Puppets of New York: Downtown at The Clemente

A scene from Underground, by Theodora Skipitares. Photo by Richard Termine

Puppets of New York: Downtown at The Clemente

Curators: Leslee Asch and Monxo Lopez

Gallery: Abrazo Interno Gallery

Dates: August 11 - September 30, 2021

Opening Reception: August 11, 2021, 5 PM

Puppets of New York: Downtown at The Clemente is part of a multi-sited collaboration with Puppets of New York at the Museum of the City of New York. The exhibition focuses on twelve important “downtown” artists who are committed to exploring the theatrical possibilities of puppet theater. The Clemente is a fitting location for this exhibition. Founded in 1993, puppetry found an early home at The Clemente’s Los Kabayitos Theater. This time dovetails perfectly with the years of the Jim Henson Foundation’s Festivals of Puppet Theater, which took place at The Public Theater and other downtown theaters, including Los Kabayitos, from 1992-2000. The exhibition features tableaus of the puppet theater work of these remarkable artists, many of whom performed at the Henson Festivals; all of whom continue to create and perform in downtown NYC.

The exhibition, running from August 11-September 30, takes place in the Abrazo Interno Gallery at The Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center on Suffolk Street in New York City. It is co-curated by Monxo Lopez of the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY), and Leslee Asch, the producing director of all five Henson Foundation International Festivals of Puppet Theater. It is held in conjunction with Puppets of New York, a major puppetry exhibition at MCNY, and the International Puppet Fringe Festival at The Clemente.

On Friday, August 13th at 4pm, The Puppet Fringe Festival will host a panel entitled Out of The Shadows which will celebrate the Henson Festivals, the history of puppetry at The Clemente, and the recent book by Leslee Asch entitled Out of The Shadows: The Henson Festivals and Their Impact on Contemporary Puppet Theater. Panelists will be Leslee Asch, Cheryl Henson, Dan Hurlin, Manuel Moran, and Michael Romanyshyn.

Press:

1. ‘A Puppet Festival Returns to New York, All Grown Up’, The New York Times

2. ‘Master of Puppets Pulling the Strings at The Clemente’, Bowery Boogie

3. ‘Puppets Are Immigrants Too: How New York City Turned Ancient Traditions into Cutting-Edge Art’, Howlround Theatre Commons

4. ‘Puppets of New York: Downtown at the Clemente Spotlights Legendary Downtown Puppetry Artists’, Broadway World

Photo documentation by Richard Termini