Gather together with the participating artists and photographers to celebrate the opening of New Faces of Tradition: Documenting North Carolina’s Young Artists and enjoy live music by saxophonist Shaquim Muldrow and old-time fiddler Sonya Badigian.
The Folklife Program of the North Carolina Arts Council founded the Millennial Traditional Artist Project in 2016 to serve the rising generation of artists shaped by, and reshaping, the state’s cultural traditions—from music and dance, to craft and foodways. With support from the National Endowment for the Arts, over 100 artists under 40 were interviewed. Later this year, the Arts Council will publish a statewide directory to showcase these diverse creatives and publicize their skills and availabilities. A key finding from this survey revealed that many of these creatives do not have high-quality photography to use for promotion. This spring, student photographers from Duke University, UNC Chapel Hill and volunteer professionals helped solve this problem. This special exhibition debuts these collaborative portraits.
About the Musicians
Tenor saxophonist Shaquim Muldrow is a recent graduate of North Carolina Central University’s renowned Jazz Studies Program. A native of Sumter, South Carolina, Muldrow has made a name for himself in the Triangle jazz scene as a soloist, composer, and band leader, and has backed a versatile array of jazz, blues, and R&B artists whose traditions share musical and cultural roots in North Carolina.
Sonya Badigian is an old time fiddler and guitarist based in Durham. Raised with old time music in Rhode Island, Badigian moved to North Carolina to be closer to the heart of the old time community. With her ability to tackle complex tunes and her respect for early source material, Badigian has become an integral part of Durham’s traditional music scene.
