West Virginia Folklife is collecting documentation of the various ways West Virginians are creatively responding to the COVID-19 crisis and sharing their experiences through music, stories, writing, craft, art, memes, mask-making, and more.

West Virginians can share documentation of their creative responses by leaving a voicemail on the toll-free West Virginia Folklife Hotline at 1(844)618-3747, or by emailing hilliard@wvhumanities.org. Contributors must own the rights to their submission and should include proper crediting information. Photos and videos should be submitted in the highest resolution possible. By submitting, you are giving the West Virginia Folklife Program permission to share your name and materials. These documents will become part of the West Virginia Folklife archive, and will be shared in a future online exhibit.

Kenneth Hawthorne, President of Honor Alliance CORP in Martinsburg, WV made over 50 masks for first responders in his community.

Masks and filter made by Kenneth Hawthorne of Martinsburg, WV

The West Virginia Humanities Council, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, considers public health and safety top priorities for its staff, board, program partners and participants, and grantees, as well as all humanity. Read the Council’s statement on COVID-19 here.

The West Virginia Folklife Program is a project of the West Virginia Humanities Council and is dedicated to the documentation, preservation, presentation, and support of West Virginia’s vibrant cultural heritage and living traditions.