The International Puppet Fringe Festival NYC has returned to the Lower East Side for its fourth edition, bringing a global celebration of puppetry to The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center. Running through August 16, 2026, the event stands as the world’s only fringe festival dedicated exclusively to puppetry.
International Puppet Fringe Festival Returns to the Lower East Side
The festival’s programming features more than 100 performances, films, exhibitions, and workshops with artists representing 10 countries across five continents. Produced by Teatro SEA and Grupo Morán with support from The Clemente, the five-day event spans multiple spaces within the Clemente complex, including Teatro SEA, LATEA Theater, the Flamboyán Theater, Los Kabayitos Theater, the outdoor La Plaza, and the Abrazo Interno and LES galleries.
A Landmark Reopening and Festival Theme
The 2026 festival serves as one of the first public events inside the historic Dutch Neo-Gothic building on Suffolk Street following the completion of a $14 million accessibility and renovation project. Libertad Guerra, Executive Director of The Clemente, noted that the festival acts as a soft launch for the newly renovated building, welcoming multi-generational audiences to the cultural hub that has anchored Puerto Rican and Latino cultural life on the Lower East Side for decades.
This year’s official theme, Women in Puppetry,
highlights extraordinary women who have shaped, expanded, and reimagined the art form globally. Dr. Manuel A. Morán, founder and artistic director at Teatro SEA and producer of the festival, emphasized the event’s mission during a time when international collaboration faces pressure. 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,
Moran said.
Honored Artists and Exhibitions
The festival honors two visionary artists: influential visual theater artist Theodora Skipitares and legendary puppetry advocate Nancy Lohman Staub. Skipitares, a longtime Lower East Side resident, presents a landmark retrospective titled Performing Objects (Four Decades of Abundant Ingenuity).
Staub, at age 93, is celebrated through a special photographic exhibition titled Scattered Happy Memories of Puppet Friends by a 93-Year-Old,
curated and designed by Matt Sorensen. Staub’s career includes directing New Orleans’ Puppet Playhouse, organizing the 1980 World Puppetry Festival at the Kennedy Center, co-founding the Museum at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, and helping launch the Jim Henson Foundation and the Henson International Festival of Puppet Theater.
Additional festival exhibitions include:
- A tribute to the original marionette Pinocchio
- A rare photographic archive from Nancy Staub
- Two exhibitions drawn from Teatro SEA’s collections
- An immersive sculptural exhibition by artist Jo Cunningham
Festival organizers noted that exhibition spaces are open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., with the Skipitares and Staub exhibitions remaining open through August 30. More than half of the festival’s events are free for the community.
Global Participation and Latin American Spotlight
The 2026 lineup features strong representation from Latin America and the Caribbean, alongside Teatro SEA’s own Latino heritage storytelling. Notable international productions include Cuba’s Teatro de las Estaciones presenting Historia de Burros, a production drawing on poetry from Federico García Lorca, Juan Ramón Jiménez, and Rubén Darío Salazar. Puerto Rico’s Vueltabajo Teatro presents Archipiélago, a physical theater piece addressing migration, family, and island connection. The schedule also features a puppet cabaret and spaghetti dinner featuring the Trinidadian JouvayFest Collective alongside Great Small Works from the United States.
