By Mike West, Cannon Courier – Image c/o Cannon Courier Years in the making, a “new” Tennessee Folklore Society article provides much information about Cannon County’s basketmakers. Written by Robert Cogswell, a recently retired staff member of the Tennessee Arts Commission, the article is 70-plus pages in length and explores the history and traditions of white oak baskets. […]
News
A Taste Of Centro Cultural Latino’s First Annual Tamale Fest
By Dana Everts-Boehm, Folklife Program Assistant – As part of the Folklife Program’s ongoing Latino and Immigrant Arts Initiative, I recently attended the Centro Cultural Latino’s first annual Tamale Fest 2015. Held Saturday, June 27 in Memphis, the event took place at Caritas Village and featured a tamale cooking competition between 10 local chefs originally from Mexico and Venezuela. There were also live performances on the […]
Arts Vibrancy Index Identifies Notable Cities in the Arts
By Anne B. Pope, Executive Director – In December of 2014, Southern Methodist University’s National Center for Arts Research (NCAR) created its first ever Arts Vibrancy Index, which was made available to the public in January of 2015. The index identifies which U.S. cities host thriving arts scenes, naming a Tennessee city – the Nashville Metropolitan […]
Professional Development Grant Applications Now Available
By Hal Partlow, Associate Director of Grants – Professional development opportunities are excellent ways to enhance knowledge and skills for personal career growth and community benefit. The Professional Development Support Grant Program is designed to assist monetarily up to $750 individual Tennessee artists and professional arts administrators in taking advantage of such opportunities that will offer significant advancement. […]
Targeted Arts Development Initiative
By Hal Partlow, Associate Director of Grants – The Targeted Arts Development Initiative (TADI) is a strategy developed by the Tennessee Arts Commission to reach out to counties identified as being under-represented in Commission investments. TADI began in 2014, with an initial three-year pilot identifying 10 counties that have historically received little to no Commission funding: Giles, […]
Congratulations to our new staff assignments
By Anne B. Pope, Executive Director – Although not entirely new to the Tennessee Arts Commission, we congratulate two staff members on their new positions–James Wells and Grace Robinson. You may have previously met James as the Arts Education Special Projects Coordinator. Since joining the Commission staff in January of 2014, he has expertly and […]
