Thanks to a grant of $21,500 from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ohio Arts Council is working to identify resources, foster appreciation for and increase awareness of Ohio’s traditional arts.

In partnership with the Gambier Folklore Society and Cityfolk of Dayton, the OAC will begin to create a cultural resource inventory of local folk artists and organizations, present an annual folk festival, create and maintain an Ohio folk arts Internet site, form a statewide advisory committee to establish goals and priorities, enhance the Statewide Folklore Resource Center maintained by Cityfolk and produce a how-to publication for folk art presenters and festival producers.

“The folk arts are part of what makes our homes and communities ours,” said Jane Alexander, former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. “These traditions are this country’s living cultural legacy, which will be cherished, remembered and passed from generation to generation.”

In 1977 the OAC was one of the first state arts councils to begin a folklore program. That program, now called Traditional Arts Apprenticeships, has grown ever since. It gives traditional master artists a way to pass on their skills and traditions, one-on-one, to apprentice artists. The apprenticeship program began with support from the NEA, but now the OAC supports the program solely with state funds, making it the first state arts agency in the country to do so.

Since the inception of the apprenticeship program, more than 100 masters of diverse skills and backgrounds have been funded. They include Appalachian fiddlers, Chicano corrido singers, quilters, a National Heritage Fellow and the world champion men’s Irish step dancer.

Deadline for applications to the OAC Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, in which master and apprentice apply as a team, is September 1. For more information about applications and the program call 614/466-2613.



Arts organizations in our country are facing a defining moment. Many long-established assumptions, practices and policies that formed the foundation of the work at the Ohio Arts Council are being re-evaluated and reconsidered. The 1998 Ohio Arts Council Conference, Batting 2000: Facing the Fastball of Change, will examine how these changes will affect arts advocacy, fund raising, programming, technology and audience development for Ohio arts organizations.

The conference will be September 9-10 in Akron. Here’s a lineup of workshops on September 10:

• The Shoe’s On the Other Foot, How Does It Feel? will be an interactive session about the importance of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• Become a Player in the Legislative Process offers a look at what it means to be an advocate for the arts, an assessment of political trends, what term limits mean for arts funding and what to expect in the next state budget cycle.
• Lost in Cyberspace will encourage participants to surf the net and review available services, resources, financial opportunities and ways arts organizations with limited resources can get wired.
• Show Me the Money! will help artists and arts organizations find innovative ways to partner with the corporate sector.
• Measuring Up: Accounting for Learning in the Arts will review the three-year Ohio Arts Education Assessment Project.
  
  To request conference registration materials contact Katie Popoff at 614/466-2613 or e-mail kpopoff@oac.state.oh.us.