Central Appalachian Folk Arts and Culture Grants – Due Aug. 1

Kentucky communities are eligible for grants of up to $10,000 for the promotion of folk arts and culture in eligible regions.

Grants advance the goals of the In These Mountains (ITM) initiative by supporting projects that promote sharing, teaching, learning, preserving, documenting, and supporting the continuity of the folk arts and traditional culture of Central Appalachia.

What are folk arts and cultures? 

For the purposes of this application, the folk and traditional arts of Central Appalachia include music, handcrafts/material culture, and foodways. Some examples of traditional arts practiced in Central Appalachia are Cherokee stamped pottery, African American buck dancing/clogging, Anglo-American ballads, Latin American foodways traditions, Bharatanatyam Indian dance, Traditional Vietnamese medicine, and many more. 

Projects may include traditional music, dance, oral traditions, crafts/material culture, or foodways/food traditions. Examples of eligible projects include broadcasts (television, radio, or podcast); exhibits; festivals; publications; research; educational activities; etc. Proposed projects should be new initiatives, or new versions/iterations of existing/reoccurring programs. Examples include initiating a new research project; supporting an annual festival; adding a new event to an ongoing performance series; etc. Projects are not required to serve the entire geographic community but should have targeted participants. 

All grant recipients are required to provide accessibility for constituents with disabilities at grant-funded events. For these guidelines, accessibility relates to both your overall facility and project being accessible to all. Grant applications should show evidence of thoughtful planning and implementation efforts. Up to 20% of awarded funds may be used for organizational overhead.

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