The Jim Henson Foundation was founded by

puppeteer A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, called a puppet, to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from ...

and

Muppet The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are ...

creator

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

to promote and develop puppetry in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Since 1992 Jim Henson's daughter

Cheryl Henson Cheryl Lee Henson (born August 7, 1961) has served as the President of the Jim Henson Foundation since 1992. She is a philanthropist and supporter of puppetry arts and artists, and serves as a board member of The Jim Henson Company. She was hono ...

has served as the president for the Foundation. It is the only grant-making institution with the mission of supporting puppetry. The Jim Henson Foundation has given over 1000 grants to date totaling over $4.2million in grants, of which over $2.8million was awarded directly to puppet artists. Past grant recipients include

MacArthur Fellow The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 ind ...

Julie Taymor Julie Taymor (born December 15, 1952) is an American director and writer of theater, opera and film. Her stage adaptation of ''The Lion King'' debuted in 1997, and received eleven Tony Award nominations, with Taymor receiving Tony Awards for Best ...

, director of the Broadway musical

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance, it ...

; Roman Paska, whose dramatic interpretation of Strindberg's ''The Ghost Sonata'' was a hit at the 1994 Henson Festival;

Ralph Lee Ralph Lee is an American puppeteer and theatre artist. His work is centered on the design and use of masks in theatre and performance. The majority of his productions take place outside of traditional performance venues, include parades, pageants, ...

, whose production ''A Popol Vuh Story'' was also presented at the 1994 Henson Festival and went on to tour

New York City public schools The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (or the New York City Public Schools) is t ...

; MacArthur Fellow

Lee Breuer Esser Leopold Breuer (February 6, 1937 – January 3, 2021) was an American playwright, theater director, academic, educator, filmmaker, poet, and lyricist. Breuer taught and directed on six continents. Career Breuer was a founding co-artistic ...

's company

Mabou Mines Mabou Mines is an experimental theatre company founded in 1970 and based in New York City. Founding and history Mabou Mines was founded by David Warrilow, Lee Breuer, Ruth Maleczech, JoAnne Akalaitis, and Philip Glass, at the house of Akalaitis an ...

, whose production ''Peter & Wendy'' was featured at the 1996

Spoleto Festival The ''Festival dei Due Mondi'' (Festival of the Two Worlds) is an annual summer music and opera festival held each June to early July in Spoleto, Italy, since its founding by composer Gian Carlo Menotti in 1958. It features a vast array of conce ...

and the 1996 Henson Festival, followed by a month-long run at New York's

New Victory Theater The New Victory Theater is a theater at 209 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, near Times Square. Built in 1900 as the Republic Theatre (also Theatre Republic), it was designed by Albert Westover and ...

; Rome Prize recipient

Dan Hurlin Dan Hurlin (born 1955) is an American puppeteer and performance artist. Life and work Performance works include: ''No(thing so powerful as) Truth'' (1995); ''Constance and Ferdinand'' (1991) with Victoria Marks; ''Quintland (The Musical)'' (1992); ...

, Doris Duke Award recipient

Janie Geiser Janie Geiser (born 1957 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is an American artist and experimental filmmaker. Her notable works include ''The Fourth Watch'', ''Terrace 49'', '' The Red Book'', ''The Secret Story'', ''Colors'', ''Immer Zu'', ''Lost Motion'', ...

, and MacArthur Fellow and Doris Duke Performing Artist Award

Basil Twist Basil Twist is a New York City-based puppeteer who is known for his underwater puppet show, "''Symphonie Fantastique''". He was named a MacArthur Fellowship recipient on September 29, 2015. Life and work Originally from San Francisco, Basil Twis ...

, whose production Symphonie Fantastique had an acclaimed year-long run in New York. The Foundation awards Artist Grants in three categories: Production ($7,000), Workshop ($3,000) and Family ($4,000). In 2015 the Jim Henson Foundation Residency at the

Eugene O'Neill Theater Center The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit theater company founded in 1964 by George C. White. It is commonly referred to as The O'Neill. The center has received two Tony Awards, the 1979 Special Awa ...

was established. In 2017 the Allelu Award for International presentations was created in honor of past board Foundation board member and

UNIMA UNIMA (''Union Internationale de la Marionnette'' - ''International Puppetry Association'') was founded in Prague in 1929 (the then Czechoslovak magazine Loutkář was UNIMA's first official journal in years 1929–1930). In 1981, the French pup ...

-USA Secretary Allelu Kurten. The Jim Henson Foundation compiles listings of puppet theater performances, workshops, festivals and exhibits occurring in New York City, around the United States and internationally and shares them through a weekly Friday email list called Puppet Happenings and on the Foundation's website listings of the same name at PuppetHappenings.org.

Notable people

Emily DeCola Emily DeCola is an American performer and designer, known primarily for her work with puppets. She has received several grants in the past, including the Jim Henson Foundation Project Grant, the 2004 UNIMA Grant for International Study in Puppet ...

, New York City based puppet performer and designer.

References

External links

Official site

Official Puppet Happenings site
Foundations based in the United States The Jim Henson Company subsidiaries {{charity-org-stub