Missouri Folk Arts in the News

People surround a purple and white striped quilt on a frame.

Aug. 14, 2023

Missouri quilters in Washington

At the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, we enjoyed meeting Ozarks’ own son Kirk Kramer who resides now in Cottage City, Maryland (originally of Greenfield, Missouri and Miami, Oklahoma). Kirk let us know he wrote the following story for the Greenfield Vedette, now picked up in Springfield’s News-Leader. As the great-grandson of an Arcola quilter (Elizabeth Killingsworth Hargis), Kirk was excited to meet and interview two contemporary Arcola Quilters,…

May 31, 2023

Selvidge Student Honored

Selvidge Middle School in Baldwin, Mo. announced that eighth-grader Shreenidhi Senthilnathan earned recognition for her participation in the 2023 Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program with Guru Prasanna Kasthuri, who are pictured below with Folk Arts Specialist Deborah Bailey.  https://www.rsdmo.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&DomainID=31&ModuleInstanceID=99&ViewID=6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=315780&PageID=55  …

May 5, 2023

Mexico Ledger: Kenny Applebee

The Mexico Ledger, the only daily newspaper published in Mexico, Missouri and the surrounding rural area, announced on May 5, 2023, that local resident Kenny Applebee was an inaugural Living Traditions Sustainer Fellow. Kenny Applebee (right) accompanies Boone County old-time fiddler Pete McMahan on a bench on the grounds of the Smithsonian’s 1991 Festival of American Folklife. Photo courtesy Missouri State Old Time Fiddlers Association…
Woman holds Colombian straw hat on head while talking to children.

April 28, 2023

Red Latina Online: Carmen S. Dence

Red Latina St. Louis announced on April 28, 2023, that Colombian folkloric dancer Carmen Sofia Dence was an inaugural 2023 Missouri Living Traditions Sustainer Fellow. The online article (in Spanish) is available at this link: https://www.redlatinastl.com/noticia/missouri/758 Carmen Sofia Dence talks to students in Shelby County, Mo., schools during a weeklong residency in 2008. Photo by Susan Eleuterio…
Promotional photo for Missouri 2021 Legends, Lore, & Stories of the Show Me State

March 2, 2021

Missouri 2021 Presents

On March 2, 2021, Missouri Folk Arts director Lisa Higgins joined Missouri 2021 Presents' host Beth Pike on a panel to discuss the Wm. G. Pomeroy Foundation's Legends & Lore Marker Grant Program. From the State Historical Society of Missouri: Missouri is rich in its history, folklore, and storytelling. The bicentennial year offers a range of opportunities to engage in our state’s history and culture through storytelling with performances, workshops, poetry, book talks, online resources, and more! In this presentation, hear how organizations around the state are preserving the stories of our past and engaging new audiences. We…
Promotional material for Show Me State of Stories. Graphic reads,

Jan. 14, 2021

State of Stories: Missouri Quilting

On January 14, 2021, Missouri Folk Arts director Lisa Higgins joined Missouri 2021 coordinator Michael Sweeney for a State of Stories discussion of quilting in Missouri, hosted by Mark Livengood of The Story Center at the Mid-Continent Public Library.  Dr. Lisa Higgins and Dr. Michael Sweeney describe quilting traditions from across the state as well as the state’s Bicentennial quilt. State of Stories is a series of free public programs commemorating the Missouri Bicentennial. Developed…
Storytellers share ghost stories and legends on stage. Center is Angela J. Williams, a plus sized Black woman. She wears a short sleeve black shirt and loose black pants with white shoes. Her braided hair is tied up in a ponytail. On her left sits another storyteller, listening to Angela J. Williams. She is an older lightskin Black woman with short salt n pepper hair, she wears an earth toned patterned shirt over green pants, and brown sandals. On the right of Angela J. Willaims sits another older Black woman, she wears a short cut black hairstyle, a pink shirt with black pants, and a white long cardigan.

Oct. 1, 2020

KCUR 89.3: Legends & Lore

KCUR’s Anne Kniggendorf describes how citizens can “put more stories on the map” via Missouri Folk Arts’ partnership with the William G. Pomeroy Foundation’s Legends & Lore Marker Grant Program.   Kansas city storyteller and educator Angela J. Williams (center) shares a ghost story from her hometown of Hannibal, Mo. with an audience at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site in St. Louis. Photo credit: Heather Rhodes Johnson…
John P. Williams and Jenny Applebee pose for photo during an interview in Williams' home. Both men wear thin wired glasses with plaid button down shirts and denim jeans. WIlliams balances a fiddle in his lap wwhile Applebee balanaces a guitar.

Feb. 18, 2020

Breathing New Life into Missouri Fiddling

Rachel Krause interviewed oldtime fiddler John P. Williams (Madison) and rhythm guitarist Kenny Applebee for this artist profile and video published online by Oldtime Central in February 2020.  “John P. Williams is an oldtime fiddler from Madison, Missouri who grew up deeply entrenched in the tradition of Missouri fiddling. John was a regular attendee of the Bethel Youth Fiddle Camp and apprenticed under Pete McMahan in the late 90’s as part of the Missouri Folk Arts Program. He studied under Missouri fiddlers Bob Holt, Vesta Johnson, Dwight Lamb, Taylor McBaine, Fred Stoneking, Johnny Bruce, Herman Johnson,…
Mike McLaughlin wears thin framed glasses, a dark green crew neck shirt and denim jeans. He wears a hat as well which is dark blue. Mike is facing the camera with a smile on his face as he works on a blacksmithing project.

Sep. 27, 2019

KCUR 89.3: MO Blacksmiths

KCUR’s Anne Kniggendorf shared stories about blacksmiths Mike McLaughlin and Bernard Tappel, who were featured artists in an exhibition at the Mid-America Arts Alliance and a special “hammer in” demonstration during First Fridays at the Crossroads in KC, Mo. Blacksmith Mike McLaughlin of Lawson, Missouri, bangs out a rain gauge holder at a First Friday event in the Crossroads.courtesy of Mid-America Arts Alliance    …
Smitra Dorairajan leads Bharatanatyam practice for Charunetha Murugeson in the basement of her home. Smitra wears a long purple cultural garment with black leggings. Facing the left she is photographed mid sentence with one arm extended over her head and one to her side. Behind her, Charunetha in thin framed glasses and a red cultural dress with black leggings follows the same movement.

May 13, 2019

KBIA 91.3: Traditional Arts Feature

KBIA report Seth Bodine visited MFAP staff, as well as Bharatanatyam TAAP team Smrita Dorairajan and her apprentice Charunetha Murugesan for this story about both the Indian dance tradition and the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program.   Smrita Dorairajan practices Bharatanatyam dance movements with Charunetha Murugeson on Friday, May 3 in the basement of her home in Columbia. Credit Seth Bodine / KBIA…