The collection is arranged in four series: Manuscript Materials, Sound Recordings, Graphic Materials, and Artifacts.
The Manuscript Materials consist of Administrative Materials and Research Materials. Administrative Materials document the planning process and implementation of the exhibition, as well as changes made due to reduced levels of funding or achieved through a reallocation of funds. Research materials for the exhibition consist of field reports on the artistic traditions and potential artists for project inclusion prepared by James P. Leary or Mary Zwolinski; files include fieldnotes, consent forms, correspondence, supporting materials, tape logs, and slide indexes.
Sound Recordings consist of interviews with the folk artists, twelve conducted by James P. Leary (June-August 1993) and ten conducted by Mary Zwolinski (July-September 1993), one recording of a Slovenian Harvest Picnic, and one commercial recording of the Badger Button Box Club, a button accordion band based in Milwaukee. All sound recordings consist of audiocassette tapes.
Graphic Materials consist of slides taken by James P. Leary and Mary Zwolinski during the fieldwork conducted for the exhibition, with contact sheets for some images; and black-and-white photographs, contact sheets, and slides by Lewis Koch and James P. Leary. Researchers should note that some of the images taken for this project were also used for a later Cedarburg Cultural Center exhibition, "Wisconsin Folk Art: A Sesquicentennial Celebration." Users should check the Graphic Materials series of that collection for additional images.
The Artifacts consist of two paper cutting cards by Bernie Jendrzejczak.
