FOFA's upcoming cultural heritage course was inspired by the personal story of Maestro Carlomagno Pedro Martínez, the renowned ceramicist who is director of Oaxaca State Museum of Folk Art (MEAPO) and a powerful, creative force in the world of folk art. In his November, 2012 talk at the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York, he offered a moving portrayal of his personal journey, analyzing how he remained true to his roots while simultaneously developing his unique artistic style.  Here is a short video excerpt of his presentation:

Carlomagno, who grew up in one of Oaxaca's indigenous craft pueblos, showed enormous artistic talent as a youth. He reflected that certain critical influences - several of them educational - cancelled out the deleterious impact of the attitude to which he was often exposed that folk art is a "lower art form."

Click here to read more about Carlomagno's unique experience and how it inspired the creation of our newest initiative, as well as MEAPO.

FOFA is aware that the young folk artists with whom we work often have little exposure to their own region's history and cultural accomplishments. Many live in small pueblos, and have limited educational experiences outside of their own communities. What better a way to promote FOFA's mission of preserving and promoting Oaxacan folk art traditions than to nurture artistic pride and identity among young Oaxacans by teaching them about their heritage! This is the objective of a new educational venture to be launched in September of this year, in collaboration with the Education Department of Oaxaca's State Museum of Folk Art (Museo Estatal de Arte Popular Oaxaca, MEAPO).   

Click here to read more about our upcoming educational initiative with Museo Estatal de Arte Popular Oaxaca, MEAPO