Jon Ludwig  

Atlanta  

Jon Ludwig is Emeritus Artistic Director at the Center for Puppetry Arts. Ludwig began his career at the Center in 1978, the year the Center first opened and Kermit the Frog with Jim Henson cut the ribbon. Ludwig was named Artistic Director in 2010, and in October 2024, he became emeritus. Across 46 years of awe-inspiring productions seen by millions who have attended shows at the Center, Ludwig created over 30 of those shows, including works for children and adults. An accomplished performer, director, and theater designer who has worked in Atlanta, New York, and abroad, Ludwig is recognized as an innovator in the field of puppetry. Ludwig wrote, designed, and puppeteered the shadow puppet portions of The Jim Henson Company’s “Bear in the Big Blue House,” and received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Directing in a Children’s Series for his work on Disney Channel’s “The Book of Pooh.” Nine of Ludwig’s Center productions have received Citations of Excellence from UNIMA-USA, the U.S. branch of the international puppetry organization Union Internationale de la Marionnette. Lauded locally by the Charles Loridans Foundation (Arts Medal, 2007) and the Suzi Bass Awards (Lifetime Achievement, 2022) for his contributions to Atlanta’s artist community and cultural life, Ludwig was honored with the President’s Award from Puppeteers of America in 2013 for lifetime achievement of extraordinary contributions to of the art of puppetry and to the community of puppeteers.