The aim of the Massachusetts Cultural Council's (MCC) Folk Arts & Heritage Program is to identify craftspeople, performers and cultural specialists, help sustain the practice of tradition where they live, and increase appreciation of their artistry within the community and beyond.

Since 1999, the MCC - with crucial support from the National Endowment for the Arts - has been committed to maintaining a vital traditional arts program. We conduct documentary fieldwork; provide direct support to individual artists through Artist Fellowships and Traditional Arts Apprenticeships; and create visibility for traditional artists through print and social media, exhibitions, and public programming.

In an effort to bring greater visibility to Massachusetts folk arts traditions we collaborated with the National Heritage Museum in producing the exhibition Keepers of Tradition: Art & Folk Heritage in Massachusetts which ran May 18, 2008 - June 7, 2009.

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