The next installment of the Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts Community Scholars Training Program – a free training opportunity for Arkansans interested in finding, documenting and presenting community culture, folklife and traditional arts – will be held in collaboration with the Celebrate! Maya Project from Feb. 15 through April 11 at the Ottenheimer Library at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock. Participants must commit to attending all five in-person training sessions, and registration is required.   

Participants will gain skills in documenting and researching culture, archiving and presenting research, and developing projects in collaboration with community stakeholders and organizations.

“The Community Scholars Program sessions were enjoyable and informative to me in my role at the museum – especially the discussions on exhibit labels, oral interviewing techniques and digital content,” said Mary Clark, a spring 2022 Community Scholars Program alumna and board member of the Eddie Mae Herron Center in Pocahontas. “The instructors were extremely knowledgeable, enthusiastic and fun.”

The five in-person training sessions will be held every other week from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Thursdays. During the program, participants will develop ideas for a project to practice the skills learned.

“It’s such a pleasure to be able to bring this program to new communities throughout Arkansas,” said Virginia Siegel, Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts director. “This upcoming program in Little Rock, Arkansas, marks our seventh iteration of this training series, and we are growing a truly inspiring group of Community Scholars Program alumni across the state.”

This training opportunity is free and open to the public. Contact Lauren Willette at willette@uark.edu or 479-575-4664 with questions or for help with the registration process. Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts is a statewide program of the University of Arkansas Libraries dedicated to building cross-cultural understanding by documenting, presenting and sustaining Arkansas’ living traditional arts and cultural heritage.