Bringing Traditional Arts to the South Carolina State Fair

Attendees at the 2018 South Carolina State Fair were able to participate in a harmonica workshop with Freddie Vanderford, winner of the South Carolina Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award. This and other traditional arts programs have been featured at the fair through FOLKFabulous—a program of the McKissick Museum at the University of South Carolina funded through an NEH grant. Image courtesy of the McKissick Musem.

Since 2017, the McKissick Museum of the University of South Carolina has partnered with the South Carolina State Fair (SCSF), the Eastern Cherokee, Southern Iroquois and United Tribes of SC (ECSUIT), and the Wassamasaw Tribe of Varnertown Indians to host FOLKFabulous—a twelve-day celebration of Southern folklife. The program, which has been supported by an NEH Creating Humanities Communities grant, offers state fair attendees the opportunity to learn from traditional artists and engage in interactive, community-oriented activities. The funding has provided financial support to tradition bearers, most from South Carolina, while building the McKissick Museum’s capacity and reach.

A 2019 pottery workshop hosted by FOLKFabulous introduced fairgoers to David Drake, the nineteenth-century enslaved potter from Edgefield, South Carolina, who sometimes signed, dated, and incised rhymed couplets on the pots he turned. Image courtesy of the McKissick Museum.

Mark Rapp of ColaJazz leads a second line procession around the South Carolina fairgrounds. Image courtesy of the McKissick Museum.

As part of the 2017 FolkFabulous program, New Orleans-based artist Karen Livers offered educational workshops on headwrapping. Image courtesy of the McKissick Museum.

FOLKFabulous is hosted on the South Carolina State Fair grounds during the annual state fair. Each year, the program features a specific community-based tradition showcase in an exhibition at the museum. An early program was developed around the exhibition WELL SUITED: The Costumes of Alonzo V. Wilson for HBO’s Treme. It featured New Orleans-based headwrapping artist Karen Livers, a mask-making workshop with Alonzo Wilson, a demonstration of the Mardi Gras king cake tradition, and a second line procession around the fairgrounds led by Mark Rapp of ColaJazz. Catawba pottery and Cherokee basket making programs highlighted the artistry of South Carolina’s Indigenous artists Keith Brown and Nancy Basket, respectively, recipients of the state’s Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award. NEH funding has enabled the McKissick Museum to pay the tradition bearers who make these programs possible, financially supporting their work.

The program’s goal is to create meaningful and skill-based activities that bring people together, cultivating an appreciation for folk traditions while building community. Participants in these programs come from all walks of life, and this opportunity to learn a new skill encourages people to sit with one another, share their thoughts, and offer each other encouragement and support. When working on portions of a story quilt, for example, one participant, a veteran, spoke about her experience with post traumatic stress disorder. Another participant talked about his need for a kidney transplant. These opportunities break down silos through hands-on, face-to-face interaction and are a testament to the program’s success.