About

About the Michigan Traditional Arts Program

The Michigan Traditional Arts Program is produced in statewide partnership with the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs to advance cross-cultural understanding and equity in a diverse society through the documentation, preservation, and presentation of traditional arts, folklife, and everyday culture in Michigan.

MTAP Staff

Kurt Dewhurst, Ph.D., Curator of Folklife and Cultural Heritage, MSU Museum; Professor, Dept. of English, MSU
Beth Donaldson, Co-Coordinator, Michigan Stained Glass Census and The Quilt Index
Mike Green, Web Administrator
Micah Ling, Coordinator, MTAP Public Programs
Marsha MacDowell, Ph.D., MTAP Director; Curator of Folk Arts, MSUM; Professor, Dept. of Art, Art History, and Design, MSU
Molly McBride, Coordinator, MTAP Fieldwork
Lynne Swanson, Collections Manager, Cultural Collections, MSUM
Mary Worrall, Curator of Textiles and Social Justice, MSUM
Pearl Yee Wong, Collections Coordinator, MTAP Research Collections

MTAP Research Associates:
Julie Avery, Ph.D., Curator Emerita, MSUM
Susan Bandes, Ph.D., Director, Museum Studies Program; Professor, Art, Art History, and Design, MSU
John Beck, Ph.D., Co-coordinator, "Our Daily Work, Our Daily Lives" Program, Labor Education, MSUM
Bob Blackman, Elderly Instruments
Joanna Bosse, Ph.D., Associate Dean, Residential College of Arts and Humanities, MSU
Howard Bossen, Ph.D., Professor, Journalism, MSU
Martha Brownscombe, Textile Specialist Emerita, MSU
Frank Ettawageshik, Michigan Heritage Awardee; Executive Director, United Tribes of Michigan; Chairman, United League of Indigenous Nations Governing Board; Co-chair, National Congress of American Indians Federal Recognition Task Force
Marie Gile, Textile Specialist Emerita, MSU
Sally Helvenston Gray, Ph.D., Associate Professor Emerita, Art, Art History, and Design, MSU
Heather Howard, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Anthropology, MSU
Isaac Kalumbu, Ph.D., Adjunct Curator, MSUM; African Studies Center, MSU
Candace Keller, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Art, Art History, and Design, MSU
Jon Keune, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Religious Studies, MSU
Betsy Knox, Michigan 4-H Programs Emerita
Barbara Kreuger, Independent stained glass artist and historian
Yvonne Lockwood, Ph.D., Curator of Folklife Emerita
Pumeza Mandela, Education Coordinator, Nelson Mandela Museum
Veena Mandrekar, Ph.D., Heritage of India
Dylan Miner, Ph.D., Director, American Indian Studies Program; Associate Professor, Residential College in the Arts and Humanities
Diana N'Diaye, Ph.D., Curator and Cultural Specialist, Smithsonian Institution Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Chris Scales, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Director of Arts Programs, Residential College of Arts and Humanities, MSU
Amanda Sikarskie, Ph.D., Instructor, Residential College in the Arts and Humanities, MSU
Deborah Smith-Pollard, Ph.D., Professor, English Literature and Humanities; Chair, Dept. of Literature, Philosophy, and the Arts, University of Michigan-Dearborn
Dean Rehberger, Ph.D., Director, MATRIX: Center for Digital Humanities and Social Sciences
Alicia Sheill, Assistant Director, MATRIX: Center for Digital Humanities and Social Sciences
Laura Smith, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Art, Art History, and Design, MSU
Noel Solani, Ph.D., Researcher, Mzala Nxumalo Centre
Laurie K. Sommers, Ph.D., Independent folklore scholar
Steve Stier, Michigan Heritage Awardee, Michigan Barn Preservation Network
Ethan Watrall, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Anthropology, MSU
Vera Wiltse, Michigan Barn Preservation Network
Chris Worland, Instructor, Residential College of Arts and Humanities, MSU

History of MTAP
What is Folklife?
MTAP Staff
Get Involved
Contact

History of MTAP

The Michigan State University Museum first initiated ongoing research and presentation of Michigan traditional arts in 1975 with a statewide survey and 1976 exhibition of historical folk art. In 1977, the Michigan State University Museum joined with the Michigan Cooperative Extension Service to provide statewide educational programming and general public services in the area of Michigan's traditional cultural resources. In 1986, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs created a partnership - the Michigan Traditional Arts Program (MTAP) - with the Michigan State University Museum to strengthen the support of traditional arts and artists in the state. Among the major long-term MTAP programs are: the Great Lakes Folk Festival, the Michigan Heritage Awards, the Michigan Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, the Michigan Quilt Project, and the Michigan Stained Glass Census. MTAP’s longstanding role in coordinating a statewide folklife festival began with the 1985 “Michigan: Whose Story?” festival. In 1987, MTAP collaborated with the Smithsonian Institution to present Michigan’s folk artists at the Festival of American Folklife. That same year, MTAP brought the Smithsonian’s Michigan program to Michigan with the launching of the Festival of Michigan Folklife. For the twelve years producing that festival, MTAP conducted field research to identify over 1200 folk artists for presentation at the festivals. In 1999, MTAP forged a new partnership with the National Council for the Traditional Arts in Washington D.C., and the City of East Lansing, to co-produce the National Folk Festival 1999-2001. Running from 2002-2017, MTAP continued the festival tradition with the launching of the Great Lakes Folk Festival held in downtown East Lansing. Working under the MTAP umbrella, MSU Museum staff, university and community associates, and contracted specialists have planned and implemented discovery research projects, exhibitions, digital humanities projects, media projects, education initiatives, curriculum materials, and artist services projects pertaining to the state’s traditional tangible and intangible cultural heritage. From 1978-the early 2010s, MTAP co-led FOLKPATTERNS, a statewide program to engage youth in investigating cultural traditions in their communities. MTAP staff directed or co-directed three digital humanities projects of special note: Michigan Stained Glass Census, Michigan Barn and Farmstead Survey, and the Michigan Quilt Project. The Michigan Quilt Project was a springboard for the development of the Quilt Index, an international repository of digital data on tens of thousands of quilts and quiltmakers. Since the mid-1980s MTAP staff have met regularly with state folk arts program staff around the U.S. and have played key roles in state and national arts policy development, evaluation studies, and professional development and training opportunities for both traditional artists and program administrators. In addition, MTAP staff members have also worked on initiatives pertaining to documenting and presenting traditional arts in other countries, particularly in China, South Africa, Japan, and Canada.

What is Folklife?

Every group with a sense of its own identity is made up of individuals who share in what they traditionally believe, do, know, make, and say. Over time, these beliefs and activities become traditions. These traditions are often learned informally from members of a group and they connect group members to each other. Participating in traditions also connects people to their past, is a central part of life in the present, and provides a means to carry cultural knowledge into the future. These traditions are at the heart of all cultures–including our own–throughout the world.

-adapted from “What is Folklore,” American Folklore Society.

Traditional arts are often deeply tied to a sense of place. The natural and cultural resources of a location are interconnected with the creation and meaning of traditional arts. Traditional arts help link people to place and community; they strengthen a sense of identity and uniqueness. Traditional knowledge and skills typically are learned by one individual teaching another. This teaching often takes place in informal settings such as family homes, religious centers, community centers, studios, and workplaces. Many masters of traditional arts are also excellent teachers. These artist/educators help ensure that skills and knowledge about the art and culture are learned and perpetuated by others.

-adapted from “Extraordinary Ordinary People: American Masters of Traditional Arts,” an exhibition co-produced by the Michigan State University Museum and Documentary Arts, Inc.

Contact

Contact the Michigan Traditional Arts Program using the form below. Email us at msum.mtap@gmail.com or call (517) 353-5526.