A major collection within the AMSET permanent collection is that of the larger than life totem-like sculptures of Felix “Fox” Harris.

For over 20 years, Harris crafted his sculptures of recycled materials and displayed them in his yard, creating a forest-like environment. Harris was inspired to make art by a vision from God telling him to set aside his old life and make a new one. God told him to “make somethin’ out of nothin,’” he said. Harris took this to mean that not only should he reform his ways, but that he should literally take found objects and give them new life. In time, Harris constructed a forest of totems, some as tall as 15 feet, made from scrap metal, old toys, street markers and other discarded objects.

These significant pieces of folk art were donated to AMSET after Harris’ death in the mid 1980s and have had a tumultuous history at the museum, through numerous installation locations, de-installations due to threats of inclement weather and subsequent long-term storage. Finally in August 2007, AMSET unveiled Somethin' Out of Nothin': The Works of Felix "Fox Hafoxcolor.jpgrris, a semi-permanent gallery and glorious new resting place for the Beaumont treasures.

Bennington Museum holds the largest public collection in the world of paintings by Grandma Moses, the great 20th-century folk artist who painted scenes of rural life embodying a sense of an idyllic bygone America.

KMAC relays the marriage of art and craft in the context of contemporary art. The Museum's permanent collection contains works created by notable twentieth century American folk artists as well as local contemporary artists. Some of the artists in KMAC’s collection hail from Eastern Kentucky and the surrounding region, and as a result they function as storytellers of Appalachian culture. Similarly, the contemporary works within the collection are often biographical and topical.

The entire third floor of the Museum is reserved for Southern Contemporary Folk Art. As part of this dedication to folk art, the Donelly and Lail Galleries house works in an open storage format. Works in these galleries change regularly.