2014-352 Arts - Music Maker Relief Foundation for Spring 2014 Arts Grant Agreement $1,500

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MUSI6MAKER a�RELIEF FOUNDATION t Project Narrative Music Maker Relief Foundation (MMRF) will launch a multi-media exhibit,We Are the Music Makers,with a day of musical events at The ArtsCenter in Carrboro, NC on October 2014. The exhibit and the surrounding events will educate and engage viewers in the cultural history of Southern traditional music.The exhibit features photography by Timothy Duffy, M.A., and audio documentation of Southern Folk musicians active in the past 20 years. The multi-media materials will highlight questions of how poverty, geography and age have limited the exposure of these artists, causing the widespread ide,l that the musical traditions they perform have "died out." Support for the creation of the exhibit was provided in part by the National Endowment for the Arts,the North Caroline Humanities Council, and the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation. The launch event surrounding the exhibit will include an afternoon panel discussion with artists featured in the exhibit, moderated by William Ferris, PhD.The panel discussion NA'I I I be followed in the evening by a Music Maker Blues Revue performance. Both the discuss Io11 and the performance will give viewers of the exhibit the chance to experience directly th f, music and musicians highlighted in We Are the Music Makers.This will give the exhibit even more context, and allow audiences to hear directly from the musicians how they bring forward the musical traditions of their communities. The free public panel discussion will include NC Heritage Award recipient John Dee Holeman, Boo Hanks, Ironing Board Sam and others,who will discuss the cultural importance of the music they perform. The public will hear directly from the musicians can how they create their art,why these folk music traditions are still relevant in today's culture, and what they have meant in the context of America's cultural history.They will also have the opportunity to hear their music live. It is incredibly important to learn directly from these artists,and the panel discussion will provide a forum for the public t.r, pose questions to these artists about the musical history of North Carolina. The evening of music following the panel discussion will feature underserved, elderly traditional artists performing adjacent to the exhibit space. Local musicians performing traditions that both grew out of an had a deep impact on this region will give the Orange county community a chance to experience their local cultural history live. Audiences wiI I he deeply engaged by these traditional musicians who have spent decades struggling to make their voices heard. Music Maker Relief Foundation,the Center for the Study of the American South, and the Southern Folklife Collection will work together to publicize the launch of the exhibit.We will use radio, print and social media to ensure as many residents of the Triangle area as possible know about the launch and surrounding events. Our mailing list includes approximately 8,000 members,with 1,000 of them residing within driving distance of th c launch location.We will ensure publicity targets all populations by employing a variety Of media. We Are the Music Makers and its launch event will target the general public, educating a r d engaging all ages.While we specifically hope to reach and educate those who are less 2