What are folk & traditional arts?

Folk arts and traditions surround us. We must look carefully for them because they may be labeled common, ordinary or trivial. But, once identified, we can then see the ‘extraordinary nature of ordinary life’ and how these skills and activities enrich the lives of Wyoming citizens and illuminate our shared values, history and heritages.

Everyone practices folk and traditional skills that are passed from one person to another and shaped out of common experiences. We sing hymns at church, cook a special meal for a birthday, give a bride ‘something blue,’ carve a pumpkin at Halloween, fiddle a waltz at a dance, recite a poem at the grange hall, or tell a joke at the water cooler. No matter where we are, if we look closely, we find folk arts happening.

Folk arts and traditions happen when you

• Make the time to be together and
• Take the time to create together.

For more visit http://www.loc.gov/folklife/cwc/index.html to read “American Folklife: A Commonwealth of Cultures” by Mary Hufford.

What is the Wyoming Folk and Traditional Arts Program?

The goal of the Folk and Traditional Arts Program is to identify, document, preserve, and honor folk arts and traditions throughout Wyoming. Its primary purpose is to support the exemplary artistic traditions and significant practices of Wyoming’s citizens. We do this through

• Conducting fieldwork to identify and document Wyoming’s contemporary folk arts and traditions
• Providing grants to community organizations to celebrate their cultural heritage or share their traditional arts
• Awarding mentoring grants to master tradition bearers who want to pass on their talents
• Fostering public awareness and appreciation of the state’s finest traditional arts and artists through publications, documentary films, exhibits and lectures

For more information, contact Anne F. Hatch, Folk and Traditional Arts Program Specialist, (307)777-7721.