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| Established | 1987 [1] |
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| Location | 1 Royce Circle, Suite 101B, Storrs, Connecticut, United States |
| Coordinates | 41°48′17″N72°14′34″W / 41.8048°N 72.2427°W |
| Type | Art museum |
| Director | John Bell |
| Owner | University of Connecticut |
| Website | bimp.uconn.edu |
The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry (BIMP) is a public museum of puppetry operated by the University of Connecticut. The museum is located near the main UConn campus in Storrs, Connecticut.
The Ballard houses one of the three largest puppetry collections in the United States. [2] Its permanent collection of over 2,500 puppets from all over the world includes marionettes, glove puppets, rod puppets, shadow puppets, body puppets, and stage materials. In addition, the Institute houses the Puppeteers of America’s Audio-Visual Collection, which is the largest media collection (over 700 items) on puppetry in the United States. [3] These media are housed in the Kay Janney Library and Archives, which also is home to a small research collection of more than 2,500 books, scripts, manuscripts, clippings, posters, and audio-visual material related to the history of puppet theater worldwide. The Janney Library is open to visiting researchers by appointment. [4]
In addition to collecting materials to support research, the Ballard hosts frequent puppetry festivals, exhibits, and dramatic performances, most notably the 2015 National Puppetry Festival. [5] The Institute also conducts puppet-making workshops and participates in local parades and cultural events. [6]
The Institute was named after Frank W. Ballard (1929-2010), founder of UConn's Puppet Arts Program, [7] which are the first graduate and undergraduate programs in puppetry in the United States. [8] Its managing director is John Bell, a former Bread and Puppet Theater company member and an associate professor of Dramatic Arts at UConn's School of Fine Arts. [9] [10]
Previously located on UConn's Depot Campus, the Ballard was moved to the newly constructed Storrs Center in 2014. It shares space with Barnes & Noble. [11]
UConn is the only institution in the United States that offers a master's degree in puppetry. [12]
Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. Such a performance is also known as a puppet production. The script for a puppet production is called a puppet play. Puppeteers use movements from hands and arms to control devices such as rods or strings to move the body, head, limbs, and in some cases the mouth and eyes of the puppet. The puppeteer sometimes speaks in the voice of the character of the puppet, while at other times they perform to a recorded soundtrack.
The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, the school became a public land grant college, then took its current name in 1939. Over the following decade, social work, nursing, and graduate programs were established. During the 1960s, UConn Health was established for new medical and dental schools. UConn is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.
UConn Health is a healthcare system and hospital, and branch of the University of Connecticut that oversees clinical care, advanced biomedical research, and academic education in medicine. The system is funded directly by the State of Connecticut and the University’s financial endowment. Its primary location, UConn John Dempsey Hospital, is a teaching hospital located in Farmington, Connecticut, in the US. In total, UConn Health comprises the hospital, the UConn School of Medicine, School of Dental Medicine, and Graduate School. Additional community satellite locations are located in Avon, Canton, East Hartford, Putnam, Simsbury, Southington, Storrs, Torrington, West Hartford, and Willimantic, including two urgent cares in both Storrs and Canton. UConn Health also owns and operates many smaller clinics around the state that contain UConn Medical Group, UConn Health Partners, University Dentists and research facilities. Andrew Agwunobi stepped down as the CEO of UConn Health in February 2022 after serving since 2014 for a private-sector job. Bruce Liang was UConn Heath's interim CEO for 2022-2024 and remains dean of the UConn School of Medicine. Andrew Agwunobi returned to UConn Health as Executive Vice President of Health Affairs and CEO beginning May 31, 2024.
Philip E. Austin is an American economist who served as the 13th president of the University of Connecticut from October 1, 1996 to September 14, 2007. He returned to serve as interim president in May 2010 following the abrupt departure of Michael J. Hogan. Prior to UConn, Austin served as president of Colorado State University (1984–1989) and chancellor of the University of Alabama System (1989–1996).
The college football rivalry between the University of Connecticut and the University of Rhode Island dates back to the 1890s and was born largely out of proximity, with the schools being less than 60 miles apart. The schools competed in all sports for decades as members of the Yankee Conference. Even though UConn became a charter member of the Big East in 1979, the schools continued to compete in football at the I-AA level as members of the Atlantic 10. The yearly games ended after UConn left the A-10 to move to I-A football in 2000.
Albrecht Roser was a German master puppeteer based in Stuttgart, Germany.
Tim Lagasse is an American puppeteer, puppet designer, actor and director. He has worked on films and television programs for Sesame Workshop, Nickelodeon, Disney XD, and HBO. He is known for playing the title character on Noggin's Oobi, and Crash on Disney XD's Crash & Bernstein.
The Connecticut State Museum of Natural History (CSMNH) is located in Storrs, Connecticut, as part of the University of Connecticut. It was established in 1985 as Connecticut's official natural history museum.
Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) at the University of Connecticut is a professional theatre run by the Department of Dramatic Arts, a part of the School of Fine Arts. The complex is located on the main UConn campus in Storrs, Connecticut.
Bradford Cody "Brad" Williams was an American puppeteer, designer and teacher. He died from injuries sustained in a car accident at the age of 42.
Kidstime and Kidstime Express is a local children's television show broadcast by WTXX Channel 20 in Waterbury, Connecticut, in the 1980s and early 1990s. It was originally hosted by Mike Imfeld and his puppet companions with his cohost being T. X. Critter, operated by puppeteer Don Wunderlee. T. X. was the yellow precursor to ALF, created by the puppeteer Paul Fusco, a few years before the hit NBC TV show of the same name. At some point, Imfeld was replaced by Mike Mozart. Mozart was then later replaced by Lauren DeLisa, who remained the host until the show was canceled in 1993.
Natchaug Elementary School is a public elementary school in Willimantic, Connecticut, United States. The school opened in 1865 at the junction of Milk Street and Jackson Street, in downtown Willimantic. It is part of the Windham Public School system and one of four elementary schools and a K-8 STEM magnet school. Natchaug is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. The name Natchaug comes from the Nipmuc word meaning "land between the rivers." The school colors are bright green and blue.
Paul Vincent Davis is an American puppeteer. For over 30 years, he served as Artist in Residence at Puppet Showplace Theater in Brookline, Massachusetts. In the 1980s, UNIMA-USA awarded Davis five Citations of Excellence for his work.
Jaime Homero Arjona (1906–1967) was Professor of Romance and Classical Languages at the University of Connecticut (1932–1967), serving as chair of the Department of Foreign Languages for eighteen years (1946–1964). Constructed in 1959 and dedicated in 1968, the Jaime Homero Arjona Building in Storrs was named in his honor. The Arjona Building houses faculty offices and classrooms in the humanities and prior to 1968 was known as the Humanities Building.
Walter Campbell Stemmons (1884–1965) was an American writer who served as Professor of Journalism and University Editor at the University of Connecticut from 1918 to 1954. He wrote Connecticut Agricultural College: A History (1931), published on the 50th anniversary of UConn's founding.
Evan Hill was an American journalist and professor at the University of Connecticut (UConn), where he chaired the journalism department from 1965 to 1984. A stern but beloved teacher, Hill exerted major influence on Connecticut journalism. He mentored many editors and reporters in the region and served as a director and trustee of The Day. He authored eight books and 160 magazine articles.
Frank Willard Ballard was an American puppeteer and educator. Serving as Professor of Dramatic Arts at the University of Connecticut from 1956 to 1989, Ballard developed internationally renowned programs for puppetry education. The university-operated Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry was named in his honor. The museum opened in 1996 and was moved to a prominent new location in the downtown business district of Storrs near the main UConn campus in 2014.
Roger Lynn Crossgrove was an American artist and educator who served as Professor of Art at the Pratt Institute and the University of Connecticut for a total of 35 years. He was best known for his monotype watercolors and photographs of the male nude.
Alexey von Schlippe (1915–1988) was a Russian-American painter who became the first full-time professor at the University of Connecticut's Avery Point campus in Groton. Opened in 1992, the Alexey von Schlippe Gallery of Art is a contemporary art gallery in the Branford House.
Hartford Medical Society (HMS) is a nonprofit professional association for physicians founded in 1846 and based in Hartford, Connecticut, United States. The HMS developed substantial library and museum collections and, in conjunction with the Hartford Dental Society, operated the Menczer Museum of Medicine and Dentistry from 1974 through the 2000s. Since 2009, UConn Health has managed the society's collections on its behalf.
| Authority control databases: National |
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