For almost 50 years, the Center for Puppetry Arts — a small but mighty arts center in midtown Atlanta — has delighted the young and young at heart. The center claims it will make people rethink everything they know about puppets and puppeteers, and it does.
Puppetry is simultaneously an ancient art found throughout the world and an art form that remains current and culturally relevant. Puppetry is a vehicle to facilitate laughter, education, and advocacy. It's also helped advance performance technology, especially in film and television.
The center opened its doors in 1978 and has remained a vibrant cultural center ever since. Famous puppeteer Jim Henson was on hand for the center's grand opening ceremony. The event was exciting news in hot ‘Lanta and the center remains a must-see for anyone in town who appreciates art, creativity, history and the entertainment industry.
Yes, children will love this place, but don’t assume it’s just for them. In fact, during a recent visit the number of adults walking through the exhibit sans children far exceeded those who came with kiddos in tow.
The main highlight of the center are its three distinct exhibit spaces. Within The Worlds of Puppetry Galleries are two sections — the Jim Henson Gallery and the Global Gallery. The third area is for special, rotating exhibits, which currently highlights Henson's TV show "Fraggle Rock."
The Jim Henson Gallery
The Henson exhibit follows his evolution from a young visual artist into an accomplished screenwriter, filmmaker and influential entertainment icon. Henson’s career history is thoughtfully presented and a visual delight with exhibits on "Sesame Street," "The Muppet Show," "The Dark Crystal," commercial work and much more. Plus, you get a behind the scenes look at how different kinds of puppets and creatures were made and operated.
As explained by the exhibit, a giant leap forward in this area was filming a full-bodied shot of Kermit riding a bicycle in the 1979 film, "The Muppet Movie." This feat was a huge departure from partial screenshots of Kermit with Henson operating everything from below. The special effect was made possible by an invisible system of wires operated off screen.
Puppetry advancements evolved from there, leading to remote controlled motors, cable systems, animatronics, and more — amazing work by creative and innovative teams. The 1982 movie, "Dark Crystal," was a big milestone for Henson. It was the first ever, live-action film to feature no human actors. Instead, every character was a "creature" (a term Henson preferred over puppet in this case) with latex skin, glass eyes and operated by using a combination of traditional puppetry and groundbreaking modern techniques.
All of the Henson's memorable puppets are featured in the exhibit including, Big Bird, Miss Piggy, Kermit (of course!), Rowlf the Dog, Fraggles, Pigs in Space, Gonzo, Emmet Otter and so much more.
This gallery also includes a mock television studio for an opportunity to experience first hand how puppeteers perform for a camera.
The Global Gallery
This unique collection presents the history of puppetry in different regions around the world, such as France, Spain, Japan, Africa and the Americas. The gallery does an amazing job showing the true global reach of this art form
The exhibits are visually stunning and informative. For instance, in Vietnam the rice harvest is celebrated with a puppet show performed on water. Puppeteers stand in waist deep water hidden behind a screen and use wires to control all the action of wooden figures that stay afloat thanks to cork.
Among the other highlights are the shadow puppets of China; the protype mask puppets for Broadway’s The Lion King; England's Punch and Judy; and Japan’s Bunraku theater that uses sanninzukai (a team of three puppeteers clad in black to operate one puppet).
Hollywood is well represented running the gamut from marionettes popular on American television in the 1950s to Chuckie of horror movie fame. Plus, stop animation puppets such as Gumby and the Corpse Bride.
Special Exhibition Gallery
The current special exhibit is an endearing look at "Fraggle Rock." If you ever watched the show, you'll soon be humming the theme song, "Down in Fraggle Rock," which is also the exhibit's title. The show premiered in 1980 and ran for five years on HBO and in countries around the world.
The show followed a group of loveable creatures called Fraggles that lived underground in a cave system alongside Doozers, tiny animals that spend their days constructing edible structures that were a favorite Fraggle snack. Giant Gorgs lived above ground and were always trying to keep Fraggles out of their garden.
Although "Fraggle Rock" went off the air in 1987, they didn’t stay away long. For instance, they appeared in a video for the music group Ben Folds Five; Hulu streamed the animated show, "Doozers," in 2014; and Apple TV+ ran a series of shorts called "Fraggle Rock: Rock On!" featuring celebrity guests. The association with Apple TV+ led to a full reboot of the show called "Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock" in 2022.
The Fraggle exhibit explores all of this history and features the show’s popular characters, including Wembley, Gobo, Junior Gorg and more.
Other Center Highlights
In addition to the galleries, the center also features spaces for theater performances, classroom activities, and special events. Plus, there is a gift shop, indoor coloring area and an outdoor playground.
There are some hands-on activities in the exhibits, such as pulling levers to move marionettes and being a puppeteer in the mock studio set-up, but, overall, it’s not that kind of museum.
If interested, there is a scavenger hunt connected to the galleries – don’t be fooled, though, some were tough to find! If you do find them all, a small prize awaits you in the gift shop.
Center For Puppetry Arts: Hidden Gem for All Ages
The Center for Puppetry Arts is a small, hidden gem nestled within a big and vibrant city. The center truly offers something to delight all ages, especially since Henson’s work spans generations. It’s certainly delightful and heartwarming to visit Kermit, Bert, Ernie, Grover and so many other childhood friends.
Overall, the center’s galleries are filled with colorful, multimedia exhibits that are high-quality in design and include well-written descriptions and histories. Everything is professionally executed and easy to navigate. If you plan to visit, be sure to check out the performance schedule, too.
The center is in a quieter part of midtown with a little less hustle and bustle. It’s easy to find and there’s free parking onsite.
For more information visit, the center's website.
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