Grant money helps Puppet Museum document huge collection

Discover how this funding is archivally preserving the collection of this unique East Portland arts center …

Portland Puppet Museum owner Steve Overton sets up a group of marionettes for a photo session, part of documenting the nonprofit’s massive collection of puppets.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

As other puppetry arts and museums around the world have been closing, Sellwood’s own Portland Puppet Museum thrives, thanks to a grant. That’s what East Portland News learned from the organization’s co-founder and owner, Steve Overton.

The Portland Puppet Museum received a grant from money put up by the Cook-Marks Fund, established by the Alan Cook Trust through the California Community Foundation, and given to the Save World Art non-profit organization – which, in turn, passed a portion of it on to the Portland Puppet Museum.

Steve Overton adjusts the lighting to capture details of these puppets, as he continues documenting the museum’s collection.

Overton said, “Our request for a grant was right on target with their objectives, namely:

+ Mounting exhibitions for the ‘art of puppetry’
+ Preservation and conservation of ‘puppet figures’ in collections
+ Cataloging ‘puppetry collections’

“Our collection has puppets from many cultures around the world that we’re preserving with an estimated 4,000 digital images,” Overton explained. “In fulfilling the grant, we’re undertaking a five-month project of documenting the entire collection – the largest collection of puppet and memorabilia, backdrops, posters, books, fliers, newspaper articles of puppet theater that’s in Oregon.”

In addition to the exhibitions and performances regularly held in their local museum, Overton pointed out that, last year, they also performed shows and created a rotating display of puppets at Milieu Gallery – formerly in Sellwood, and now located in Bridgeport Village.

Taking close-up images of these marionettes, Portland Puppet Museum’s Steve Overton captures the nuances of these historic puppet characters.

“When we receive a collection of puppets donated to our museum, I always document where the puppet came from, when it was made, and the country of origin – or where in the United States it was made and shown,” Overton told us. “All of this information is going into the database, along with the photographic images, to provide a searchable ‘living history’ of its provenance.”

The museum’s current exhibition, “Fairy Tale, Television, and Super Star Puppets”, is on display right now, free to the public, Thursdays through Sundays, from 2:00 until 8:00 p.m.

The Portland Puppet Museum is situated at 906 S. E. Umatilla Street, 97202. For more information, see their website: CLICK HERE.

Comments are closed.