The Southern Maryland Folklife Center, located at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, was recently awarded $82,500 by the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) for the second consecutive year.
Grand funds will support continuing monthly workshops, expand programming across Southern Maryland and grow its Traditional Artist Resource Guide.
Established in 2021, the Center has offered a variety of workshops and programs that showcase traditional art forms and help to preserve the unique heritage of Southern Maryland. These activities align with the Center’s new three-year plan to broaden engagement and cultural representation.
Jerry Gabriel, co-director of the Center, said in relation to other folklife centers that make up Maryland Traditions Folklife, the Southern Maryland center is fairly new. “It's taken us some time to get our sea legs, to identify the audiences we would like to reach and identify the folks who are in some way involved in the traditional arts in Southern Maryland,” he said.
Gabriel said an important aspect of the Center’s work that has emerged over time is a series of collaborations with other organizations in the area, such as Historic Sotterley, Historic St. Mary's City and the St. Mary's County Library.
“Continuing to get these block grants will allow us to do a better and better job of highlighting the arts that are already happening in Southern Maryland, as well as allowing us to bring artists to Southern Maryland from other parts of the state and beyond," he said.
