A folk art quest reveals American culture, values

Folk art reflects our cultural identity and often serves as a window into a community’s values and aesthetics. Here are five places where you and your family can learn more about this historic art form:

• Museum of International Folk Art

(Santa Fe, N.M.)

Welcoming visitors since 1953, this museum houses the world’s largest collection of folk art with more than 150,000 artifacts documenting cultural identity, traditions and aesthetics from around the world. Children are drawn to the Tree of Life lounge. The space encourages imaginative play with discovery boxes, miniature tree houses, puppets, a make-a-tree activity as well as docent-led art and puppet-making sessions, Throughout the museum, visitors are invited to contemplate, create and interact with folk art to better understand its treasures within. Admission is free for children 16 and under.

For more: www.internationalfolkart.org

In addition, each year Santa Fe plays host to the International Folk Art Market. The event seeks to support and create economic opportunities for and with folk artists from around the world in an effort to preserve folk art traditions. The next market is scheduled for next July 10-13.

For more: www.folkartmarket.org

• American Folk Art Museum

(New York City)

This important museum’s collection is called an “unabashed song of praise to the nation,” reflecting the idea that folk art is often patriotic or created to commemorate an important event in history. With more than 7,000 objects on hand, the museum celebrates the creative talents of individuals with little or no formal training. View traditional and contemporary artistic expressions including drawings, tinsel art, quilts and painting. The collection includes works of art from four centuries and nearly every continent — from compelling portraits and dazzling quilts to powerful works by living artists in a variety of mediums.

Now through Jan. 26, view Playing with Design, an exhibition that celebrates the aesthetic beauty and cultural meaning of early examples of the classic games Parcheesi, checkers and chess, as well as hand-painted iterations of Monopoly and Chutes and Ladders. The games were made in the United States between the mid-19th and early-20th centuries.

For more: www.folkartmuseum.org

• International Quilt Museum

(Lincoln, Neb.)

Visitors to this museum have access to the largest publicly held quilt collection in the world, thanks to a local couple who donated their own 1,000-piece quilt collection. Your family will learn about hand and machine quilt-making traditions and objects used in this folk art. The more than 3,500-piece collection represents work found in 30 countries over four centuries, including doll, French, black-American and Amish crib quilts. Visit now through March 22 to learn about the golden age of quilts. From the late 1800s to the early 1900s new technologies including chemical dyes and sewing machines made materials cheaper and production faster. The quilts provide insight into many of the societal, cultural and design changes that were taking place around the world.

For more: www.quiltstudy.org

• The Holiday Folk Fair

(Milwaukee)

Song, dance, food and crafts dominate this five-day festival that celebrates cultures from around the world. The gathering — held each year on the weekend before Thanksgiving at the Wisconsin Exposition Center — is considered the country’s largest indoor multicultural festival. Designed to encourage peace through respect and understanding, the fair includes dancers from more than 30 ethnic groups and offers student workshops and language lessons.

For more: www.folkfair.org

• Shelburne Museum

(Burlington, Vt.)

This northern New England Museum includes 39 distinct structures on 45 acres. Expect to be charmed by an ever-changing display of the whimsical mixed with objects from everyday America as well as a Shaker design round barn, 220-foot sidewheel steamboat and 22 gardens. Families are often attracted to the Circus Building and carousel upon arrival. Inside the specifically designed building, kids of all ages will be delighted to find the 518-foot-long, hand-carved miniature Arnold Circus Parade, which stretches the full length of the building. The unique structure is also home to hand-painted carousel figures including horses, tigers and giraffes crafted by the renowned Gustav Dentzel Carousel Co. The Webb Gallery features important American paintings including those by Andrew Wyeth, Winslow Homer, Grandma Moses and John Singleton Copley.

For more: shelburnemuseum.org