History of Center for Puppetry Arts

The Center begins focusing on educational performances with the breakthrough production of Dinosaurs by Jon Ludwig and Jane Catherine Shaw

The Center collaborates with the Metropolitan Atlanta Council on Alcohol & Drug Abuse to develop prevention programming

The Center opens a Downstairs Theater for performance

Heaven and Hell Tour, by Jon Ludwig, receives a Citation of Excellence from UNIMA-USA

The Center becomes U.S. headquarters of UNIMA-USA and Vincent Anthony is appointed General Secretary

The Stone Circle, an NDS production, integrates 12 college students with a professional cast and receives a Citation of Excellence from UNIMA-USA. Co-produced by the Center and the California Polytechnic State University

A special exhibit, Breaking Boundaries, celebrates American puppetry in the 1980s, and is also exhibited at Lincoln Center in New York City

The Center is selected to participate in the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Cultural Olympiad, a four-year festival of the arts

George Latshaw, a master in the puppetry field, directs the Family Series production The Tortoise and the Hare and Other Fables

Jane Henson, puppeteer and wife of Jim Henson, hosts a screening of The Muppet Christmas Carol

Center receives its first Abby Award for Outstanding Arts Organization from the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce

First annual Puppetry Arts Festival is held on October 29

PUPPETS: the Power of Wonder, the permanent, interactive museum exhibit, opens

Center embarks on a recycling project and workshops in collaboration with the City of Atlanta, EVERYKID…CAN!, reaching over 40,000 City of Atlanta students in its three-year run

The Center begins offering puppet workshops for preschool children

Safe as Milk, by Jon Ludwig, receives a Citation of Excellence from UNIMA-USA

Center’s second major Capital Campaign, “Making a World of Difference in Atlanta” reaches its goal to raise $2.78 million

The Center completes major renovations, including renovation of the Mainstage Theater and the addition of the Love Family Atrium

The Center receives an Abby Award for Arts Education from Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce in October.

The Center participates in the 1996 Olympics Arts Festival, viewed by over 22,000 people from around the world; it garnered the Center international press coverage

The Center participates in the 1996 Cultural Paralympiad, offering museum tours and performances that were sign interpreted and audio described

Jon Ludwig’s Frankenstein debuts as part of the Olympic Arts Festival

Newsweek praises the Center as “…one of the most exciting companies in American theater”

Special Exhibit, The Muppets in Atlanta: Vision of Jim Henson Exhibition, (July 12, 1996 – January 4, 1997) features Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Big Bird, and others, as well as video highlights of The Muppets and other Henson productions

Fifteen Asian puppets from the Center’s permanent collection are on display in Concourse E at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

Education begins offering a series of Adult Education classes, as well as year-round Outreach services

Over 180 Fulton County elementary students participate in five Center residencies as part of FRESH (Fulton Roundtable Expanded Service Headquarters)

Discovery Channel’s international program Travelers visits Atlanta and features the Center

New library/study center opens to the public

The Center hosts the Puppeteers of America Southeast Regional Festival and Conference, June 25-28; includes 300 people from eight countries and 36 states and features adult and family performances; special guest Steve Whitmire appears with Kermit the Frog performances of The Muppets Take Atlanta

World premiere of adult work Kwaidan, created by Jon Ludwig, theatre artist Ping Chong and designer Mitsuru Ishii, which later embarks on a seven-city tour of the USA, appears at Spoleto, and tours Japan

Distance Education/GSAMS established in September; provides free videoconferencing programming to schools across Georgia and the nation

Education Department collaborates with VOX/Youth Communication, a newspaper produced by inner city teens, to create a puppet show expressing youth voices and concerns; project culminates with free community performance and reception at the Center

Creative Loafing names Jon Ludwig Best Local Playwright (Best of Atlanta, October)

Center’s 20th anniversary; Cheryl Henson leads the toast at the 1998 Puppetry Arts Festival; featured guests were Bear and Tutter from Jim

Henson’s Bear in the Big Blue House

The Center holds the first annual PuppeTrek, an event sponsored by the Atlanta Track Club

Fifth annual Puppetry Arts Festival is renamed String Fling, held October 9; featured guests were Bear and Ojo from Jim Henson’s Bear in the Big Blue House

The Center holds the first annual PuppeTrek, an event sponsored by the Atlanta Track Club

Fifth annual Puppetry Arts Festival is renamed String Fling, held October 9; featured guests were Bear and Ojo from Jim Henson’s Bear in the Big Blue House

The Center receives a challenge grant of $1.25 million in 2000 from the Ford Foundation; Center is one of 28 arts organizations chosen, and the only one in Georgia

The Center is named Best of Atlanta “Best Family Programming,” Atlanta Magazine, December

Vincent Anthony honored as “Lexus Leader of the Arts,” February 2001

World-famous Salzburg Marionette Theatre presents The Magic Flute in November 2001

Atlanta Parent magazine chooses Center as Best Theater for Children, August 2001

The Center completes a $3.4 million capital campaign in 2001, the Center’s third, which funds a number of physical improvements, including a state-of-the-art scene shop and a metal fence around the property

Kwaidan tours to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the New Victory Theater in New York City, and The Barbican Center in London, England in 2001

The Plant Doctors, by Jon Ludwig, receives a Citation of Excellence from UNIMA-USA

Kwaidan, by Jon Ludwig, Ping Chong, and Mitsuru Ishii, receives a Citation of Excellence from UNIMA-USA in 2001

PUPPETS 2002, puppetry festival, consists of UNIMA Conference (June 20-23) and Puppets Take Atlanta (June 1-August 18); UNIMA Conference attended by over 300 visitors from around the world; Puppets Take Atlanta, a collaborative effort between the Center and the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, unites the city with exhibits, performances and workshops

WINNER’S CIRCLE: 10 Years of the UNIMA-USA Citations of Excellence in the Art of Puppetry opens January 25 and features Cookie Monster, puppets from Shining Time Station, and the John Cusack marionette from the movie Being John Malkovich

The Center receives an Abby Award for Outstanding Arts Organization from the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce in October 2002

Atlanta Magazine names the Center as one of the 25 experiences every Atlantan should have

First Lady of Georgia Marie Barnes debuts PLAY IT SAFE, written by Bobby Box, at the National Governors Association winter conference; this training video is distributed to every preschool in Georgia

MSN.com names PUPPETS: The Power of Wonder as one of the top ten children’s museums in the U.S.

Bobby Box directs his Family Series production The Velveteen Rabbit at Ming Ri Theatre in China in February; the show retained its original design but was performed in Cantonese

Our Kids magazine names the Center a Favorite Live Theater in its 2003 Family Favorites issue, August

Julie Taymor donates Mufasa and Scar, two mask prototypes from Disney’s The Lion King, to the permanent collection

The Center turns 25 on September 23

The Center’s 25th Anniversary Dinner is held on September 26; special guests include Philip Huber of Being John Malkovich movie fame, Wayland Flowers’ Madame, and Kermit the Frog

The 10th annual String Fling is held September 27-28

Jon Ludwig, Artistic Director, and Jason Hines, Resident Puppet Designer, and Builder, receive Rockefeller Grant for Avanti, Da Vinci!

The Center continues its 25th-anniversary celebration with four performances by the Salzburg Marionette Theater: The Barber of Seville, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Magic Flute, and Peter and the Wolf

The Center is rated No. 1 for Child Appeal in Atlanta by Zagat Survey

The Center receives a “Cultivating the Audiences of Tomorrow” grant from the New Generations Program, an initiative cooperatively designed by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and Theatre Communications Group

The Center is a finalist in the 2004 Technology Innovation Award presented by TechBridge and given by Accenture. Avanti, Da Vinci! The Secret Adventures of Leonardo da Vinci by Jon Ludwig and Jason Hines premieres August 5 and receives rave reviews.

Creative Loafing names Avanti, Da Vinci! Best Educational Theater Production in its Best of Atlanta issue, October 2004

Jane Fonda attends the String Fling Gala 2004 as a special guest and is presented with a Barbarella marionette designed by Jason Hines

The Center receives the prestigious George Goodwin Community Grant from public relations firm Manning Selvage & Lee/Atlanta (MS&L) and is awarded $100,000 in pro bono services over a two year period

The Center debuts three DVDs – American Tall Tales, Beauty & the Beast, and Dinosaurs – as part of the DVD collection, PUPPETS AT PLAY

Bobby Box receives a grant from The Jim Henson Foundation in support of Anne Frank: Within & Without, an original work that premiered in 2006

Jason Hines & Jon Ludwig present doppelgänger puppets to Blue Collars TV’s Bill Engvall, Jeff Foxworthy, and Larry the Cable Guy. The trio and crew shot a segment of the guys making puppets and entertaining kids at the Center.

The American Tall Tales DVD is recognized with a Telly Award

Jon Ludwig receives an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Directing in a Children’s Series for Disney Channel’s The Book of Pooh

American Tall Tales, by Jon Ludwig, receives a Citation of Excellence from UNIMA-USA

The Center receives a grant from the Competitive Grants Fund of The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, Inc. to support educational programming

The Center receives a Special Event Lifetime Achievement Award from VSA of Georgia for 26 years of ticket donations

The Center is selected for Atlanta Magazine’s Hall of Fame as one of the “25 Homegrown Favorites that Have Stood the Test of Time” in its Best of Atlanta issue.

Anne Frank: Within & Without, written and directed by Bobby Box, premieres January 19 and receives national and international attention from CNN, The New York Times, and Haartez newspaper in Tel Aviv, Israel

The Center receives a prestigious $40,000 planning grant for museums from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)

The Gods and Demons, Monkeys and Men exhibit receives a Public Program Grant from the Georgia Humanities Council and a grant from Woodruff Arts Center’s Celebrate Diversity Through the Arts program

The Ghastly Dreadfuls, by Jon Ludwig and Jason Hines, premieres

Center is selected by the Henson family to be the destination for their momentous collection of puppets and artifact honoring Henson’s legacy – the largest in the world

2007 Excelerator Grant from AT&T Adds Second Distance Learning Studio

Center expands its focus on cultural diversity with new family series programming including guest artist Teatro SEA’s La Cucarachita Martina and Jon Ludwig’s Duke Ellington’s Cat

Anne Frank: Within and Without, by Bobby Box, receives a Citation of Excellence from UNIMA-USA

Jon Ludwig receives the Loridans Arts Award, recognizing his significant contributions to the arts in Atlanta

The Center receives a 2007-2008 Pinnacle Award for interactive learning and collaboration

The Center celebrates its 30th Anniversary with a Members Only weekend featuring Heather Henson, daughter of Jim Henson

A bilingual performance of Don Quixote, adapted by Bobby Box, is performed as part of the New Directions Series in collaboration with Manuel Morán of Teatro SEA of New York

Jason Hines receives the Loridans Arts Encouragement Award

The Center formally adds Film Screenings to its programming

Duke Ellington’s Cat, by Jon Ludwig, receives a Citation of Excellence from UNIMA-USA

Puppets Take Atlanta & Beyond, a collaborative effort between the Center and the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, unites the city with performances and workshops in conjunction with the Puppeteers of America 2009 National Festival on the campus of GA Tech. The Center hosts the festival attendees on July 18, 2009, officially proclaimed by the City of Atlanta as “Jim Henson Day.”

The Center receives a 2008-2009 Pinnacle Award for interactive learning and collaboration

Center premieres The Adventures of Little Noodle sponsored by Aetna Foundation, focused on an innovative way to tackle the topic of childhood obesity

The Center’s reference library is dedicated and named after the museum’s founder, Nancy Lohman Staub. The Nancy Lohman Staub Puppetry Research Library officially opened with the gift of 2 rare Japanese Bunraku puppets donated by master puppeteer Kiritake Kanjuro III.

The Center receives a 2009-2010 Pinnacle Award for interactive learning and collaboration

The Center Premieres Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer™ to sold-out performances

The Center stages 700 performances

The Little Pirate Mermaid, by Jon Ludwig, receives a Citation of Excellence from UNIMA-USA

The Center receives the Theatre Communications Group New Generations Future Leaders grant to support Jon Ludwig’s mentorship of Center director and puppeteer Michael Haverty over a two-year period

The Center receives a 2010-2011 Pinnacle Award for interactive learning and collaboration

The Center sends a large exhibit of international puppets from our Worlds of Puppetry collection to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for thousands of passengers to view before and after they travel.

The Center hosts attendees of the 2011 Puppeteers of America National Puppetry Festival for a day at the Center with performances of The Ghastly Dreadfuls and Cinderella Della Circus

The Center receives the “Spirit of Suzi Award” from the Suzi Bass Awards.

The Center produces its first production inspired by the guidelines of Theatre for the Very Young (ages 2-4) with The Ugly Duckling by Michael Haverty

The temporary exhibit Títere Loutka, Kukla… Puppet! debuts with Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster and Cepot, a Panakawan from the Indonesian Wayang Golek rod puppetry tradition

‘World on a String: Global Puppetry’ exhibit debuts at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

The Center receives a $30,000 National Endowment for the Arts grant to support Ruth and the Green Book

The Center premieres Ruth and the Green Book, a collaboration between Center Artistic Director Jon Ludwig and author Calvin Alexander Ramey. The Green Book helped African Americans find safe, welcoming routes to travel through the segregated south.

The Ghastly Dreadfuls, by Jon Ludwig and Jason Hines, receives a Citation of Excellence from UNIMA-USA

Distance Learning department celebrates National Digital Learning Day with Digital Open House on February 1, 2012

The Home Depot Foundation awards the Center with a $20,000 grant for Field Trip Sponsorship Program

The Center hosts the National Puppet Slam for the first time with the support of the Puppet Slam Network and Heather Henson

Distance Learning partners with Texas A&M on programming to explore STEM skills through puppetry

Education and Distance Learning staff members were guests at the Bahrain Summer Festival sponsored Bahrain Ministry of Culture and Information

The Ghastly Dreadfuls receives a Suzi Bass Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical

Jon Ludwig receives the Puppeteers of America’s President’s Award for outstanding contributions to the Art of Puppetry

The Center announces details on the major renovation and expansion project on January 14, 2014

The Center receives 2014 CILC Pinnacle Award for interactive videoconferencing

The Center receives a $15,000 National Endowment for the Arts grant to support Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat

The Center hosts an online auction for Steve Whitmire’s personal Henson memorabilia

Mallory Lewis and Lamb Chop join the Center to celebrate National Day of Puppetry on April 26, 2014

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer™ celebrates 50 years on TV and five years at the Center

The Center hosts 2014 National Puppet Slam with support from DragonCon, the Puppet Slam Network, and Heather Henson

The Center premieres Click Clack Moo: Cows that Type by Jon Ludwig, based on the book by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Betsy Lewin. The Center partnered with Georgia State University to host workshops in select local schools to guide the development of this production

The Center opens the new Worlds of Puppetry Museum on November 14, 2015

The Center begins a sensory-friendly initiative for patrons with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Winner of the Outstanding contribution to Georgia Entertainment Industry Award given by the Georgia Entertainment Gala

Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: Journey to the Goblin City opened in the Dean DuBose Smith Special Exhibits Gallery

To highlight the opening of the Center’s special exhibit, Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: Journey to Goblin City, the Center hosted its first Labyrinth Masquerade Ball to a sold-out crowd with a costume contest judged by Brian Henson

The Center for Puppetry Arts acquires Topthorn, from the London production of WarHorse thanks to the generosity of long-time board member and museum supporter, Cheryl Henson

The Worlds of Puppetry Museum adds Sensory-Friendly Programming

March 12, 2016, the Salzburg Marionettes present a special performance of The Sound of Music

Created puppets for The Arrival, directed by Thaddeus Phillips for the Swedish company Teateri

Hosted National Puppet Slam 2016

Old MacDonald’s Farm, adapted by Amy Sweeny premieres

Vince Anthony is inducted into the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Hospitality Hall of Fame

The Center acquires the Jim Henson Creature Shop created Krystal Burger Company puppets from the “Shun the Ho Hum” advertising campaign

The Center acquires The Bonnie Erickson collection from Harrison/Erickson, Inc.

Regular Toddler Programming is added to the Center’s schedule with Toddler Tuesdays occurring monthly in the Museum, rounding out the Center’s Toddler offerings of Preschool Puppetry Playshop outreach programs and Theater for the Very Young performances each fall

Indian Puppets: The Great Stories and Dancing Dolls opens in the Dean DuBose Smith Special Exhibits Gallery

April 1 & 2, 2017: Special performances of Japanese Masters: A Kuruma Ningyo Performance by Koryu Nishikawa V, master puppeteer, and the company sponsored by Tom Lee of the Yara Arts Group, the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta and the Japan-America Society of Georgia

June 10, 2017: Special performance by Pambos Charalambous from Cyprus, sponsored by the Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Cyprus in Atlanta

November 18-19: Special performance by Natana Kairali from Kerala India, sponsored by the Consulate General of India Atlanta and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations

Hosted the ASTR 2017 Puppet and Material Performance Working Group

Distance Learning receives the Georgia Council for the Arts Education Grant in which we were given funds to create a brand new puppet show Aesop’s Fantastical Fables and perform it for schools in Fulton County.

Digital Learning receives the CILC Pinnacle Award Winner

The Center partners with the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta to offer special STEM Days that allow Scouts to learn how Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math are applied in the art of puppetry. The Center now offers this program several times a season and remains the only place in the Southeast where Scouts can earn all four STEM patches in one day.

World premiere of Pete the Cat adapted by Jon Ludwig

The Center hosted Fran Brill, Bonnie Erickson, and Sonia Manzano for a panel, moderated by Karen Falk, to celebrate “Women in the Muppets”

Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal: World of Myth and Magic opened in the Dean DuBose Smith Special Exhibits Gallery

New England Marionette Opera donates the last of its puppets to the Center

The Center wins a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to double its offering of programming for those with Autism Spectrum Disorder through the 2019-20 season.

The Center for Puppetry Arts named Best Museum for all Ages by Atlanta Magazine

Digital Learning receives the CILC Pinnacle Award Winner

Collaborated with The Atlanta Opera to create puppets for The Magic Flute

Hosted National Puppet Slam 2018

The Museum acquires Tom and Crow T. Robot from Mystery Science Theater 3000 after a successful crowdfunding campaign

Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal: World of Myth and Magic wins exhibition awards from the Georgia Association of Museums and the Southeastern Museums Conference

Due to popularity, Toddler Tuesdays becomes Wiggle Wednesdays for Toddlers, and is offered weekly

The Center wins a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to double its offering of programming for those with Autism Spectrum Disorder through the 2019-20 season.

The Center for Puppetry Arts named Best Museum for all Ages by Atlanta Magazine

Digital Learning receives the CILC Pinnacle Award Winner

Puppeteer Jimmica Collins receives Princess Grace Honoraria to support her work at the Center

Vince Anthony honored with the ARTS ATL Luminary Award for Outstanding Leadership

Harold and the Purple Crayon, adapted by Jon Ludwig, premieres

Hosts the TYA-USA Conference and Festival’s opening night reception with a special performance of Harold and the Purple Crayon

Vince Anthony and Jon Ludwig accept Children Theater Foundation Medallion Award for significant achievements for the enrichment of children

The 2020 year begins with over 20,000 audience members joining the Center in the rainforest canopy to attend the world-premiere Family Series production of Stellaluna, based on Janell Cannon’s award-winning children’s book

Earlier in the season, the Center presented an eighties-style urban take on the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast and took audiences on an educational intergalactic adventure with SPACE!

Critically-acclaimed visiting artists Alex and Olmsted of Maryland ignite creativity and curiosity with their popular production of Milo the Magnificent

The Center brings frights and delights to audiences of all ages during the Halloween season with The Legend of Sleepy Silly Hollow by the Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers of Maine, as well as the Center’s own The Ghastly Dreadfuls for adults 18+.

Center’s award-winning Digital Learning team ramp up their studios and quickly bring live, interactive puppet shows and workshops to children in 88 different countries

Center wins Atlanta Magazine’s award for the city’s “Best Home Edutainment” option

The Center adapts and produces new programming in a digital format to be offered to the public in a virtual setting

The Center's founder Vincent Anthony retires, accepting the role of Founder and Executive Director Emeritus. 

Beth Schiavo joins as the Center's second Executive Director, leading the organization through the COVID pandemic.

The Center launches the first Puppetry Now initiative to shine a light on diverse voices in the field and expand museum collections. Tarish "Jeghetto" Pipkins launches the program.