Rooted, Practiced, Sustained
News and Announcements
May 27, 2026
2026 Living Traditions Fellows
May 27, 2026COLUMBIA, MO – The Missouri Folk Arts Program is excited to announce recipients of the 2026 Missouri Living Traditions Fellowship, an award to recognize the artistic excellence and exceptional lifetime achievement of living traditional artists and community scholars in the Show Me State. For 2026, Missouri Folk Arts recognizes three individuals for their deep-rooted contributions to traditional arts within their vibrant Missouri communities.Join us as we congratulate Mary Barile (Boonville), Brian Hawkins (Harrisonville), and Marquise Knox (Bowling Green). Fellows will participate in public events and contribute to recorded oral histories that document their achievements. Stay tuned to…
April 23, 2026
Folk Arts in Bloom
Hooked Rugs in Missouri On exhibit at the Museum of Art & Archaeology, opening April 25, 2026 Thanks to artists, practitioners, and scholars like Mary Collins Barile, Boonville, Mo., the legacy of traditional hooked rugs has been practiced, passed on, and documented. Missouri Folk Arts thanks Dr. Barile for her significant input on this exhibit, particularly in the interpretative text. Her book Hooked Rugs of the Midwest: A Handcrafted History is a valuable and accessible read to learn more about this dynamic tradition’s roots and ongoing practice in our region. Three rug hookers are featured in Folk…
Feb. 13, 2026
Award Making Artist, TJ Southard
When Missouri Folk Arts established the Living Traditions Fellowships in 2023, staff knew that the honor required a dynamic, physical memento to symbolize the achievements of these artistically excellent Missouri traditional artists and community scholars. Woodworker TJ Southard, two-time alumnus of the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, was up for the job of translating staff ideas into reality. Southard, proprietor of Fresh Sawdust in Perryville, Mo., was eager to take on the challenge. He transformed walnut that he’d harvested previously from his property into beautifully personalized plaques that feature a Missouri Star quilt block, as they…