Extension announced for folklife project grants

Furthering South Carolina’s living traditions

Application deadline now Friday, March 22


The S.C. Arts Commission’s Folklife & Traditional Arts (FLK) Grants support non-profit organizations that seek to promote and preserve the traditional arts practiced across the state.

Traditional arts are expressions of shared identity that are learned as a part of the cultural life of a particular group. This shared identity may be rooted in family, geographic, tribal, occupational, religious, ethnic or other connections. As expressions of a living culture, traditional arts have been handed down from one generation to the next and reflect the shared experience, aesthetics and values of a group.

The purpose of the FLK Grant is to ensure that South Carolina’s living traditions remain vibrant and visible parts of community life. To this end, we fund projects that may include the following:

  • Presentation of Traditional Artists through workshops, concerts, festivals, exhibitions, radio programs, recordings, etc.
  • Documentation of Traditional Arts and/or Folklife of S.C. (Such a project must result in some form of public presentation.)
  • Cultural Survey – Fieldwork done to identify traditions and traditional artists
  • Production, Documentation and/or Distribution of a traditional artist’s work; for example, the production of publicity materials
  • Acquisition of difficult-to-obtain materials or equipment needed to create traditional art
  • Conservation – Projects, such as apprenticeships, that serve to keep a traditional art form vibrant and visible

Projects can receive funding up to and including $6,000. These grants go to non-profit organizations and government entities and must be matched 1:1. Priority for funding is given to projects that provide recognition and support for South Carolina’s traditional art forms and their practitioners.

Read more about FLK Grants from the S.C. Arts Commission here.


The Folklife and Traditional Arts Program is a partnership with McKissick Museum at the University of South Carolina. 

The main image on The Hub’s home page is 2018 Folk Heritage Award recipient J. Michael King of Greenville.