Three people in Lumbee, Tusarora, and Powhatan dress face the camera

Maryland Traditions

Maryland Traditions, the state's traditional arts program, identifies, documents, supports, and presents traditional arts.

Activities include grants to organizations and individuals, festivals and other events, direct outreach to artists, and archival activities to support community-based living cultural traditions handed down by example or word of mouth.

The Maryland Traditions Archives contains fieldwork data collected by Maryland state folklorists since 1974, along with many more traditional arts materials. This public archive is housed in the Special Collections of the Albin O. Kuhn Library at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where digitization work is ongoing.

Opportunities

Folklife Apprenticeships support traditional arts education by funding a master and learner folk artist to work together for as long as one year. Read more.
Folklife Network grants fund organizations serving as regional folklife centers in Maryland. Read more.
Awards are given through Maryland Traditions and annually recognize one recipient in each of three categories: Person/People, Place, and Tradition. Heritage Awards recognize long-term achievement in the traditional arts. Read more.
Network Organizational Development Grants support organizational development for Maryland A&E Districts, County Arts Agencies, and Folklife Network grantees, funding activities can range from strategic planning to website development to marketing campaigns. Read more.