BNG Launches Muppets & Fraggles Fundraiser
The Bermuda National Gallery is extending its popular ‘The Art of Michael K. Frith’ exhibition through August, featuring Muppet and Fraggle Rock puppets, with a fundraising campaign to support the extension.
A spokesperson said, “Close to 6,000 visitors have been to the Bermuda National Gallery to meet the Muppets since The Art of Michael K. Frith: From Pencil to Puppet opened three months ago. One of BNG’s most popular exhibitions to date, the sprawling show, which takes over three levels of the Gallery and includes more than 350 items on display, is the first retrospective dedicated to the life and career of one of Bermuda’s most accomplished living creatives and the artist behind some of television history’s most recognizable characters.
“The exhibition was due to close in April but, given its impact, BNG will be extending its run through to the end of August, allowing Bermudians to return as many times as they wish under the Gallery’s free admission initiative, and for summer visitors to also enjoy it.
“The stars of the show – original puppets of The Muppet Show’s Fozzie Bear and Scooter, and Fraggle Rock’s Mokey, Gobo and Uncle Traveling Matt – are on loan from the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta. An extension on four of the five puppets has been secured. Sadly, Fozzie – the star of countless visitor selfies – will be leaving Bermuda in May, but the others will stay on through to the end of summer.”
“He’s going to visit the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, New York,” explains Jill Nash Malool, Museum Director at the Center for Puppetry Arts. “After he returns from that loan, he will be on rest for some time so your audience will probably be some of the last folks to see him for a few years as we will make sure that he gets a good “nap” after all of that travel.”
The spokesperson said, “To raise the funds needed to cover the costs associated with the extension of the exhibition, the Bermuda National Gallery is launching a community fundraising campaign: Help Keep the Fraggles on the Rock!”
“We have been blown away by the impact this exhibition has had on the entire community,” says BNG Executive Director Jennifer L. Phillips. “We are pleased to have secured the necessary permissions to extend the loans on most of the puppets in the show, and now we are appealing to the public.
“As a registered charity, BNG relies entirely on community support for all that we do. My hope is that the community will respond to our campaign – we will be “keeping the Fraggles on the Rock” for an additional four months, and any contribution will be a great help in achieving this.”
The spokesperson said, “The campaign aims to raise $25,000 to cover the various costs associated with the extension.”
“The puppets are extremely fragile and need to be returned in custom-built crates via air to New Jersey, and from there on to Atlanta in a climate-controlled vehicle,” explains Eve Godet Thomas, Director of Exhibitions at BNG.
“Whilst we are thrilled to have secured extensions on most of the puppets, having to return Fozzie separately effectively almost doubles our air, ground, and insurance transport fees.” The extension also means printing significantly more exhibition catalogues, which are available free of charge for all visitors.
“Given the breadth of the show, the catalogue runs to 20 pages, which is more than double the length of our usual catalogues,” explains Godet Thomas.
The spokesperson said, “The increased design and production costs of this, alongside the cost of printing a further 2,000 copies are included in the fundraising goal, as is the cost of printing more Kids Activity Booklets, of which the Gallery has so far distributed over 650, as well as re-stocking supplies in the custom built BNG Puppet Workshop and Theatre, where to date more than 750 children have made their own puppets inspired by the show.”
“From the beginning, the Bermuda National Gallery embraced the idea that this exhibition could be something more than simply a display of drawings, but rather a celebration of creative process and artistic collaboration, an opening for viewers to think about their own creative potential in ways they may not have done before,” says Michael K. Frith.
“So, it’s been hugely gratifying to see that along with the general public, so many educators and students have found their way here. It has been such a pleasure and an honour to be a part of this programme, especially here in this place, among those that mean so much to me. To BNG and all who have come and become perhaps a little inspired to explore their own untapped dreams, thank you!”
The spokesperson said, “Donations can be made online at www.bng.bm/fraggles. Corporate donors can reach Executive Director Jennifer L. Phillips directly at director@bng.bm or call 295-9428.”
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