07/22/2023
It is with sorrow and sweet remembrance that we mourn our dear friend Nancy Henk. Her passing is a great loss for Detroit puppetry and for all of us at PuppetArt. Three decades ago, Nancy came to our apartment to meet the ‘puppeteers from overseas’ and remained our beloved and loyal friend, colleague and supporter ever since that first visit.
We are fortunate to have collaborated on many projects with her over the years. It was she who introduced us to the Detroit Puppeteers Guild, and helped coordinate annual National Day of Puppetry and Puppetry Month activities at PuppetArt, for which she was also known to perform. Nancy even personally organized an elaborate 10th anniversary celebration for us in Downtown Detroit; we will always remember the children’s excitement that day as they paraded a fifteen-foot-long Chinese dragon (a puppet she taught them to make) along Grand River in front of our original theater.
Nancy Henk’s contributions of rare puppets to our museum collection, like the interest she had for our work over the years, were testaments to her generosity as an artist and her devotion to help Detroit continue to thrive as a center for puppetry. She was an extraordinarily talented and disciplined puppeteer and a kindred spirit we will miss.
Igor, Irina, Luda! snd Nick.
PuppetART
