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The Kentucky Community Scholars Program
The Community Scholars Program of the Kentucky Arts Council is a partnership between the Kentucky Folklife Program, the Folk Studies Graduate Program of WKU, and communities across the state. It is a training program for individuals interested in documentation and promotion of community culture, folklife, and traditional arts.
Participants become familiar with:
• Folklife documentation techniques,
• Ethics of working with communities,
• Research methods,
• Presentation of cultural resources,
• Grant writing,
• project development.
Community Scholars are part of a network that reaches across the state, promoting and advocating traditional arts and culture by sharing cultural resources with teachers, students, communities, and cultural tourists.
What Can Be Done With The Community Scholar Training?
Community Scholars who have taken part in the training include:
• Individuals working with heritage and cultural tourism
• Local cultural organizations (museums, arts councils, places of worship)
• Educators
• Those with an interest in community-based documentation efforts in our state
Community Scholars learn:
• Archiving skills
• How to identify folklore in own community
• Presentation techniques such as "narrative stages"
• How to create interpretive signage,
• Skills to enhance heritage festivals
Some of their projects include:
• A state-wide traveling exhibit on Family Folklore
• Educational programs at Stringbean Bluegrass Festival
• A cultural heritage festival website for Eastern Kentucky
• Presentations of artists from five Eastern Kentucky communities at the Kentucky Folklife Festival.
Scholars receive training in standards of authenticity and quality and could serve as consultants to the development of heritage festivals, heritage sites, and other heritage activities.
Also:
With their intimate knowledge of local communities, these scholars have much to offer community arts and arts-in-education programs.
The program is flexible in format and content. Sessions can be in the form of intensive weeklong institutes or scheduled in monthly intervals to fit the needs of participants. Likewise, the core curriculum training can be adapted to meet the needs of specific communities and project goals. For instance, scholars along cultural heritage corridors may need to learn how to coordinate their efforts with tourist groups, while others concentrate on methods of presenting artists in local schools and festivals.
