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INDIANA'S FOLK ART TRADITIONS
ENRICHED THROUGH NEW STATEWIDE INITIATIVE
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- From hand-pieced quilts, limestone carving and Mexican American quinceañera traditions to African American gospel singing, old-time fiddling and Mennonite a capella quartets, Indiana's vast array of traditional arts is being surveyed and promoted through a new program called Traditional Arts Indiana.
Through a partnership between the Indiana University Folklore Institute (IUFI) and the Indiana Arts Commission (IAC), Traditional Arts Indiana is sending professionally trained researchers into all 92 counties over the next two years to document Indiana's rich and varied cultural heritage and to begin developing a statewide traditional arts program.
"Considering how Traditional Arts Indiana will help connect Hoosiers with the folk art traditions that are part of our shared heritage, it's appropriate that the Indiana Arts Commission is sharing the task of surveying and promoting Indiana's cultural resources with a number of partners throughout the state, including IU," said Dorothy Ilgen, executive director of the IAC.
Workshop training on the traditional arts will be offered to community volunteers throughout the state, and information gathered from the survey will be made available to the public through an archive and Web site. Researchers have already started work in Lake and Porter counties in northwest Indiana, and Perry, Spencer and Dubois counties in the south.
Traditional Arts Indiana is based at IU Bloomington and benefits from the university's extensive physical, technical and human resources. The IAC brings to the project its expertise in arts, public programming, networking and resource development. Traditional Arts Indiana has received major funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, IAC and IUFI.
"Folk and traditional arts are among our nation's richest artistic resources," said Bill Ivey, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts and an IU graduate.
"The Arts Endowment is proud to support these statewide folk arts programs," Ivey continued. "They will be extremely valuable in strengthening the roots of our artistic heritage and in sharing our local traditions with a broader public."
For more information about the research activity in specific communities or to inquire about hosting a workshop, contact Erin Roth, project manager, Traditional Arts Indiana, 812-855-0418, eroth@indiana.edu
(Jeff Austin, 812-855-0084, jeaustin@indiana.edu)