Celebrating 25 years - Center for Puppetry Arts

About the Center for
Puppetry Arts
The Center for Puppetry Arts is proud to Celebrate 25 Years! On September 23, 1978,
Kermit the Frog, accompanied by his creator, Jim Henson, cut the ribbon to officially open
the Center in Midtown Atlanta. “The little Center that could” is now the nation’s largest
non-profit organization dedicated to the art form of puppetry and focuses on three areas:
performance, education and museum.
Each year the Center for Puppetry Arts brings quality family programming to Atlanta as part
of the Family Series, a collection of adapted classic stories and new works performed in a
variety of puppetry styles by the Center company. National traveling puppetry troupes set
up shop at the Center during SummerFest for families, while teen and adult-oriented shows
by Atlanta artists and visiting companies comprise the New Directions Series.
In addition to presenting riveting productions, the Center offers a variety of classes and
workshops for adults and children alike. Create-A-Puppet Workshops, offered in conjunction
with Family Series performances, encourage children to build a puppet of their own that is
related to the show. Adults can learn more about different aspects of puppetry in the Adult
Education Series. And the Distance Learning program reaches students across the U.S. with
a virtual field trip experience.
No visit to the Center would be complete without touring Puppets: The Power of Wonder, an
inviting, interactive museum that provides hands-on educational fun with over 350 puppets
from around the world. Additional puppets and objects are on display in special exhibits
throughout the building.
As part of the effort to preserve the art form of puppetry, the Center’s Museum Collection
includes more than 1,000 puppets and 1,000 posters of historical and cultural significance.
The Collection also includes the holdings of the Research Library, which contains over 1,500
books and 1,000 videotapes, as well as photographs, clippings and periodicals documenting
puppetry throughout the world.
Founder and Executive Director Vincent Anthony created an Atlanta treasure that engages
the hearts, minds and imaginations of people from every background, culture and economic
status. With the support of its audience, donors and sponsors, the Center for Puppetry Arts
looks forward to educating, enriching and entertaining the community it calls home for the
next 25 years.
6