Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art has a reputation for staging exhibitions a bit out of left field. Still, I do not think anyone could have guessed what their next blockbuster would be. Muppets!

Ok, not just Muppets, but I think I have your attention now. Frankly, I loved The Muppet Show (who didn’t?) and an exhibition that features these creatures fired my interest.

And before you ask, yes, Kermit the frog will feature in Make, Believe, Magic: The Worlds of the Jim Henson Company, showing exclusively at GOMA from September 12 until April 2027, with its opening weeks part of Brisbane Festival.

The exhibition celebrates the 70-year legacy of The Jim Henson Company’s characters and worlds, brought to life by innovative puppetry that transports us from the everyday to a place far more extraordinary.

QAGOMA director Chris Saines says “the genius of The Jim Henson Company transcends age, culture and geography, and this exhibition will captivate audiences with moment after moment that taps into the enduring affection that its creations have earned with generations of audiences”.

“Visitors will see truly famous friends built by the company, like Sesame Street’s Big Bird and Mr Snuffelupagus, Bert and Ernie, Cookie Monster and Elmo; then wander down to the company production Fraggle Rock with Gobo, Red, Mokey, Wembley and Boober; before entering the fantasy realms of the Goblin King (Labyrinth), Dominar Rygel XVI (Farscape) and the Gelfling and Skeksis (The Dark Crystal),” says Saines. “And these are only a few of the highlights.”

Across three awe-inspiring chapters spanning the entire ground floor of GOMA, the exhibition aims to take visitors on a journey through pivotal moments that have defined The Jim Henson Company’s evolution as it transformed the art of puppetry.

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World-first highlights include the opportunity to walk among the unforgettable sets from Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock, including Doc’s House, the cavernous Great Hall and Boober’s Cave, to experience first hand the perspective of a professional puppeteer.

Fans of The Dark Crystal will be enthralled by the oracle Aughra and the gentle beauty of a giant Landstrider puppet.

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If you remember GOMA’s Fairy Tales exhibition you will remember it also featured content from Labyrinth, including David Bowie’s costume.

It was in the US on Fairy Tales business that the seeds were sown for this new exhibition in the mind of QAGOMA curatorial manager, Australian Cinémathèque, Amanda Slack-Smith. She was visiting the Henson archive in New York.

“When I mentioned it to the Henson company they were interested,” Slack-Smith says. “They are such an optimistic and solutions-led company. They were like, sure, let’s talk about it.”

She started the conversation with Karen Falk who is archives director of The Jim Henson Company and also with Lisa Henson (Jim’s daughter), who is CEO, and Nicole Goldman, executive vice president branding. They were all enthusiastic and helped make it happen. And they will all be in Brisbane next weekend for the opening of this Australian exclusive.

Slack-Smith also points out that they have sent ahead two “Muppet wranglers” to help install the show. Who wouldn’t want to be a Muppet wrangler, right?

“To be able to draw from the many worlds of The Jim Henson Company to bring this exhibition into existence is a dream come true,” she says. “Audiences will be able to explore the core elements of the company’s practice. From their origins introducing early versions of familiar characters in commercial pitches to landmark work in children’s television, the exhibition then follows their evolution into film and world creation, as well as the work of the Creature Shop, including animatronics and daring new digital innovations.

“We can’t wait to take audiences behind the scenes of an actual set used for a Henson puppet production. The world-first opportunity to present these spectacular Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock sets, direct from their Canada soundstages, will give visitors an unrivalled understanding of the craft of puppetry.”

Everything was being installed when I visited and after insisting I needed to see at least one Muppet before leaving the building I was generously offered a sneak peek behind the scenes with Slack-Smith, who has masterminded the exhibition with Victoria Wareham, assistant curator of the Australian Cinémathèque.

And after wandering for a few minutes, we come into the room where the Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock sets are located and they are mind boggling. It’s like a mega grotto inside GOMA. Fans will be blown away.

Slack-Smith says that like many of us she grew up watching Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, which attracted her with its “vaudevillian” style.

“It was like a slightly chaotic variety show and I loved that,” she says.

‘There’s something about the craftsmanship and creativity that goes into everything this company does’

But Muppets are only one component because the Jim Henson universe is much deeper and more varied than, say, the Marvel universe.

And while there is a sentimental aspect to this exhibition, it’s much more than that.

“It’s more than just nostalgia,” Slack-Smith says. “There’s something about the craftsmanship and creativity that goes into everything this company does. They work very much like an artists’ studio, and they are constantly rethinking things and having new ideas. There’s 70 years of this.”

Half that time was with Jim Henson presiding, but he died tragically at the age of 53 and then it was up to the family to step up for the next 35 years.

The exhibition will also feature a cinema program of more than 90 films showcasing productions created by The Jim Henson Company, as well as projects that feature the work of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.

Make, Believe, Magic: The Worlds of the Jim Henson Company is on show at GOMA from September 12 until April 2027. 

The exhibition is organised by QAGOMA in collaboration with The Jim Henson Company and supported by Strategic Partner Tourism and Events Queensland along with Shayher Group, Carnival Cruise Line, Gadens, Screen Queensland and Brisbane Festival.

qagoma.qld.gov.au/exhibition/make-believe-magic-the-worlds-of-the-jim-henson-company