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We sit with the news today of the loss of Marideth Sisco, a longtime friend of Missouri Folk Arts, who brought her great talents and wisdom to our Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, Community Scholars Network, 2023 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and–most recently–the 2025 Living Traditions Fellowship. Those efforts are just a sliver of Marideth’s contributions to the cultural life of the Ozarks and Missouri.
As thunder rumbles outside our office today, we can vividly imagine the loss she describes [at the link] of the “giant, weathered oak that has stood for centuries only to fall suddenly in a storm.” And, it is comforting to know that Marideth Sisco not only planted acorns over the decades, she has nurtured saplings and trees that carry traces of her cultural genome.
Thank you, Marideth.
Photo description: “Marideth Sisco performs in ‘An Evening with Ozarks Women’ on the Ralph Rinzler Main Stage at the 2023 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Photo by Sonya Pencheva, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives