In Good Keeping:

Virginia's Folklife Apprenticeships

In Good Keeping tells the story of the first five years of the Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship program. 

Written by Jon Lohman, with 224 pages of evocative photographs of Virginia Master Folk artists and their apprentices, In Good Keepingcelebrates a wide variety of folk traditions both old and new to Virginia.  

Told in the voice of the Master Artists,  the striking photographs and reflective text combine to explain the significance of their craft, their motivations for maintaining and teaching it, the very concept of the tradition itself, and why it’s important to pass these traditions on. Richly illustrated with 180 black and white photographs by photographer Morgan Miller, the 10 x 10 book provides a visual banquet to be enjoyed by those who are familiar with Virginia’s traditional arts as well as newcomers.

Master artists are individuals who have achieved a high level of skill in a particular traditional art form and who want to ensure that the tradition will continue into the future.  The Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program pairs these Master Artists with apprentices who will learn the art, craft, or trade, and carry it on.

Praise For In Good Keeping

Traditional arts and culture can only survive if people value,
learn,and pass on those traditional cultural expressions to the next
generation. This book celebrates the folk geniuses of Virginia
and their dedicated protoges. It is a stunning record of the artistic
heritage of Virginia and a celebration of the emerging folk artists
of the future.”
Peggy Bulger
Director American Folklife Center
Library of Congress

Virginia has long been famed for its landscapes and personages as
centerpieces of American history. Now at last we have a glimpse
into the real state of cultural life today including young masters who
are playing fresh old-time country music, gospel beacons that create
sacred space with their songs, steel drum makers from Trinidad who
use their art and music to build a new cultural life from old parts.
It’s exciting to see domestic crafts survive from mountain quilting
to coastal boat-making, and the evolution of occupational aesthetics
from horsemanship to hotrods. The Virginia Folklife Program has
sought out these remarkable living practitioners of vernacular culture
and their apprentices to help create a future for the state’s traditions
and communities.
Nick Spitzer
Host of public radio’s “American Routes”