Tennessee Folklife Program

Special thanks to everyone who was able to join us last Saturday for Statehood Day at the Tennessee State Museum, and especially to the artists who beautifully represented the 10-year history of the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. We are pleased to share these photos from Jason Bihler Photography. With Deana Rothwell, Daniel Rothwell, Dorian Thompson, Jamison Thompson, Trenton Caruthers, Jordan Judkins, Chris Rainwater, Madi Dean, Aundra McCoy, Josh Roberson, Ian Kirkpatrick, Carmen Hicks, Rick Stewart, Brendon Stewart, Christi Fleenor, Charlotte Underwood, Rafael Figueroa, Manuel Delgado, Jacob Fennell, Damion Pearson, Arkan Doski, Paul Davis, Maxie Hats.

Our Statehood Day celebration is almost here! Did you catch our spotlight on The Nashville Sign? We can't wait to see you starting this Saturday from 9:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. to commemorate both America 250 and Tennessee’s 230th birthday. 🧁

Visitors can enjoy a variety of free family-friendly activities like folklife demonstrations and performances with the Tennessee Folklife Program, the premier of the short film, "A Grand Design: Captain Le Roy Reeves and the Tennessee State Flag," a rare display of the first Tennessee TriStar flag, Storytime with Miss Tennessee Zoe Scheiderich, guided tours, and of course, our yummy cupcakes! Find all the details here ➡️: https://bit.ly/4dn0YlI

Please join us this Saturday, May 30, as we partner with the Tennessee State Museum for a special event marking the 10th year of the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. As part of the annual Statehood Day celebration and in conjunction with America 250 festivities, more than 50 folklife artists will demonstrate and perform at the museum in Nashville from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The museum is located at 1000 Rosa L. Parks Blvd., Nashville, TN 37208. Free parking will be available in nearby state lots.

Traditional art forms featured will include buck dancing, Choctaw beadwork and basketry, white oak basketry, instrument making, cartonería, flint marble making, ballad singing, coopering, wood carving, blues music, Old Harp singing, Choctaw social dancing, quilting, Kurdish traditional music, net making, hat making, string band music, Memphis Jookin, broom making, seed saving and agricultural folkways, and Stump Jumper boat making.

Find the full itinerary and artist list here: https://tnmuseum.org/calendar-of-events/event/6095868

We are excited to announce our partnership with the Tennessee State Museum on a special event marking the 10th year of the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. As part of the annual Statehood Day celebration and in conjunction with America 250 festivities, over 50 folklife artists will be demonstrating and performing at the museum in Nashville on Saturday, May 30 from 9:30 AM to 2 PM. Traditional art forms featured will include buck dancing, Choctaw bead working and basketry, white oak basketry, instrument making, cartonería, flint marble making, ballad singing, coopering, wood carving, blues music, Old Harp singing, Choctaw social dancing, quilting, Kurdish traditional music, net making, hat making, string band music, Memphis Jookin, broom making, seed saving and agricultural folkways, and Stump Jumper boat making.

The event will also include guided tours of the exhibit "Tennessee Voices, American Stories," hands-on activities, historical wet-plate photography, the premiere screening of "A Grand Design: Captain Le Roy Reeves and the Tennessee State Flag," and the annual festive cupcake celebration. Rafael Figueroa Manuel Delgado Damion Pearson Arkan Doski Charlotte Underwood Rick Stewart Old Harp Singing in East Tennessee Aundra McCoy Josh Roberson Madi Dean Carmen Hicks Dorian Thompson

For more information: https://tnartscommission.org/news/tn-state-museums-statehood-day-celebrations-will-commemorate-america-250-and-tennessee-230/

Thomas Maupin, of Murfreesboro, is Tennessee’s best known and most respected practitioner of flatfoot buck dancing--a percussive solo dance style that traces its roots to an early American mixing of Scots Irish step dance and African American dance and rhythm. Born in 1938 in rural Eagleville, Tennessee, Thomas was surrounded by dancers on both sides of his family. “I grew up in a large farming family full of dancers,” Thomas says. “I can still remember the sound of my grandmother’s bare heels hitting the floor, right on top of the beat. That made a big impact on me.”

The winner of over 60 first place awards in contests across the region, Thomas was awarded the National Heritage Fellowship in 2017 from the National Endowment for the Arts. Thomas states, “Buck dance is typically done with the feet closer to the floor, focusing on sound rather than acrobatics, trying to match the note values of the music.”

In 2018, Jacob Fennell, of Dickson, apprenticed with Thomas as part of the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. Born into a middle Tennessee dance family, Fennell has been performing on stage and competing in contests since age six. “I believe it is important to preserve and pass down this dance form in order to keep it alive. This dance form has taught me more than just dance, including life lessons, kindness, and how to be a better person to others.”

As part of the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program this year, Jacob has joined Thomas to teach new apprentice Colette Rainwater. Colette began dancing two years ago after observing some of Thomas’s students perform around the state, including at Maupinfest, his namesake festival. “I quickly fell in love with this form of dance when I found it,” she says. “I now spend a lot of my time learning and perfecting my craft. I am excited to keep it going.”

We watched Thomas, Jacob, and Collette demonstrate buck dancing late last year at the annual meeting of the Tennessee Folklife Society in Crossville. They were joined by a group of other outstanding middle Tennessee dancers and musicians, including Daniel Rothwell and Austin Derryberry, both previous participants in the Apprenticeship Program.

Applications are now being accepted for the 2027 Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. Entering its eleventh year, the program sustains our state’s diverse folklife traditions and directly supports its traditional artists. The next deadline for applications is May 15, 2026. For a full description of the program, the application process, and the application guidelines, visit the link below.

Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program - TN Arts Commission — Folklife Overview and Eligibility: FY2026 Application Deadline: May 15, 2026 Project Dates: July 1, 2026-June 15, 2027 The Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program is an initiative created to sustain our state’s diverse folklife traditions and support its traditional artists. Funding is awarded to eligible ...

Renee Stewart, of Sneedville, carves strikingly lifelike human and animal figures with nothing more than a pocketknife. Renee first learned her intricate woodcarving skills from her grandfather, renowned cooper Alex Stewart, a recipient in 1983 of the National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. Renee’s brother Rick Stewart, like their grandfather, has carried on as a cooper--a maker of wooden vessels like churns and barrels--and taught his own son Brendon during the 2019 Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. Renee is also skilled at coopering, and occasionally assists her brother with his tubs, buckets, and piggins. She also makes miniature coopered items.

Renee explains: “Woodcarving and whittling have been traditional art forms here in Hancock County for generations. With the passing of time, and in my lifetime, there has been a change. No longer do people sit in front of the courthouse and whittle or carve. People seem too busy to practice carving. Yet, the county is blessed with a variety of trees, many of which are ideal for carving. This family tradition is disappearing.” Renee works to keep this tradition alive by demonstrating at festivals around the state. She has presented her woodcarving at Hancock County’s Fall Festival for over 40 years, as well as at Mountain Makins’ Festival in Morristown, the Museum of Appalachia in Norris, Historic Rugby, the Dogwood Arts Festival in Knoxville, the Appalachian State Fair in Gray, and Exchange Place in Kingsport. She also teaches carving to local groups of 4-H students.

As part of the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program this year, Renee is teaching apprentice Christi Fleenor her style of miniature carving. Christi’s family, like the Stewarts, has made Hancock County home for generations. Christi, already an experienced quilter and drawer, has shared a demonstration booth with Renee at the Fall Festival for the past five years. Earlier this year, Christi expressed interest in learning to carve. She explains, “I have always admired Renee’s ability to carve. I would like to learn how to identify wood types and what types are suitable for carving, what tools are used for carving, the process of carving and be able to carve objects on my own as my grandfather did. It is a rare trade that is not being passed on to younger generations and will eventually become extinct.”

We visited Renee and Christi last month, along with Rick and Brendon, at Rick’s coopering shop on his homeplace in Sneedville. We were deeply impressed by the caliber of artistry and the vitality of the living traditions on display.