2026 Folk and Traditional Arts Experiences Grantees
The below funded projects will take place between July 2025 and June 2026. This year, grantees may choose to use awarded funds for general operating expenses, instead of their proposed projects. This flexibility is intended to help grantees sustain their ongoing work in support of traditional arts practice in Central Appalachia during this difficult time in arts funding.
Ohio
Cannabis Museum
Grassroots: An Archive of Oral Histories from Appalachia Ohio’s Cannabis Culture
Athens, OH
Caroline Murphy
The Athens Quilt Trail
Athens, OH
Nicole Musgrave
Piecing Together: Quilt Classes for Survivors of Domestic Violence in Southeast Ohio
Glouster, OH
Stuarts Opera House
The Happy Hollow Hootenanney
Nelsonville, OH
Trillium Project
River Giants: Puppets from Appalachian Folklife
Portsmouth, OH
Zondra Wilson
Traditional African American and Appalachian Quilt making and Storytelling
Youngstown, OH
Virginia
Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
Blue Ridge Music Center Backstories
Galax, VA
Floyd Community Center for the Arts, Inc.
Third Annual Floyd Living Traditions Festival
Floyd, VA
Live, Work, Eat, Grow
Edges of Appalachia: Seasonal Foraging Traditions in and Around the Garden
Blacksburg, VA
Ellen and Eugene Ratcliffe
Revitalizing the Square Dancing Tradition in Highland County and Beyond
Monterey, VA
Malcolm Smith, PhD
Southwest Virginia Clawhammer Masters Internet Map
Laurel Fork, VA
Springhouse Community School
Wayzgoose 2025: A Celebration of Printing and Irish Traditions in Appalachian Culture
Pilot, VA
West Virginia
Augusta Heritage Center
Coming Together in the Kitchen: A Cultural Cooking Series for Teens and Adults
Elkins, WV
Cacapon Music and Dance Foundation
Capon Bridge Square Dance – The Next Generation
Capon Bridge, WV
Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center, Fairmont State University
Accessing the Archives: New Works and Old Traditions at the Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center
Fairmont, WV
Infamous Arts Collective
Punched Tin Workshop with Folk Flair
Buckhannon, WV
Livelihoods Knowledge Exchange Network (LiKEN)
Woodland Arts of the Central Appalachian Headwaters
West Virginia and Kentucky
RiffRaff Arts Collective
Culturefest in Our Communities Year Two: Deepening Connections, Expanding Impact, and Strengthening Cultural Bonds
Princeton, WV
The River House
FolkLife Series: Folkways and Oral Traditions of the Appalachians
Capon Bridge, WV
Sistermoon Farm
Tomato Jam 2025
Shenandoah Junction, WV
Speak Storytelling
Engaging Deaf and Hard of Hearing Communities at Speak Storytelling Concerts, Visual Vernacular Workshops, and Outreach Events
Shepherdstown, WV