Located in the historic Union Grocery building in Morehead, the Kentucky Folk Art Center offers visitors one of the most important and unique cultural experiences to be found anywhere in Appalachia. From the fun and quirky to the fantastical, the folk art exhibited and conserved by KFAC is an engaging and vital piece of our region’s history and contemporary culture. A recent article in the Christian Science Monitor said, “With its blend of tradition informed by innovation, Morehead's KFAC is a kind of Rosetta Stone for understanding the recent evolution of folk art.”
With a growing permanent collection of over 1,300 works by regional folk artists, KFAC strives to preserve and promote a broader understanding of contemporary folk art. The Garland and Minnie Adkins Gallery, on the center’s second floor, allows us to bring at least five new exhibitions to East Kentucky each year. These exhibitions range in content from folk art, such as textiles or found assemblages, to contextually related subject matter, including regional history and food traditions.
KFAC also produces original traveling exhibitions. Exhibitions of Kentucky folk art generated by KFAC travel throughout Kentucky and into other states and countries. Recent traveling exhibitions have been viewed by more than 100,000 people. Over the past year, works from our permanent collection have traveled to distant locales in Eastern Europe and South America.
KFAC continues to expand the scope of our preservation and educational efforts into areas beyond visual folk art. Our expanded areas of interest include traditional music, storytelling, literature, dance, and crafts. Our biannual Arts and Crafts Fairs create a market for regional crafts people. “A Day in the Country” folk art show, formerly held on Minnie Adkin’s property in Elliot County, brings dozens of folk artists to Morehead on the first Saturday of June each year.
Our close partnership with the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music (KCTM) continues to produce valuable results, such as “Clack Mountain Festival,” held in Morehead during the first weekend in June. This festival showcases regional music, crafts, folk art, storytelling, and dance.
The Kentucky Folk Art Center is a cultural, educational and economic development service of Morehead State University.
Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for senior citizens and members of touring groups. KFAC members, children under 12, and MSU students are admitted free of charge.
Hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Directions to KFAC. From I-64, take exit 137. Turn south on to HWY 32. Follow the brown KFAC signs to the HWY 60 bypass. Map to KFAC.
