Folk art reflects our cultural identity and often serves as a window into a community’s values and aesthetics. Here are four places where you and your family can learn more about this historic art form.
- 1. Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, N.M.
Welcoming visitors since 1953, this museum houses the world’s largest collection of folk art with more than 150,000 artifacts documenting cultural identity, traditions and aesthetics from around the world. Children are drawn to the Tree of Life lounge, a newly renovated area encouraging imaginative play with discovery boxes, miniature tree houses, puppets, and a make-a-tree activity as well as docent-led art and puppet-making sessions. Throughout the museum, visitors are invited to contemplate, create, and interact with folk art to better understand the treasures within.
Each year the city of Santa Fe also plays host to the International Folk Art Market. The event seeks to support and create economic opportunities for and with folk artists from around the world in an effort to celebrate and preserve folk art traditions.
For more: www.internationalfolkart.org; www.Folkartmarket.org
- 2. American Folk Art Museum, New York.
This important museum’s collection is called an “unabashed song of praise to the nation,” reflecting the idea that folk art is often patriotic or created to commemorate an important event in history. With more than 7,000 objects on hand, the museum celebrates the creative talents of individuals with little or no formal training. View traditional and contemporary artistic expressions including drawings, tinsel art, quilts and painting. The collection includes works of art from four centuries and nearly every continent — from compelling portraits and dazzling quilts to powerful works by living artists in a variety of mediums.
