Welcome! I’m Meredith McGriff, a folklorist, researcher, designer, and entrepreneur working to promote the arts in the Midwest.

Currently I am the Director of Membership and Information Systems for the American Folklore Society, and co-founder and CEO of Hoosier Films, a multi-platform distribution company for Indiana-made films. Together with colleagues in the Midwest, I am also working with the Coalition of Independent Cinematic Artists to develop its flagship service, Indie Films Online. Prior to these roles, I worked for a variety of arts, education and cultural organizations in the state of Indiana. And I’ve been a freelance graphic designer for about 2 decades.

My current independent research focuses on collaboration and community development in the arts, exploring ways that professional artists, particularly potters and filmmakers, can build support for one another within their vocation and their region. My book, The Michiana Potters: Art, Community, and Collaboration in the Midwest, highlights the work of a group in northern Indiana and southern Michigan as a case study to understand ways that professional artists can build a sense of community and support one another.

Other topics of interest in my personal research include occupational folklore, queer folkloristics, and embodied knowledge. I was a co-editor of Advancing Folkloristics, a volume seeking to advance topics such as queer, feminist, anti-racist, and postcolonial scholarship in folkloristics, and I recently contributed to two other impactful publications in the field: Folklore in the United States and Canada: An Institutional History and What Folklorists Do: Professional Possibilities in Folklore Studies.

With a PhD in folkloristics from Indiana University and a broad background in qualitative research, user interface design, user testing, database design and management, project management, communications, graphic design, and curatorship, I am able to offer consulting and design services for a wide variety of art and community oriented projects. To learn more, check out my publications and presentations, my recent and ongoing projects, or email me at meredith@caughtupinclay.com to discuss a potential collaboration.