Arbutus Folk School director is working on expansion even as pandemic limits offerings

Hillary Tully, Arbutus Folk School’s new executive director, has big plans to expand both the kind of arts the school teaches and community access to the offerings.

For the moment, though, Tully is just trying to keep the school afloat.

“It’s definitely a tough time with COVID,” she told The Olympian. “We’ve only been open for four months out of the past 12. It’s hard to dream when we’re just trying to survive.”

She began working for the school on Oct. 1 and moved from Eugene, Oregon, to Olympia in November, a sequence made possible by the pandemic. “I was really in-between until December,” she said. “Not a fun time, I must say.”

The school, at 610 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia, closed for a second time in December but reopened in February, offering classes including blacksmithing, ceramics, woodworking and weaving. The classes are limited to five students each, with masks and distancing required, so they fill up quickly.

“I definitely see us having more classes with more artists,” said Tully, who has a master’s degree in folklore from the University of Oregon. “That’s where we’re headed. My number one goal is to increase the number of classes we have on offer.”

To make that possible, she’s looking to hire more artists, both to teach regular classes and to provide workshops and virtual programs.

Arbutus also is about to launch a scholarship program for low-income youth with funding from the City of Olympia, the Rotary Club of Olympia, and individual donors.

“This has been a tough year for students with remote learning and hybrid learning,” Tully said. “And arts and creativity have fallen by the wayside in our school systems, even before COVID.”

Right now, the school is best known for its popular ceramics classes and for old-time music offerings including the Oly Old-Time Festival. But Tully is interested in offering a broader array of classes.

“I definitely am planning for Arbutus to grow to better represent the local arts and culture scene,” she said. “There are so many different kinds of people and languages and cultures and art forms.

“We’ll have our first bilingual English-Spanish workshop happening this summer,” she said. “I’m excited for that.”

Also on the way are classes with a Quinault storyteller and a basket maker from Neah Bay.

The definition of folk culture is broader than some people realize, she said.

“Folklore is this world of traditional expressions,” she said. “It includes jokes and legends and the clothes we wear.

“Everyone’s family has special traditions and creative and beautiful things that they do.”

She grew up in Tallahassee, Florida, in a family of artisans.

“My family has a lot of traditions,” she said. “I’ve always enjoyed my grandparents and the way they garden and tell stories and all that, but folk culture isn’t just old-fashioned things. It isn’t just grandparents. It’s always evolving.”

This story was originally published March 10, 2021 at 5:45 AM.