Notable Quotable: Sheila Kay Adams on the power of storytelling


by Paulette Beete
Joan Shigekawa, Sheila Kay Adams, and Chunky Sanchez
2013 NEA National Heritage Fellow Sheila Kay Adams (center) with NEA Acting Chair Joan Shigekawa at yesterday's awards presentation at the Library of Congress. (That's 2013 NEA National Heritage Fellow Chunky Sanchez photobombing them on the right!) Photo by Tom Pich

"...[I]t's just finding that human connection that all of us are a part of. We are all connected, so we all have the same wants and needs and desires for ourselves and for our children, our grandchildren, and if you go back far enough, we all come from a rural background. Every single one of us do. You might have to go back a little further for some folks, but there's just something about that that touches a chord with everybody that I get up in front of, whether it's the stories, the songs, banjo tunes. It all seems like it's just a really good way of connecting with people even of different backgrounds, different religions, different ethnic backgrounds. It doesn't matter because we all want the same thing." -- Sheila Kay Adams

You can hear more from 2013 NEA National Heritage Fellow Sheila Kay Adams in parts one and two of our podcast with her. Celebrate Sheila Kay and the other 2013 honorees during the webcast of the NEA National Heritage Fellowships Concert on Friday, September 28 at 8:00 pm ET on arts.gov. Visit our News Room for more details.