The Jane Henson Foundation has made a generous gift of $1 million to Museum of the Moving Image, it was today announced by our Executive Director Aziz Isham. This announcement follows the dedication of the newly named Jane Henson Amphitheater at the Museum on Sunday, September 22, a day of festivities commemorating the birthday of Jim Henson two days early.

We are so grateful to have the support of The Jane Henson Foundation and the Henson family, and we are thankful for their exceptionally generous commitment to the Museum, the MoMI community, and Henson fans.

In a statement, Heather Henson, President of the Jane Henson Foundation, said: “We appreciate how MoMI shares our father's legacy of creative expression, humor, and delight, and has become a gathering place for fans of his Muppet characters and multifaceted work. Now, with the Jane Henson Amphitheater, we celebrate and acknowledge the role our mother played as one of our father's most important creative collaborators and her vision for a permanent home for Jim Henson’s story here at this museum.”

The gift will go towards supporting the Museum’s mission of advancing the understanding, enjoyment, and appreciation of the art, history, technique, and technology of film, television, and digital media. In addition, the funds will be used to sustain and maintain The Jim Henson Exhibition at the Museum and towards developing an international version of the current touring exhibition The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited.

Museum of the Moving Image is home to The Jim Henson Exhibition and the monthly series Jim Henson’s World, programmed by Craig Shemin, President of The Jim Henson Legacy. The exhibition opened in 2017 at the Museum in Astoria, Queens; the same year, the touring version made its debut at the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle. The puppets, props, and costumes featured in the exhibitions are drawn from the 2013 donation by Jim Henson’s family to the Museum’s collection.

Pictured above: Heather Henson and Aziz Isham at the dedication ceremony for the Jane Henson Amphitheater. Photo by Thanassi Karageorgiou.