Folk + Traditional Arts

Wenceslas Martinez transforms Sandra Jo’s paintings into intricate woven masterpieces. The couple started by selling their creations from a chicken coop and have since expanded their reach internationally.

At the start of Covid lockdown, Harmony Hill felt called to support her community of Native artists in Milwaukee. Since then, she’s built a nonprofit – Red Magic – that hosts festivals and provides resources for all Native artists. Through it all, she’s upending colonial narratives about what art is.

In North Dakota and Minnesota, a new generation continues a centuries-old tradition.

Afnan Isleem Algharabli of Balady Stitch and Jenin Yaseen of Sr7aneh are stitching the Palestinian traditions of the past to a new generation for the future.

How Jordan’s “Musical Ambassadress” teamed up with Oskaloosa’s local choir for a week of cultural exchange and learning.

Sacred Pipe Resource Center aims to provide Native people a safe space to meet others and expand their circles.

Trappist Caskets, located near the New Melleray Abbey in northeast Iowa, prayerfully serves families and the land.

A master carousel carver and restorationist from Ohio and a tap dancer, teacher, and historian from Illinois are two of the latest NEA National Heritage Fellows.

JustAJar Design Press in Marietta keeps the art of letterpress alive by making event posters, greeting cards, and fine art prints using a centuries-old art form.

With mentorship from relatives and other artists, Artichoker says she is eager to gain knowledge around traditional art practices and tell impactful stories through her art.

Inspired as a young ranch hand, Baxter considers saddle-making a “nice little hobby” as he spends evenings after full days of ranching to craft distinct hand-tooled saddles.

This Detroit-based artist uses foraged plants from uninhabited lots to create natural dyes, pigments, quilts, and more.

Colors, traditions, and prayers are all pieced into Benson’s star quilts. Her craft has been encouraged by the women in her family.

The non-profit organization is keeping traditional craft afloat through community boatbuilding in Green Bay.

“Urushi is most close to who I am,” says Indianapolis-based artist Nhat Tran, who has been creating abstract sculptural and 2D pieces with lacquer over the past two decades.

From type factory to “working museum,” Hamilton still calls Two Rivers, Wisconsin, home, bringing artists together from all over the world.

Local and national attendees participated and people danced with and for their communities at the inaugural powwow of its kind in western South Dakota.

Drawn by the utility and accessibility of the craft, spoon carvers in the Driftless region gather to create a new niche for future generations.

A member of the Miami (Myaamia) Tribe of Oklahoma, Tippmann’s work brings people together through plants, culture and sense of community.

From growing their materials to teaching others the craft, Lee Zieke and Lindsay Lee’s artistic practices are creatively interwoven with their lives.

Okaidja Afroso’s week-long World Fest residency brought music into schools, stores, and a Main Street theater, spreading connection and curiosity in small town Albion.

Arlene Fairbanks and Jessica Travis opened a one-stop shop to support sewing and regalia-making, an important cultural and creative practice for Native Americans.

In Indigenous culture, the arts aren’t mere entertainment but a vital practice grounded in community. Those arts include hoop dancing, a form of storytelling through movement. Starr Chief Eagle is among a generation of women making the traditionally male practice their own.

Finnish music sensation Okra Playground brought its captivating and charming sound to South Dakota, connecting cultures through music.

If we told you there’s a farm where calving, cheese-making, watercolor painting, and singing (to cows) converge, would you believe us?

The music of Alaskan ensemble Pamyua moved communities in rural Wisconsin and Michigan, creating “one-in-a-lifetime” moments of connection, collaboration and curiosity.

An act of preservation in 1911 made way for this living project that reclaims Lakota culture, knowledge and religious freedom.

A space is truly of the community when it is shaped by the needs of the people it serves. The Sitting Bull Visitor Center in Fort Yates, North Dakota, the tribal headquarters of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, is recognizing and addressing its community’s need for holistic education around food sovereignty through their proposed Open Kitchen. This initiative complements their rich portfolio of offerings related to Indigenous knowledge and tradition.

As Executive Director of Heritage Works in Detroit, Michigan, Rhonda Greene has spent decades connecting folks to West African cultural traditions through youth programs, community programs, and placemaking efforts. Arts Midwest spoke with Rhonda about cultural reclamation, placemaking, skill sharing, and the moves we need to memorize for a brighter future.

Over the course of seven days and nine time zones, Finnish band Kardemimmit joined Minnesota’s New York Mills community in celebrating its Scandinavian heritage.