Show Me Folk | Missouri Folk Arts Program

Show Me Folk, Springfield: A partnership with Ozarks Alive

With a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and support from the Missouri Arts Council, our state folk arts staff has been thrilled these last four years to establish new relationships and strengthen…

200 Stories for Missouri’s Bicentennial, March 2021

200 Stories, March 2021 #ShowMeFolk #200Stories #Missouri2021 #Missouri200 In Missouri’s bicentennial year, Missouri Folk Arts will share 200 stories over the course of 52 weeks in 2021 about folk and traditional arts in the Show Me State. We…

Image of Bernie Trappel in his Blacksmith workshop. He appears in the foreground of the photo where he works on a current piece for the Focus Exhibit. Behind him hang finished pieces on his wall.

Focus Exhibit: A Sampler of Missouri Blacksmiths

In 2019, Mid-America Arts Alliance and Missouri Folk Arts partnered to create a blacksmithing exhibition at the M-AAA offices at the Crossroads in Kansas City, Mo. Bernard Tappel of Osage Bluff Blacksmith Shop provided expert input…

Vesta Johnson is photographed playing fiddle at a home session during a Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program site visit. Vesta is an elderly white woman with white hair, peppered with black at the root. She has a focused expression fixed on her fiddle, wearing a pair of thin metal framed glasses, a plain dark brown tee shirt, and a pair of white pants. Vesta sits in the foreground of the photo on a brown metal chair, behind her is an array of home decor (couch and pillows, white curtains, and a wood paneled wall with a landscape painting).

A TRIBUTE TO VESTA JOHNSON (1922-2021)

We were very sad to hear the news on Friday, March 5, 2021, that master old-time fiddler Vesta Johnson had died. At the same time, we understand from her devoted family that she passed peacefully…

Promotional photo for Missouri 2021 Legends, Lore, & Stories of the Show Me State

Missouri 2021 Presents: Legends, Lore, and Stories of the Show Me State

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…

Photographed in black and white, Lillie Mabel Hall is photographed cooking for a church's Christmas dinner in 1992. Lillie Mabel Hall is an elderly Black woman, she wears a black dress with white stripes forming a checkered pattern. She wears hoop earrings and a hairnet, a white sleeveless vest completes her look. She holds a bag of active dry yeast in one hand and is adding ingredients to a large mixing bowl with the other hand.

200 Stories for Missouri’s Bicentennial, February 2021

200 Stories, February 2021 #ShowMeFolk #200Stories #Missouri2021 #Missouri200 In Missouri’s bicentennial year, Missouri Folk Arts will share 200 stories over the course of 52 weeks in 2021 about folk and traditional arts in the Show Me State. We kicked…

Master gospel vocalist and pianist Doris Frazier photographed performing with her apprentice Peyton Boyd in 2016. Doris Frazier stands behind her apprentice wearing a long sleeve all black outfit, she is an elderly lightskinned Black woman with short cropped grey hair. Her apprentice Peyton Boyd appears beside her wearing a tuxedo top and black bottoms, he is a younger Black male. Peyton Boyd is playing the electric keyboard and singing.

200 Stories for Missouri’s Bicentennial, January 2021

200 Stories, January 2021 #ShowMeFolk #200Stories #Missouri2021 #Missouri200 In Missouri’s bicentennial year, Missouri Folk Arts sought to share 200 stories over the course of 52 weeks in 2021 about folk and traditional arts in the…

Photo of Jennie Cummings surrounded by family and friends in the Missouri House Lounge. Jennie Cummings sits center, she is an elderly white woman with brown hair tied back. She wears a red dress with decorative beading around the collar, and red shoes. Beside her on the left, a middle aged blonde woman sits. She wears a longsleeve matching grey suit and holds one of the proclamations of Jennie's. On Jennie's right sits an older white man, he wears a black suit with a red button down shirt. He holds Jennie's other award. Beside him sits another woman in a longsleeve dress with blue floral design. Behind them stand more of Jennie's family and friends.

200 STORIES, FEATURING JENNIE CUMMINGS

Ahead of the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976, the National Endowment for the Arts seeded folklife programs across the country, leading to our own folk and traditional arts program anchored at the University of Missouri. In…

Promotional material for Show Me State of Stories. Graphic reads, "Show Me State of Stories: Missouri's Dynamic Quilting Traditions and Innovations. Thursday, Jan. 14, 6:30 pm. The Story Center Facebook Live Program. More information: mymcpl.org/StateofStories

State of Stories: Missouri’s Dynamic Quilting Traditions with Drs. Lisa Higgins & Michael Sweeney

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…

A TRIBUTE TO GARY JOHNSTON (1937-2020) BY SAMUEL KENDRICK

Once again, we must share sad news. Early this week, we learned that previous Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program master fiddler Gary Johnston (Nevada, Mo.) has died. We are thankful, though, that Mr. Johnston’s friend and…

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