Micah Ling is the public programs coordinator for the Michigan Traditional Arts Program (MTAP). She coordinates the Michigan Heritage Awards and the Michigan Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. As a folklorist in her role at MTAP, she liaises with artist and community applicants, conducts ethnographic fieldwork around the state to identify potential program participants and document community cultural practices, and stewards MTAP’s Folklife Research Collection which is housed at the Michigan State University Museum. She collaborates regularly with arts and culture organizations and culture workers around the state and region, including the Midwest Folklorists and Cultural Workers Alliance, the Cultural Advocacy Network of Michigan, the Alluvion Artist Council, and the American Folklore Society. She has experience working in a variety of museum and archives contexts, including the MSU Museum, the Archives of Traditional Music, and the Sage Historic Dress Collection at Indiana University. A folk musician, she advises on programming for the Wheatland Music Organization, Earful of Fiddle Music and Dance Camp, and the Robin Theatre.
Micah holds a Master of Arts in Folklore and Ethnomusicology with a concentration in Public Practice from Indiana University, and a BA in Art History & Visual Culture/Arts and Humanities from MSU with a minor in Museum Studies. She expects to complete her doctorate from Indiana University’s Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology in spring 2025, where her research focuses on the role of dress and material culture in the American old-time and Americana music scenes as a vehicle for belonging, performing nostalgia, and expressing subcultural identity.
