NOVEMBER FEATURED ARTISTS

In 2007 and 2008, three Missouri artists – Gladys Coggswell, Ahmad Alaadeen and Mahmoud Conteh – were awarded grants from the Artists Support Program. Lisa Higgins, Director of the Missouri Folk Arts Program, profiles the artists' projects here. >>

FFC support enabled Gladys Coggswell to complete a book of traditional stories and legends, Stories from the Heart: African American Stories in Missouri, forthcoming from the University of Missouri Press. A special program in November honors Ms. Cogswell and the storytellers featured in the book. Find out more. >>

NEW FFC WORKING PAPER BY MARIBEL ALVAREZ

After a hiatus, we are re-activating our Working Paper series with a new article by Dr. Maribel Alvarez, folklorist at the Southwest Center at the University of Arizona. The paper Strike a Global Pose: Considerations for Working with Folk and Traditional Cultures in the 21st Century (Downloadable PDF Document 159KB.To view download the Free Adobe Reader.) by Maribel Alvarez, is the third in our series and was commissioned as part of the FFC’s Changing Demographics Initiative (CDI) underwritten by the Ford Foundation. The paper examines 21st century challenges and strategies facing traditional artists and communities and suggests new ways of working. Please read it and let us know what you think! >>

WATER THE ROOTS CONVENING IN CHICAGO

A few weeks ago the FFC and the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago convened a group of organizations and individuals involved in presenting traditional music and culture for a free-ranging conversation about new ways of supporting and presenting traditional music. Read more. >>