Jim Henson and Kermit the Frog in 1978 on the set of THE MUPPET MOVIE.
May 26, 2017 By Jason Cohen
The Museum of Moving Image will be opening its permanent exhibition dedicated to Jim Henson this summer.
The museum is set to unveil the Jim Henson Exhibit on July 22. The exhibit explores Henson’s work in film and television and his impact on popular culture.
The permanent exhibit will be housed in a new 2,200 sq.ft. gallery that was funded by the city. The new gallery and the Henson exhibit will open at the same time.
The museum has been getting some direct support from the public in its quest to open the exhibit. In April, it launched a Kickstarter campaign with the goal of raising $40,000 to help it restore some of the puppets. It reached its goal in two days and has raised $144,320.
“We are so grateful for the outpouring of support from the community of Jim Henson fans,” the museum said on the Kickstarter page.
The exhibit will feature artifacts from Henson’s television and film career. It will reveal how Henson and his team, performers and writers brought to life the Muppet Show, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth.
The exhibit will have 175 historic puppets — including Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Elmo, Cookie Monster, the Fraggles, and a Skeksis from The Dark Crystal — as well as puppet prototypes, original character sketches, rare behind-the-scenes footage and photographs and interactive puppetry design and performance experiences.
Many of the artifacts come from a donation by Henson’s family in 2013 to the museum’s collection. The exhibition also includes sketches, storyboards, scripts, and other material on loan from The Jim Henson Company Archives. Archival video and photographic material was provided by The Jim Henson Company, Sesame Workshop and The Muppets Studio.
The museum will also explore his career through education programs, live appearances, family workshops and film screenings.
Advance tickets for the exhibition will be made available soon.
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