An award-winning Bermudian creative reflected on his decades-long career spanning publishing, television and philanthropy as a ten-month celebration of his work drew to a close.

Michael Frith, a co-creator of children’s shows Fraggle Rock and Between the Lions, addressed an auditorium at the Earl Cameron Theatre on Saturday, the final day that The Art of Michael K Frith: From Pencil to Puppetwas on display at the Bermuda National Gallery.

The exhibition, which featured more than 350 items including sketches and puppets, brought 17,000 visitors to the gallery at City Hall since it opened last October.

Mr Frith was overwhelmed by its popularity and initially doubted that people would want to look at “a bunch of cartoon drawings of frogs, pigs and Fraggles and things”.

However, he eventually agreed to the exhibition to show “the incredible joy and privilege of working with so many extraordinary and talented people throughout my life”.

Those people included author Theodore Seuss Geisel, who went by the name of Dr Seuss, and legendary puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets and co-creator of Fraggle Rock.

Fraggle Rock was partly inspired by the island’s Crystal Caves and Mr Frith’s upbringing in Bermuda.

The artist said: “I touched a fuse, but the big explosion comes at the end and that’s what it’s all about.”

Mr Henson’s daughter Lisa Henson, the chief executive of the Jim Henson Company, and puppeteers Jennifer Barnhart and Kathryn Mullen — Mr Frith’s wife — also spoke during the event moderated by Jennifer Phillips, the executive director of BNG.

Mr Frith, who was inducted into the Children and Family Emmy Awards Golden Circle Honour Society in March, also discussed No Strings Productions, which uses puppets to discuss landmine safety, volcanoes, HIV/Aids and other critical issues to children around the world.

He explained: “With puppets, you can say these things which are so difficult to say in person, particularly to children, in ways that can really help them to get through their trauma and help them understand where the dangers are that they’re going to be facing in these different environments.”

The creator added: “We would get stories from all over the world saying ‘this saved my life’ or ‘this changed my life’, that has been hugely gratifying for all of us that have been involved.”

Mr Frith told aspiring artists to pursue their work and never be afraid to experiment.

He said: “One of the things that drives me crazy is when I was working with these corporate types and they said ‘nobody’s ever done that, we can’t do that’ — never let that kind of thing stand in your way.

“Be experimental, be daring, have a wonderful time challenging whatever world it is that you’re interested in being a part of.”

Ms Mullen, who worked on projects such as The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock and Star Wars, led a puppetry course on the island from June 25 to July 23.

Course participants got up on stage and lip-synced to the Fraggle Rock theme song during Saturday’s event.

The BNG will be closed for a few weeks as the exhibition is de-installed and the gallery prepares for the 2026 Bermuda Biennial, set to open on September 26.