Center for Puppetry Arts

The Center for Puppetry Arts is accepting resumes for an Executive Producer position. For more information, please visit: https://lnkd.in/e4He_5NS

The Center for Puppetry Arts is accepting resumes for an Executive Producer position. For more information, please visit: https://lnkd.in/e4He_5NS

Calling all dreamers! 🌈✨ Would you like the chance at exciting once in a lifetime opportunities while helping a great cause? Call to Auction is our online auction that raises vital funds to support the Center for Puppetry Arts. Running May 8-10th, the 2024 Call to Auction will include unique and priceless experiences such as private tours of the Jim Henson Creature Shop in Los Angeles and New York, an exclusive VIP photo shoot on the Center’s set of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer™, the chance to Become an Honorary Ghastly Dreadful, private Zoom meetings with famous puppetry icons, celebrity autographs, travel packages, and so much more! Many thanks to Jeff Blake our 2024 Board Chair and Auction Champion! Check out all of these amazing opportunities at https://lnkd.in/dM9CUFXV

🌞 Get ready for an unforgettable summer! We're teaming up with Kaiser Permanente Georgia to bring all your favorite characters to Atlanta. Look forward to performances of Sesame Street the Musical, our Down in Fraggle Rock special exhibition, Puppet Summer Camp, and so much more. It's going to be a summer of FUN! Don't miss out on all the excitement - we'll see you there! https://lnkd.in/ecsmfYJT

We are thrilled to welcome Sophie Merven to the Board of Directors. Her election brings the Center for Puppetry Arts a wealth public relations experience that will complement the mixture of expertise the organization receives from existing Directors. Sophie is a global communications leader, a brand promoter, and a problem solver with a passion for consumer PR. Having worked in many corners of the world with a diverse group of colleagues and clients, Sophie brings a global mindset and multi-cultural perspective to her work. After an award-winning career in various agency roles, jumping into the corporate world has deepened her business acumen and entrepreneurial spirit, which she leverages to focus on clearly defining breakthrough strategies that drive optimal business results. While on the agency side, Sophie was a part of the core team that successfully launched P&G’s Thank You Mom campaign leading up to the 2012 London Olympic Games. She also helped concept and launch Similac’s Sisterhood of Motherhood campaign in 2015. More recently, Sophie led the global PR team at IHG Hotels & Resorts, before jumping over to the QSR world where she now leads Public Relations at Inspire Brands, overseeing PR and events for Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s and Sonic Drive-In. As a collaborative leader, she has been successful in facilitating positive culture change in several organizations, building teams that are engaged, productive, efficient and deliver meaningful programs and results. Sophie is originally from Ottawa, Canada and speaks English, French and Spanish. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from the University of Ottawa, as well as a Masters in International Communications from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.

Congrats to our friends at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival on kicking off their 25th anniversary campaign. They hosted such a special closing night last night! We were thrilled to be there for the screening of Shari & Lamp Chop, directed by Emmy-nominated Lisa D'Apolito, and thoroughly enjoyed the panel with her, Shari’s daughter Mallory Lewis, and the one and only Lamp Chop, moderated by Atlanta’s own Lois Reitzes WABE. The film was a spectacular mine of archival footage and a deeply accurate and personal exploration of a special career that touched so many lives – puppetry tends to do that. It was a great way to cap off a day where we were able to take Mallory and Lamb Chop around the Center!  

We were thrilled to welcome an engaged group of area teachers to Educators’ Night at the Center for Puppetry Arts last night, co-presented with the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum. The group enjoyed a reception and visit to our museum galleries before an evening production of Ruth & the Green Book and a panel discussion.     Panelists, Meredith Evans, Ph.D., Director of Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum, Michael Haverty, GSU Early Childhood and Elementary Education Doctoral Student, and Jennifer Triplett, Principal of Oakhurst Elementary School closed out the night with so many stimulating reflections on current legislation and the necessity of cultural education and critical thinking. We are proud to be an active participant in the necessary work of facilitating important conversations with our young generations.      Ruth & the Green Book runs through February 25, so please spread the word. Next up, you can learn more about the history of this travelers’ guide and the Jim Crow Era with the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum’s presentation of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition, The Negro Motorist Green Book, on view from March 30-June 23. Mark your calendars! 

We want to extend a HUGE thank you to Patrick Kelsey and Waduda Muhammad of Georgians for the Arts, and all the arts administrators, artists, and funders who attended the Georgia Arts Day 2024 at the Center yesterday! What an inspiring way to kick off the week. We gained all kinds of knowledge and data about the impact of our industry on the state 💪 , and we are grateful to those who are visiting with legislators today. Let’s get Georgia’s appropriations for arts funding increased so we can change our cities and towns for the better through the power of creativity!  

We are excited to announce that we are partnering with the Jimmy Carter Library & Museum to share the history of the "Green Book". The partnership includes our production of Ruth and the Green Book as well as other educational events at the Center and the Jimmy Carter Library & Museum. To learn more, visit https://lnkd.in/erirMt4T

We’d like to thank Jennifer Quinn and the entire Atlanta Woman's Club for inviting us to speak at their December meeting. Our Executive Director Beth Schiavo shared stories of the Center’s history and impact, and Educational Initiatives Manager Reay Maxwell gave a demonstration and got all the members engaged with their own puppets! We love sharing our stories across the community – and lunch at The Wimbish House does not disappoint!