Behind the Scenes
The creation and touring of an exhibit of the range and scope of Tradition/Innovation has been a significant undertaking. Planning began in January, 2006 and has involved artists, curators, museums, folklorists, historians, researchers, and photographers from throughout the Southern region and beyond, as well as a team of staff members from South Arts. A tour to each of South Arts nine partner states concluded in 2010, and now the show is touring across the country through June 2013. CuratorsTradition/Innovation was created thanks to the vision of two artistic curators, and two education curators. Developing the artistic intention of the project, selecting the artists and with them, the artwork for the exhibit, and bringing a unique and nuanced artistic and creative perspective to Tradition/Innovation was the role of our co-curators. The project’s education curators designed and created the rich array of materials, including the Visitors Guide, Audio Tour and Learning materials for students, educators and adults on the exhibit website. The original exhibit was supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts as an American Masterpieces project. Jean McLaughlin
Kathleen Mundell
Martin Rollins
Judy Sizemore
ArtistsThe artists participating in Tradition/Innovation have been generous in opening their studios, sharing their process, and telling their stories for this project. Visit Look and Listen to learn more about the artists' background, see images of their work in the exhibit, and links to more information about them. You can enjoy Southern crafts and traditional art in your daily life. The artists featured in Tradition/Innovation make many of their works available for purchase. StaffTradition/Innovation's staff includes: Gerri Combs, Executive Director AcknowledgmentsThese individuals and organizations helped make Tradition/Innovation possible by contributing ideas, expertise, resources and time – thank you! |
Jean McLaughlin curated the exhibit’s Contemporary Craft component. She is Director of Penland School of Crafts, a center for contemporary craft education located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Prior to 1998, McLaughlin worked with artists and visual arts organizations through the NC Arts Council for 16 years. She has a Bachelor’s degree in studio art from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master’s degree in liberal studies from North Carolina State University. She currently serves on the board of the Craft Emergency Relief Fund, the Mitchell County Community Foundation, and the UNC Center for Craft Creativity and Design. She is an advocate for the needs of artists and, when possible, writes and serves on panels to promote their work.
Kathleen Mundell curated the exhibit’s Traditional Arts component. She is the Director of Cultural Resources, Inc., a non-profit working with communities on developing strategies that help sustain their local culture. Mundell holds a Master’s Degree in Folklore from Indiana University and has over twenty years experience in the fields of public sector folklore and community arts. She has produced a radio series, folk festivals, educational programs and fourteen exhibitions on traditional culture and folk art. Previously, Mundell directed the Traditional and Community Arts Program at the Maine Arts Commission. A 15-year collaboration with Maine’s Wabanaki basketmakers resulted in a multi-tribal effort to preserve the ash basketry tradition, and in the creation of the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance. Based on her work with Maine's Wabanaki and New York's Akwesasne basketmaking communities, Mundell's book "North by Northeast: Haudenosaunee and Wabanaki Traditional Arts" was published by Tillbury House Press in 2008.
served as the exhibit's Education Co-Curator. Rollins is a fulltime practicing artist who also does free-lance teaching and consulting. Previously he served as an arts educator at Isaac Shelby Elementary School in Louisville, Kentucky, and as Associate Curator of Education at The Speed Art Museum, also in Louisville. Rollins received his Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree from The Louisville School of Art and a Master’s of Fine Arts degree from the University of Cincinnati. As an artist-in-residence for the Kentucky Arts Council, he worked in settings throughout the state of Kentucky. He has also served on the faculties of the Kentucky Institute for the Arts in Education and the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts, and has taught at the University of Louisville and the University of Cincinnati. As a working painter, Rollins has exhibited his work both regionally and nationally.
Judy Sizemore served as the exhibit's Education Co-Curator, and scripted the Audio Tour. Sizemore is currently working as a Cultural Researcher at Berea College, Kentucky. Previously she served as the Kentucky Arts Council’s Outreach Director for Eastern Kentucky. In that capacity she coordinated numerous multi-county arts education programs and assisted school districts to align their arts and humanities curriculum with state standards. She is a literary artist and has conducted creative writing residencies, presented professional development workshops, and served as an educational consultant to the Kentucky Arts Council, the Kentucky Historical Society, the Kentucky Archaeological Survey, and Kentucky Educational Television (KET). Sizemore has coordinated ten Arts and Humanities Academies for the Kentucky Department of Education and has received the Governor’s Award for Arts in Education and the Hambleton Tapp Award for Creative Teaching of Kentucky History. She is the author of over 300 published short stories, essays and articles, five resource guides for teachers, and a book of poetry.
