Visual artist, puppet maker, performer.

Orit Leibovitz Novitch is an Israeli puppet maker, performer and painter.

She works at the intersection of puppetry, performance and the plastic arts. Her studio practice spans hand-built puppets — from sponge and fabric to latex and found materials — original stage shows for children and adults, costume design for theatre, and large-scale acrylic paintings.

Recurring works include Principessa Queen of Bath, The Dream Tailor, Rawness, Yehoshula, A Paper Story and The Laboratory of Mm Straga.

During the early days of the pandemic, Orit began Emilia's Corona Diary — a long-running series narrated by Emilia Gotman, a sponge puppet of 86 years, full of humor, longing and small daily joys.

She studied at Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts, went on to study photography at Bezalel Academy, and trained for three years at the Train Theater — Center for Puppet Theatre in Holon. Since 2004 she has been creating puppets for theatre and street performances.