Current Exhibitions

Grand Opening of Becoming Modern: U.S. Puppetry in the Twentieth Century

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Machine #14 by Basil Milovsoroff. Photo credit: Jack Rowell.

The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut will present the grand opening of its new exhibition Becoming Modern: U.S. Puppetry in the Twentieth Century on Thursday, March 26 with refreshments served at 5 p.m., and a free tour at 5:30 p.m. The tour will also be streamed on Ballard Institute’s Facebook Live. All events will take place at the Ballard Institute, located at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs.

U.S. puppetry in the early twentieth century reflected popular European traditions—as well as African American and some Asian forms—but also saw the emergence of innovations based on the idea of puppetry as a modern performance form. U.S. puppeteers in the 1940s and 50s saw that puppetry was still considered a low-culture entertainment form for children but began to develop new forms and contexts for puppetry to be understood as a modern art form for all audiences in theater, film, and television. This exhibition focuses on puppet innovations in live performance, a variety of forms on varying stages, and multiple different influences.

Becoming Modern: U.S. Puppetry in the Twentieth Century, curated by Ballard Institute Director John Bell, includes work by puppeteers Basil Milovsoroff, Larry Reed, Sandy Spieler, Dan Hurlin, Janie Geiser, Peter Schumann, Theodora Skipitares, Eric Bass, Sidney Chrysler, Amy Trompetter, Brad Brewer, Zuni Maud, Robert Anton, Nicola Seraphine, Charles Ludlam, Bob Baker, and Stephen Kaplin.

The museum will be closed through March 26 while the new exhibition is installed. After the opening, the Ballard Institute will be open Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. There is no set admission, but visitors are encouraged to pay as they wish. Learn more at bimp.uconn.edu.

Grand Opening of Somos Uno: Mexican and Mexican American Puppetry on 11/15

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Don Chico con alas, a toy theater show by Alejandro Benitez, will be featured in Somos Uno: Mexican and Mexican American Puppetry, which will open on Nov. 15 at 4:30 p.m. Photo by Mauricio Martinez.

The Ballard Institute will present the grand opening of its new exhibition Somos Uno: Mexican and Mexican American Puppetry on Saturday, Nov. 15, with refreshments served at 4:30 p.m. a tour at 5 p.m., and a performance of Somos Uno: The Puppet Show at 6:30 p.m. The tour will also be streamed on Ballard Institute’s Facebook Live. All events will take place at the Ballard Institute, located at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs.

Somos Uno: Mexican and Mexican American Puppetry, curated by Ballard Institute Director John Bell and undergraduate Puppet Arts student Sol Ramirez,will showcase puppets, masks, toy theaters, calaveras and other performing objects from pre-Columbian times to the present, to understand the roots, hardships, and power of a culture uniting to thrive as one. The exhibition will feature historical work by the Rosete Aranda Company, three generations of the Cueto Family, Alebrije creator Pedro Linares, and California’s El Teatro Campesino, as well as work by Edwin Salas, Lormíga Titeres, Teatro del Gato, Alejandro Benítez, and other artists and puppeteers. Reservations are not required to attend the free exhibition tour.

The opening weekend will also include performances of Somos Uno: The Puppet Show by exhibition co-curator Sol Ramirez. Ramirez will utilize puppetry, shadows, music and dance to celebrate both Mexican and Latine culture as a whole. Performances will take place on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. The runtime is 40 minutes and recommended for 10+. Tickets are free but reservations are required. You can reserve tickets at: https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/bimp-0/somos-uno. This show is co-sponsored by

The museum will be closed through Nov. 14 while the new exhibition is installed. After the opening, the Ballard Institute will be open Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. There is no set admission, but visitors are encouraged to pay as they wish. Learn more at bimp.uconn.edu.

Grand Opening of Art, Movement, Imagination: 60 Years of UConn Puppeteers on 5/31

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UConn Puppet Arts alumnus Jim Napolitano performing a shadow puppet show at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. Photo by Richard Termine.

The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry will present the grand opening of its new exhibition Art, Movement, Imagination: ​60 Years of UConn Puppeteers on Saturday, May 31, with refreshments served at 4 p.m. and an in-person exhibition tour at 4:30 p.m. by curators Matthew Sorensen and Dr. John Bell, with Puppet Arts Program head Bart Roccoberton. The tour will also be streamed on Ballard Institute’s Facebook Live feature (facebook.com/BallardInstitute). All events will take place at the Ballard Institute, located at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs.

In conjunction with the 60th anniversary of UConn’s internationally acclaimed Puppet Arts program in 2025-2026, the Ballard Institute will celebrate the talents of scores of UConn Puppet Arts alumni who have graduated from the program over the past 60 years, and the diversity of their creations since their time at UConn. Art, Movement, Imagination will highlight over 50 puppeteer alumni and their work in design, building, live performance, film, television, education, and innovative technologies. It will feature a rich array of hand puppets, rod puppets, shadow puppets, toy theater, giant puppets, video, and photographs.

The exhibition opening is free (donations greatly appreciated), and reservations are not required.

The museum will be closed through May 31 while the new exhibition is installed. After the opening, the Ballard Institute will be open Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. There is no set admission, but visitors are encouraged to pay as they wish. Learn more at bimp.uconn.edu.

Now on Exhibit! “American Puppet Theater Today: The Photography of Richard Termine”

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Photo: Mirror Mirror by Alex Kahn and Sophia Michahelles of Processional Arts. Created for New York City’s 50th Annual Village Halloween Parade, Jeanne Fleming, Artistic and Producing Director. Photograph: © 2023 Richard Termine

 The Jim Henson Foundation and the Ballard Institute presents American Puppet Theater Today: The Photography of Richard Termine as part of the 60th anniversary celebration of UConn’s Puppet Arts Program in 2025. The exhibition, including over 150 images and selected puppets featured in Termine’s photographs, including work by Torry Bend, Basil Twist, Dan Hurlin, Tarish Pipkins, Theodora Skipitares, Bread and Puppet Theater, Janie Geiser, Tom Lee, and Paul Zaloom. American Puppet Theater Today will be on display through Sunday, May 11 at the Ballard Institute.

Termine, an alumnus of the UConn Puppet Arts Program, has documented American puppet theater for over 30 years with a unique perspective that invites the viewer into the vivid world of puppetry. He is the lead performing arts photographer for The New York Times and has served as the in-house photographer for Sesame Street since 1988. His images have also appeared in the Washington Post, The Village Voice, Time, Newsweek, People, American Theatre, USA Today, Entertainment Design and Der Spiegel, and other publications.  

Termine’s performing arts photography includes a wide range of images capturing notable artists globally (Lincoln Center, London’s Globe Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, and Dublin Theatre Company, among others), in theater (The Phantom of the Opera, Little Shop of Horrors, Cirque du Soleil), dance (Alvin Ailey, Merce Cunningham, Moscow Festival Ballet), opera (Metropolitan Opera, Folkoperan of Stockholm), television (The Today Show, Blue’s Clues, Live at Lincoln Center, The CBS Evening News), classical music (Lincoln Center Festival, Salzburg Camerata, Mostly Mozart), and concerts and cabaret (Liza Minelli, Michael Feinstein, Ray Charles, Yo-Yo Ma, Tony Bennett, Yoko Ono, Kristin Chenoweth).  

“Richard brilliantly captures the vibrancy of the performances he photographs; even in static images, the puppets come to life,” said John Bell, a puppeteer, puppet historian and the director of the Ballard Institute.  “The photos and puppets in the exhibition illustrate the dynamic range of this expansive art form and honor the lively community of artists creating puppet theater, from established experts like Basil Twist and Julie Taymor to emerging artists.”   

Termine completed his MFA in Puppet Arts at UConn in 1978. He began his association with The Jim Henson Company in 1980 as a puppet designer and builder for a variety of Muppet productions.  While working on the set of Sesame Street, he began photographing behind the scenes, leading to a new career as a performing arts photographer. He has been the in-house photographer for Sesame Street since 1988 and has been on the board of The Jim Henson Foundation since 1987, currently serving as the Foundation’s vice president. 

Grand Opening of “American Puppet Theater Today: The Photography of Richard Termine” on 1/31!

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Photo: Mirror Mirror by Alex Kahn and Sophia Michahelles of Processional Arts. Created for New York City’s 50th Annual Village Halloween Parade, Jeanne Fleming, Artistic and Producing Director. Photograph: © 2023 Richard Termine

 The Jim Henson Foundation and the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut will American Puppet Theater Today: The Photography of Richard Termine as part of the 60th anniversary celebration of UConn’s Puppet Arts Program in 2025. The exhibition, including over 130 images and selected puppets featured in Termine’s photographs, including work by Torry Bend, Basil Twist, Dan Hurlin, Tarish Pipkins, Theodora Skipitares, Bread and Puppet Theater, Janie Geiser, Tom Lee, and Paul Zaloom. American Puppet Theater Today will be on display from Friday, Jan. 31 to Sunday, May 11 at the Ballard Institute.

Termine, an alumnus of the UConn Puppet Arts Program, has documented American puppet theater for over 30 years with a unique perspective that invites the viewer into the vivid world of puppetry. He is the lead performing arts photographer for The New York Times and has served as the in-house photographer for Sesame Street since 1988. His images have also appeared in the Washington Post, The Village Voice, Time, Newsweek, People, American Theatre, USA Today, Entertainment Design and Der Spiegel, and other publications.  

Termine’s performing arts photography includes a wide range of images capturing notable artists globally (Lincoln Center, London’s Globe Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, and Dublin Theatre Company, among others), in theater (The Phantom of the Opera, Little Shop of Horrors, Cirque du Soleil), dance (Alvin Ailey, Merce Cunningham, Moscow Festival Ballet), opera (Metropolitan Opera, Folkoperan of Stockholm), television (The Today Show, Blue’s Clues, Live at Lincoln Center, The CBS Evening News), classical music (Lincoln Center Festival, Salzburg Camerata, Mostly Mozart), and concerts and cabaret (Liza Minelli, Michael Feinstein, Ray Charles, Yo-Yo Ma, Tony Bennett, Yoko Ono, Kristin Chenoweth).  

“Richard brilliantly captures the vibrancy of the performances he photographs; even in static images, the puppets come to life,” said John Bell, a puppeteer, puppet historian and the director of the Ballard Institute.  “The photos and puppets in the exhibition illustrate the dynamic range of this expansive art form and honor the lively community of artists creating puppet theater, from established experts like Basil Twist and Julie Taymor to emerging artists.”   

Termine completed his MFA in Puppet Arts at UConn in 1978. He began his association with The Jim Henson Company in 1980 as a puppet designer and builder for a variety of Muppet productions.  While working on the set of Sesame Street, he began photographing behind the scenes, leading to a new career as a performing arts photographer. He has been the in-house photographer for Sesame Street since 1988 and has been on the board of The Jim Henson Foundation since 1987, currently serving as the Foundation’s vice president. 

The grand opening of American Puppet Theater Today: The Photography of Richard Termine on Friday, Jan. 31 will begin with refreshments served at 6 p.m. and an in-person exhibition tour at 6:30 p.m. by Richard Termine, with Cheryl Henson, the President of The Jim Henson Foundation; this will also be streamed on Ballard Institute’s Facebook Live channel (facebook.com/BallardInstitute/). All events will take place at the Ballard Institute, located at 1 Royce Circle in Downtown Storrs. 

“The World of Puppetry: From the Collections of the Ballard Institute”

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The World of Puppetry: From the Collections of the Ballard Institute showcases an array of different puppets carefully selected from over 2,600 puppets in the Ballard Institute collections to reflect the amazing richness of global puppet traditions and contemporary innovations in puppetry.  The exhibition’s array of handpuppets, marionettes, rod puppets, toy theaters, and shadow figures from around the world will include work by Rufus and Margo Rose, Charles Ludlam, Janie Geiser, Marjorie Batchelder McPharlin, Tony Sarg, Bil Baird, Frank Ballard, and puppets from Indonesia, Africa, Iran, Germany, England, Latin America, and France.