. Just bring yourself, clothes you don’t mind getting messy in, and a willingness to create something real.
🌍 Tourists welcome!
This is more than just a visit to Christiania - it’s a chance to take part in something meaningful. You’ll leave not only with insight, connection, and memories, but with a unique souvenir handcrafted by you, right in the heart of this iconic creative community.
💸 Donation-based entry
To keep the event accessible, we work on a donation basis.
Suggested donation: 50-... DKK, but give what you can.
Your contribution helps us pay for materials, support the artist, rent the space, and fund future workshops.
📌 Details
For adults and teens aged 16+
Workshop language: English
Advance sign-up is required via this form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScTC83l4l67s85V77OmZn83OojD4x9my3K1KFJwCiFJpC_Obw/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=104133511962420942696
Minimum 10 participants, maximum 33
All materials provided
Let your hands tell your story. Let Christiania leave its mark not just in your memory - but in your creation.
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