Traditions: Ohio Heritage Fellows

Collection Summary

The Traditions: Ohio Heritage Fellows Special Collection features elements from the first three seasons of the ThinkTV series of the same name, which celebrates the arts in Ohio and provides a spotlight for artists engaging in folk and cultural artistic traditions from the US and abroad. The collection includes a total of 235 files, including seven full 30-minute episodes, 151 raw interviews, and 77 performances. Each episode includes brief profiles of various Ohio Heritage Fellows, including samples of the artist’s work, as well as interviews with the artist and with art scholars knowledgeable about the artist’s work and genre. Traditions: Ohio Heritage Fellows has been produced by ThinkTV since 2009 and derives its name from the numerous winners of the Ohio Arts Council’s Ohio Heritage Fellowship Awards who are featured throughout the series. The series is hosted by writer and performer Chiquita Mullins Lee, Arts Learning Coordinator with the Ohio Arts Council. Interviews and performances in the collection include painters, blacksmiths, musicians, dancers, and art historians, including Edwin George, a Cherokee painter; Linda Thomas Jones, also known as Mama Fasi, an African drummer; banjo maker Mark Ward and stringed instrument builder Doug Unger; blacksmith and artist Barry Wheeler; Roderic Knight, Professor Emeritus of Ethnomusicology at Oberlin College; and Anupa Mirle, a Bharatanatyam dancer and teacher. Subjects include musical instruments, folk art, music, dance, origami, musical theory, and musical history.