Welcome

Puppetry is the art of bringing an inanimate object to life. It is a magical form of theater that engages the audience in a shared suspension of disbelief, accepting the life of the puppet. Puppetry goes back to ancient human history and spans the globe with unique styles appearing in nearly every culture. Today, the use of puppetry in film, television and contemporary theater has expanded to include complex technology, but we believe that the true magic of puppetry is best realized through the human hand. 

My father, Jim Henson, was one of the most famous puppeteers in the world. He believed in the power of puppetry to entertain and to educate but he also embraced puppetry as a means of individual creative expression. He was active in the national and international puppet communities and supported professional puppeteers working towards excellence in puppet theater. 

Since 1982, the Jim Henson Foundation has made more than 1000 grants for the development and presentation of new works of contemporary American puppet theater. Each year the number of applicants and the scope of their artistic vision grows. We are proud to support the extraordinary work of so many fine artists. If you are interested in learning more about our granting program, visit our Grant Guidelines section.

Puppetry the United States continues to evolve and change with the times. There are vibrant communities of puppeteers in major cities such as New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis and Los Angeles, and there are extraordinary individual artists working in other areas throughout the country. If you are interested in learning more about an individual artist who has received a grant, use the search function on this web site to see all of the Henson grants that they have been awarded. 

From 1992 to 2000, the Henson Foundation produced a major festival in New York City, showcasing the best contemporary puppet theater in the world, introducing this exciting art form to New York theater going audiences and inspiring a new generation of artists to enter the field.  Over five festivals, we presented 136 productions from 31 countries on 24 stages. Although our foundation no longer produces a major festival, we continue to support the presentation of new works of puppet theater through grants to theaters in the New York area. You can learn more about our past festivals in our Henson Festival Archive and The Jim Henson Foundation Collection of Puppet Theater at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts sections of our website.

At times, the activities of the Foundation have expanded to include special projects such as four Puppets on Film festivals at BAMcinematek, a touring exhibition American Puppet Theater Today: The Photography of Richard Termine, emergency funding for puppet theaters and mini residency programs during the CoVid pandemic, and providing puppets and performers for a research paper on puppetry and autism. But our primary activity remains the direct support of artists working towards excellence in puppet theater through our annual granting cycle. We are grateful to our dedicated board who carefully review all of the letters of intent and applications that come to us. Our Foundation manager, Z Briggs, as well as most of our board members are active puppet artists themselves. We are proud to support our community. 

There are many exciting things happening with puppetry in areas that we do not fund.  Puppets in education, therapy, non professional and community theater, pageants and parades are all fascinating fields but we do not fund them. Our specific mission is supporting excellence in innovative contemporary American puppet theater. 

To learn more about upcoming shows, take a look at our Puppet Happenings listings on this site.  New York listings – both Adult and Family include all shows involving puppetry. National listings include shows which have received a Foundation grant and special events of note. Museum Exhibits highlight puppetry on display, both temporary and permanent collections.  Puppetry Festivals list upcoming national and international festivals that celebrate puppetry in all its forms.  Professional Classes identify opportunities to learn more about the art.  Subscribe to our Puppet Happenings mailing list to receive highlights from our listings in your inbox every Friday.  

Whether you are an artist or an audience member, we encourage you to seek out examples of this beautiful and ancient art form.

Cheryl Henson

President 1992-present