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Image: From Ohio Living Traditions event in Albany, OH, Benji Brite, leatherworker, demonstrates sewing a leather motorcycle seat. Credit: Joel Prince.
About the Program
The Central Appalachia Living Traditions (CALT) Community Anchors Initiative provides targeted support to select communities in the region, to dramatically impact the sustainability of traditional practice and cultural knowledge in each area.
Each selected Community Anchor site developed a Folk Arts and Culture Team to represent their community. Each team includes community scholars, community leaders, advocates, folk and traditional arts practitioners, and affiliated business owners. With support from Mid Atlantic Arts and state folklife programs, each team collectively created a Community Folk Arts and Culture Plan, with strategies and activities support folk arts and culture in their community. Each team then received $75,000 to carry out approved project activities.
Host site communities include:
Athens, Ohio
In Ohio, we are working in Athens County. The original Athens Folk Arts and Culture Team includes:
- Federal Valley Resource Center, key partner
- Talcon Quinn, designer, craftsperson, and Project Coordinator
- Arts West
- Brian Koscho, media producer
- Dairy Barn Arts Center
- Joe Callaway, old-time musician
- Mount Zion Baptist Church Preservation Society
- Ohio Arts Council
- Rachel Terman, Associate Professor of Sociology at Ohio University
In April 2023, the Athens Folk Arts and Culture Team announced their new initiative, an event series called Living Traditions Athens. Find updates about Living Traditions Athens on social media @LivingTraditionsAthens, or contact Talcon Quinn at livingtraditionsathens@gmail.com.
Bristol, Virginia
In Virginia, we are working in Bristol, on the Virginia/Tennessee border. The original Bristol Folk Arts and Culture Team includes:
- Birthplace of Country Music Museum, key partner
- René Rodgers, Birthplace of Country Music
- Toni Doman, Birthplace of Country Music
- Sylvia Crum, Appalachian Sustainable Development
- Erika Barker, Arts Alliance Mountain Empire
- Jon Lohman, Center for Cultural Vibrancy
- Katie Hoffman, Create Appalachia
- Carrie Beck, Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail
- Tyler Hughes, Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail
- geonovah davis, independent musician
- Katy Clune, Virginia Folklife Program of Virginia Humanities
- Pat Jarrett, Virginia Folklife Program of Virginia Humanities
- Catherine Schrenker, Wayne C. Henderson School of Appalachian Arts
- Betsy White, William King Museum of Art
In March 2023, the Bristol Folk Arts and Culture Team announced a grant initiative to support folk and traditional artists and cultural organizations. Traditional artists/practitioners could apply for Southwest Virginia & Northeast Tennessee Regional Tradition Bearers Fellowships. Nonprofit organizations could apply for Southwest Virginia & Northeast Tennessee Cultural Caretakers Grants. Fellowship recipients and Folk Arts and Culture Team members also presented in the Virginia Folklife Area at the 2023 Richmond Folk Festival.
Scotts Run, West Virginia
In West Virginia, we are working in Scotts Run. The original Scotts Run Folk Arts & Culture Team includes:
- Scotts Run Museum & Trail, key partner
- The Shack Neighborhood House, key partner
- DJ Cassell, Project Coordinator
- Annamarie Saltis
- Aristotle Jones, musician and radio presenter
- cb studios
- Chris Haddox, musician and West Virginia University (WVU) Associate Professor of Sustainable Design
- Rev. D.D. Meighen, WVU Presbyterian Ombudsman and Former Director of Scotts Run Settlement House
- Eve Faulkes, graphic designer and retired professor of Art and Design at WVU
- Jascenna Haislet, Director of the WVU Osher Life Long Learning Institute
- Lori Hostuttler, Assistant Director of the WVU West Virginia and Regional History Center
- Mary Saltis
- Scotts Run Settlement House
- West Virginia Folklife Program
In May 2023, The Scotts Run Folk Arts and Culture Team announced their new initiative, Scotts Run Resonance—Passing It Forward, a year of events and classes to sustain and support local foodways, music, and repair traditions, as well as history and heritage.
For questions, call the Director of The Shack at 304-599-5466 or contact DJ Cassell at djgcassell@gmail.com
