International Puppet Fringe Festival Returns to NYC, Highlighting Women in Puppetry

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The festival will take place at the newly renovated Clemente Center in New York City.

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The International Puppet Fringe Festival NYC (IPFFNYC), the world's only fringe festival dedicated exclusively to puppetry, has announced its official lineup and theme for its 4th Edition: Women in Puppetry, a celebration of the extraordinary women who have shaped, expanded, and reimagined the art of puppetry around the world. Taking place August 12–16, 2026, at The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center, the festival will feature more than 50 performances, films, exhibitions, workshops, panels, and special events by artists from more than a dozen countries across five continents. Produced by Teatro SEA and Grupo Morán (The Morán Group), the IPFFNYC will also give audiences one of the first opportunities to experience the newly renovated Clemente Center. As the first public event following the completion of the landmark's $14 million accessibility and renovation project, the festival offers a rare opportunity to experience the revitalized Lower East Side cultural hub ahead of its broader public reopening. The 2026 IPFFNYC honors two visionary artists whose groundbreaking work has elevated puppetry as a powerful medium for storytelling, cultural expression, and innovation: Theodora Skipitares and Nancy Lohman Staub.

“The International Puppet Fringe Festival NYC is a celebration of extraordinary artistic voices from around the world, with a particular focus this year on women artists and stories that center women's experiences, resilience, imagination, and leadership,” said Dr. Manuel A. Morán, Founder & Producer of the International Puppet Fringe Festival.

Dr. Moran added, “In a time when inclusion, diversity, and international collaboration are increasingly under pressure, this festival stands as a joyful affirmation of the values that make New York City and the arts community so vibrant. We believe that every culture, every community, and every voice deserves a place at the table, and we are proud to welcome artists from across the globe to share their stories with our audiences.”

“Puppetry has always carried a radical imagination, and this year's International Puppet Fringe Festival gives us the chance to celebrate the women artists who have shaped this extraordinary form through experimental, political, and deeply communal practice,” said Libertad Guerra, Executive Director of The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center. “That history is inseparable from the East Village, Loisaida, and The Clemente, where puppetry has long lived at the intersection of art, activism, humor, memory, and public gathering.”

“We are especially proud that this festival will also serve as a soft launch for the accessibility renovation of our historic building, allowing us to welcome even more multi-generational audiences into a cultural home built for artists, families, and the city,” Guerra added.

From pioneers to emerging voices, this year's festival shines a spotlight on the women who continue to lead, inspire, and transform the field. Women-centered programming includes:

A centerpiece of this year's PFFNYC is Theodora Skipitares : Abundant Ingenuity—Four Decades of Performing Objects, a major retrospective celebrating one of America's most influential interdisciplinary theater artists. Curated by Nina Felshin, the exhibition features highlights from her productions, ranging from 'Micropolis' in 1982 to 'Footnotes', earlier this year at La Mama Experimental Theatre Club .

The festival will also celebrate Nancy Lohman Staub through a special photographic exhibition, Scattered Happy Memories of Puppet Friends by a 93-Year-Old. Curated and designed by Matt Sorensen, the exhibition features a lifetime of photographs documenting puppets, artists, and friendships across the international puppetry community. A pioneering figure in the field, Staub directed New Orleans' Puppet Playhouse, organized the landmark 1980 World Puppetry Festival at the Kennedy Center, co-founded the Museum at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, and helped launch both the Jim Henson Foundation and the Henson International Festival of Puppet Theater. At 93, her exhibition offers a deeply personal and historic perspective on the people and institutions that have shaped puppetry around the world.

The lineup explores migration identity, belonging, environmental stewardship, labor justice, cultural memory, and community resilience through performances from across the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean.

“We are proud to support the International Puppet Fringe Festival NYC as its mission aligns with ours — to open doors for all New Yorkers to experience world class artistry and performance from around the globe,” said Rafael Espinal, Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME). “As the festival enters its fourth edition, its commitment to artistic innovation, cultural exchange, and expanding access to the arts continues to strengthen New York City's position as a global cultural capital.”

The International Puppet Fringe Festival continues to expand audiences' understanding of what puppetry can be. The 2026 program features hand puppets, shadow theater, giant puppets, crankies, object theater, documentary film, multimedia performance, clowning, live music, and experimental visual theater. The festival's film section includes documentaries exploring puppetry traditions in the Caribbean, Cuba, Spain, and the United Kingdom, as well as Handmade Puppet Dreams, the acclaimed film series produced by Heather Henson highlighting independent puppet filmmakers. Other highlights include:

Additional productions from Puerto Rico, Greece, Armenia, Cuba, Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Taiwan, Mexico, and the United States demonstrate the extraordinary diversity and vitality of contemporary puppetry around the globe.

Festival visitors can enjoy performances by the renowned Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre, the ever-popular Puppet Slam, and Great Small Works' celebrated Spaghetti Dinner cabaret series. Additional exhibitions include Teatro SEA's World Puppet Collection and Pinocchio's Around the World, offering audiences a unique opportunity to explore global puppetry traditions and interpretations of one of the world's most beloved puppet characters.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/INTERNATIONAL-PUPPET-FRINGE-FESTIVAL-to-Return-to-NYC-With-Celebration-of-Women-in-Puppetry-20260617)._