To prevent the loss of centuries-old indigenous traditions that have been lovingly cultivated and handed down from Oaxacan parents to children, FOFA’s programs are intended to nurture the next generation of folk artists. Largely due to economic challenges in the region, the young people of Oaxaca feel uncertain about making a living through their art. Without meaningful programs to address this concern, Oaxaca’s currently endangered artistic traditions will be lost in little more than a generation.

The pandemic presented a huge challenge to our mission: If tourists are no longer traveling to Oaxaca and visiting artesanos in their home workshops, how can we help connect artesanos with potential customers during these precarious economic times? Our response was a robust complement of educationally-based programs for artesanos that both conveyed and taught the fundamentals of online sales and marketing.

FOFA’s programs seek to:

  • Identify Talented Young Folk Artists

  • Help them Expand their Markets

  • Strengthen their Identity as Artists and Stewards of Ancestral Techniques and Designs

  • Promote Appreciation of Oaxacan Folk Art to the Public

How We Do This:

Juried Competitions

FOFA sponsors juried competitions (“concursos”) for young artists in a variety of media: ceramics, woodcarving, decorative painting of woodcarving, textiles, and “varios” (other classes of folk art, such as: sculptures created from tin, dried flowers, cornhusks and papier mâché; jewelry; and bone carving, to name a few). Seven contests have taken place so far – in 2008, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2022, and 2025. An international panel of experts serves as jurors. The intensive promotional campaign that FOFA runs in collaboration with Oaxaca’s State Museum of Popular Art (Museo Estatal de Arte Popular Oaxaca, or MEAPO) -- both before and after the concursos -- encourages young artesanos to participate in our events.

Museum Exhibitions

FOFA organizes exhibitions at MEAPO that showcase the work of juried competition winners and recipients of honorable mention. There are typically 50-60 young artists represented in each exhibition. Over the course of 17 years, FOFA has recognized nearly 200 artesanos, some of whom have been honored multiple times.

Educational Programs for the Artists

FOFA sponsors a variety of educational opportunities for winners and recipients of honorable mention. These include:

  • Workshops in marketing, including branding and social media;

  • Classes in product design and innovation;

  • Courses in Oaxacan cultural history and global arts; and

  • One-on-one English tutoring focused on equipping artists to communicate with international clients.

Educational and Experiential Programs for the Public

  • (NEW!) Hands-on workshops with folk artists in Oaxaca’s Central Valleys;

  • Curated itineraries to artists’ studios for visitors to Oaxaca;

  • Annual holiday folk art sales of works by master folk artists; and

  • Educational presentations.