Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded nearly 350 grants to
more than 179 American puppet artists for the creation and development of new
work. Past grant recipients include MacArthur Fellow Julie Taymor,
director of the Broadway smash The Lion King; Roman Paska, whose dramatic
interpretation of Strindberg's The Ghost Sonata was a hit at the 1994
Henson Festival; Ralph Lee, whose production A
Popol Vuh Story was also presented at the 1994 Henson Festival and
went on to tour New York City public schools; MacArthur Fellow Lee
Breuer's company Mabou Mines, whose production Peter & Wendy was
featured at the 1996 Spoleto Festival USA and the 1996 Henson
Festival, followed by a month-long run at New York's New
Victory Theater; and Basil Twist, whose production Symphonie Fantastique
had an acclaimed year-long run in New York. As the only grantmaking institution with a mission to promote puppetry
in the United States, the Jim Henson Foundation has become a major
advocate and resource for puppet artists. The Foundation founded the
biennial Henson International Festival of Puppet Theater, which ran from 1992
to 2000, promoting puppet artists to
theater presenters, funding sources, journalists and audiences nationwide.
The Festival garnered increased attention for contemporary puppet
theater in general, enabling puppet artists throughout the United States
to reach a wider audience. The Festival won both the Drama Desk and
the Obie Award and received coverage from prestigious sources including
The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, CBS Sunday
Morning, Good Morning America, and National Public Radio. The Jim Henson Foundation Collection of Puppet Theater in the Theater
on Film and Tape Archive of the New York Public Library for Performing
Arts provides a permanent home for Festival performances, enhancing
awareness and understanding of the field among theater students and
professionals, the primary users of the archives. The Foundation maintains
a video library of national and international puppet performances that
serves as a resource and archive for the New York puppetry community.
Puppet Happenings, the Foundation's bi-weekly email newsletter, provides
information on puppetry performances and activities in the greater New
York area, along with events involving the Foundation's grant recipients
throughout the country. The Foundation also offers occasional
puppet-making workshops and provides information on puppetry
organizations, training opportunities, and venues for those interested in
learning more about the field.
The Jim Henson Foundation was founded in 1982 by Muppets creator Jim
Henson to promote and develop the art of puppetry in the United States.
Each year the Foundation introduces thousands of adults and families to
the magic of puppet theater through grantmaking, artist advocacy and
public awareness efforts, and other outreach activities.
