Peoples of the Arab world have excelled at puppetry as a form of expression, agitation and entertainment for centuries. This wonderfully rich artistic tradition was always in conversation with other artforms, and with the work of puppeteers from across the globe.

In recent decades, puppeteers as well as the theatres, magazines and other institutions that supported, critiqued, and fostered their work have struggled to find the resources to keep this art alive.

Also as a result of the obstacles facing Arab puppetry, many of the archives and other institutions that house the material heritage of this artform have had difficulty preserving the puppets, sets, scripts, and other documentary heritage that will be future generations’ key to accessing this important artform. With every passing year, more and more of this material heritage is lost as a result of inadequate conservation and storage capacity, looting, political conflict, and neglect.

The Arab Puppet Theatre Museum is a project of the Arab Puppet Theatre Foundation that aims to locate and preserve what we can of the rich tradition of Arab puppetry. Through the initial support of Gerda Henkel Foundation we have begun the work of repairing and digitally preserving some of the important collections of relevance to the Arab puppetry heritage with the goal of making them available online through this website.

This work cannot be done by one organization alone, and we appreciate any support, feedback and suggestions. Please reach out to us, we would love to hear from you.