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South Arts: In These Mountains Central Appalachian Folk Arts and Culture

Interviews documenting a wide range of artistic expression 2019-2021

The South Arts In These Mountains collection documents various aspects of folk arts and culture in the central Appalachian counties of Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina through the use of audio / video recorded interviews and photography.
Conducted during the period 2019-2021, the interviews document a wide range of artistic expression including pottery, puppetry, hip-hop and rap music, ukulele music, tattoo arts, food preservation, clogging, chair caning, quiltmaking, hair braiding, basketry, preaching, and land use. In addition to the work of individual artists, folk arts education programs are also documented.
The In These Mountains interviews were conducted by area undergraduate and graduate students and unaffiliated community scholars under contract with the nonprofit organization South Arts.  Berea students were Colby Bingham, Shaylan Clark, and Stacey Keruwa.
Berea College Special Collections and Archives serves Southarts as the repository for the records of the In These Mountains folk arts documentation project. The collection's approximately 124 digital audio files, 320 digital video files, 280 digital documents and 1,275 digital images were posted online for public access in 2023.

Basketry

Musicians and Singers

Appalachian Traditional Dance

Pottery

Folk Painting

Storytelling

Cooking, Gardening, Preserving

Quilting, Sewing, Crocheting

Woodworking

Folk Arts Education

Metal Craft

Corn Shuck Dolls

Music Instrument Building

Farming and Land Use

Hair Braiding and Tatooing

Religion