Maryland Traditions

Mentor artist Catherine Wooten (left; Howard County) and apprentice artist Suzanne Coley (right; Baltimore County) sew quilt squares in a 2021-22 Folklife Apprenticeship in sharecropper-style quilting. Maryland Traditions Maryland Traditions, the state's traditional arts presents traditional arts. Activities include grants to organizations and individuals, festivals and other events, direct outreach to artists, and archival activities to support community-based living cultural traditions handed down by example or word of mouth. Maryland Traditions Archives The  Maryland Traditions Archives  (MTA) is a community center full of thousands of stories featuring folk and traditional artists across Maryland. Housed at the University of Maryland Baltimore County with MSAC oversight, it holds a treasure trove: oral histories, audio and video recordings, historic and contemporary photographs, papers and manuscripts, textiles and clothing, many objects, and original artworks documenting Maryland’s community-based living cultural traditions. Shared Stewardship Model MSAC acknowledges cultural communities to be experts on their cultures and traditions. Using the concept of “shared stewardship,” MSAC staff work collaboratively with cultural communities to steward cultural traditions, featuring cultural consultation, ongoing relationships, and good-faith dialogue between staff and cultural communities. The Smithsonian Institution  developed the concept as an archival management model, defined as sharing responsibility for the respectful public access of an archival collection with the advice of the cultural community represented in the collection. Shared stewardship is a foundational principle of the Maryland Traditions Archives, a public archival repository housed at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, a regional folklife center, with MSAC oversight.  Program staff adapted the concept to grantmaking, especially for the Maryland Traditions folk and traditional arts program, to promote ethical and culturally appropriate support for the cultural communities who call Maryland home. Opportunities Folklife Apprenticeship Folklife Apprenticeships support traditional arts education by funding a mentor artist and apprentice artist to work together for one year. Read more. Folklife Network Folklife Network grants fund organizations serving as regional folklife centers in Maryland. Read more. Heritage Awards Heritage Awards, distributed annually, recognize long-term achievement in the traditional arts. Read more.