Center for Puppetry Arts

Center for Puppetry Arts is a museum and theater in Atlanta, Georgia which features traveling and permanent exhibits of puppets, and has two theaters which continually perform puppet shows for children, families, and adults. It also holds puppet-making workshops for schoolchildren, and houses an extensive research library of 1,500 books on puppetry and 1,000 videos of local and international performances.

The theater opened in 1978, as Jim Henson and Kermit cut the ribbon. The museum hosted The Art Of The Muppets during 1981, and 50,000 visitors saw the exhibit and the related video presentation in the main theater. In 1988, Henson and the Muppets performed live twice to celebrate the Center's 10th anniversary. In 1994, Jane Henson hosted a screening of The Muppet Christmas Carol. During 1996 and 1997, the museum hosted The Vision of Jim Henson. In 1998, the Center hosted a four-day puppetry festival, with a special appearance by Steve Whitmire and Kermit. Also in 1998, to celebrate the Center's 20th anniversary, Cheryl Henson appeared, as did Bear and Tutter. In October 1999, Bear and Ojo appeared. In 2003, Kermit appeared again. In 2005, The Jim Henson Foundation provided a grant to help fund Anne Frank: Within and Without.

The museum's permanent exhibit includes an original puppet of Link Hogthrob in his Pigs in Space getup, and the original puppet of SkekSil from The Dark Crystal. The Center's Associate Artistic Director is Shadow's performer, Jon Ludwig. UNIMA, the international puppetry organization founded by Jim Henson, has its American headquarters at the Center for Puppetry Arts.

External Link
Center for Puppetry Arts website