Willette Hired as Folk Arts Survey Coordinator for University Libraries

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Lauren Willette

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University Libraries have hired Lauren Willette to fill a new, temporary role as Folk Arts Survey Coordinator for Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts.

Willette began her duties last month and will serve through June 2021. The new position was made possible by the Mid-America Arts Alliance.

“This is just the first step in a wonderful partnership with Mid-America Arts Alliance,” said Virginia Siegel, folk arts coordinator. “The organization is really committed to supporting the state folk arts programs in its service region. Under M-AAA’s leadership, the state folk arts coordinators have been meeting monthly to share and support each other’s work. Recognizing that cultural borders are rarely as defined as state borders, we are excited to pursue collaborative projects that will bolster folk arts resources throughout the entire region alongside our individual states.”

Willette assumed the role after serving as a summer intern for Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts, interviewing Arkansans from across the state about their gardening during COVID-19. 

From now through June, she will work on building a network of Arkansas artists, tradition bearers and organizations by meeting with and interviewing stakeholders. Potential interviewees can express interest in participating by using a contact form. 

The goal of this project is to enable Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts to support both traditional artists and organizations with a mission of documenting, presenting and sustaining folk arts. Willette's interviews will also help AFTA understand the state's crucial needs so that AFTA can address them in future programming while also bolstering existing successes.

“As a heritage studies student at Arkansas State in Jonesboro, part of my studies have focused on collecting oral history, doing ethnographic fieldwork and presenting those findings,” said Willette. “This summer I collected interviews about the ways gardeners and food activists were responding to the pandemic as a special collection for AFTA as an internship and put what I'd learned to practice. Now I am taking things a step further by helping a vital organization for folk arts in our state create a network for future programming and service. It's exciting!”

About Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts: AFTA is a statewide folk arts 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. AFTA is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and works in partnership with stakeholder organizations and individuals, including the Arkansas Arts Council, Mid-America Arts Alliance and Arkansas State University.

About the Mid-America Arts Alliance: M-AAA is a nonprofit, regional arts organization representing Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas that focuses on strengthening communities and improving lives through extraordinary cultural experiences.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas’ economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the top 3% of U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.