The Jim Henson Foundation is a foundation that 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 the ...

and Muppet creator

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, actor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating ''Fraggle Rock'' ( ...

to promote and develop puppetry in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Since 1992, Jim Henson's daughter Cheryl Henson 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 colloquially called the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to typically between 20 and 30 individuals workin ...

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 (musical), The Lion King'' debuted in 1997 and received eleven Tony Awards, Tony Award nominations, with ...

, director of the Broadway musical ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...

''; 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 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 (more commonly known as New York City Publ ...

; MacArthur Fellow

Lee Breuer Esser Leopold "Lee" Breuer (February 6, 1937 – January 3, 2021) was an Obie Award-winning and Pulitzer-, Grammy-, Emmy- and Tony-nominated American playwright, theater director, academic, educator, filmmaker, poet, and lyricist. Breuer taugh ...

'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 Akalaiti ...

, 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 conc ...

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

New Victory Theater The New Victory Theater is a theatre (building), theater at 209 42nd Street (Manhattan), West 42nd Street in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, near Times Square. Built in 1900 as the Republ ...

; Rome Prize recipient Dan Hurlin; Doris Duke Award recipient Janie Geiser; and MacArthur Fellow and Doris Duke Performing Artist Award Basil Twist, 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, seating just over 1,000 guests. The center has received two ...

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) is an international non-governmental organization that brings together puppeteers and puppet enthusiasts to develop and promote the art of puppetry. It was ...

-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, 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