Mid Atlantic Folk Arts Centers
Public Programs / by State or Jurisdiction
DELAWARE
Delaware Division of the Arts
Dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts to enhance
the quality of life for all Delawareans. In addition
to providing funding for arts programming, the Division
supports the integration of the arts into community life
and serves as a resource for arts information statewide.
http://www.artsdel.org
Delaware Folklife Program
Conserves local cultural resources through documentation,
public programs, and technical assistance.
http://www.destateparks.com
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
D.C. Commission on Arts and Humanities
The Folk Arts Program supports projects that are
developed in close consultation and collaboration with
the communities
whose traditions are to be presented. Individuals and
organizations are encouraged to use folklorists, ethnomusicologists,
or other specialists for documentation, program development,
interpretation of presentations, and program production.
http://www.dcarts.dc.gov/dcarts/cwp/view,a,3,q,528167.asp
DC Lore, Inc.
Offers research, resources, and a roster of folk
artists available for school programs and residencies.
dcloreinc@aol.com (no
web site)
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MARYLAND
Maryland Folklife Program & Maryland
Traditions / Maryland State Arts Council
The Maryland Folklife Program serves the people
of the State through research, documentation, and programming
about Maryland's traditional arts and culture. Maryland
Traditions supports research, program development, and
presentation at Maryland institutions including Frostburg
State University and the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art (Salisbury).
http://www.msac.org/programs.cfm?sec=Programs&id=245
NEW JERSEY
New Jersey State Council on the Arts Folk Arts Program
Provides statewide support for the traditional,
community-based activities that are the wellspring of folk
arts and artists,
as well as for projects and programs that bring those
arts and artists to general audiences.
http://www.njfolklife.com/
Delaware Valley Folklife Center
The mission of the Delaware Valley Folklife Center
is to raise awareness of the Delaware Valley’s diverse
multicultural heritage, and to create dialogue among
communities, by fostering, presenting and preserving
traditional and emergent folk arts and folklore in and
of the Delaware Valley region.
http://www.waltwhitmancenter.org/
Down Jersey Folklife Center at Wheaton Village
Research, document, interpret, and present the
traditional cultures of the “Down Jersey” region
of the state, which includes Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland,
and Salem counties and parts of Ocean and Gloucester
counties. The Center seeks to create a higher awareness
of community diversity, to increase public knowledge
of, and to foster appreciation and respect for the folk
arts and folklife. Our method is to support communication
through the languages of the traditional arts, and to
invite a wide variety of artists and audiences to participate
in an ongoing exploration of the creative process.
http://www.wheatonvillage.org/
Folklife Program for New Jersey at Middlesex County Cultural
Heritage Commission
Serves to broaden the appreciation and availability
of folk arts, folklore and folklife within Middlesex
County.
The project preserves folk traditions as expressed by
the people of central New Jersey and presents regional
folk
artists, recognized by their community for excellence.
http://www.cultureheritage.org/culturalheritage/folklife.asp
Jersey Shore Folklife Center at Tuckerton Seaport
Document, support, and present the varied traditions
of the communities along the Jersey coastline between Monmouth
County and Salem County, as well as those in the Pinelands
region, which has been integral to coastal culture. The
JSFP carries out field research among old and new groups,
documents their traditional life on tape and film, and
creates programs that include workshops and demonstrations,
storytelling sessions, school programs, and exhibits.
http://www.tuckertonseaport.org/
Northeast New Jersey Folk Arts Program Park Performing
Arts Center
Presents a wide range of artistic traditions from
Hudson, Bergen, Essex, Passaic and Union County; strives
to build
relationships with artists by developing opportunities
for them to share their art forms with wider audiences.
Also seeks to create programming that enables the general
public to appreciate the many different art forms that
exist within the region.
http://www.parkpac.org/
Northwest Jersey Folklife Project
Dedicated to supporting traditional and community cultures
in Sussex, Warren, and Hunterdon counties and parts of
Morris, Somerset, and Mercer counties by working with
communities to identify, research, record and archive
their folk arts and folklife: maintain a regional folk
archival and educational center; disseminate data to
the community at large to encourage intercultural sharing;
foster integration of traditional arts and skills in
mainstream programming; and promote the cooperation and
involvement of other cultural agencies in this endeavor.
http://www.njfolklife.com/organizations/org_nwjfp.shtml
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NEW YORK
New York State Council on the Arts
Founded in 1985, the program is devoted to perpetuating
New York State’s living cultural heritage of folk
arts and maintaining the extraordinary cultural and stylistic
diversity of New York’s traditional arts. It provides
funding for over 70 nonprofit organizations each year.
Its primary mission is to support traditions practiced
within communities. The Program also supports programming
that enables general audiences to experience traditional
arts from New York State as well as from cultures elsewhere
in the world.
http://www.nysca.org/public/guidelines/folk_arts/index.htm
Center for Traditional Music and Dance
The Center works to celebrate and strengthen the practice
of traditional performing arts. Since its founding in
1966, the Center has produced over 800 major presentations.
Programs include concerts, festivals, audio and video
productions, concert tours, technical assistance, collaborative
projects and consultations with artists, cultural activists
and with educational and cultural institutions.
http://www.ctmd.org/index.html
City Lore
Founded in 1986, City Lore produces programs and publications
that convey the richness of New York City's cultural
heritage. The staff includes folklorists, historians,
anthropologists, and ethnomusicologists, all of whom
specialize in the creation of programs and materials
for public education and enjoyment. In addition to staff
projects, affiliated individuals and organizations work
through City Lore to produce independent films, exhibits,
and other media projects.
http://www.citylore.org/
Long Island Traditions
Dedicated to documenting and preserving the living cultural
traditions of Long Island’s ethnic, occupational
and architectural heritage.
http://www.longislandtraditions.org/
Traditional Arts of Upstate New York
TAUNY is dedicated to documenting, preserving and promoting
the folk arts and folklore of New York’s North
Country from the St. Lawrence River to the Adirondack
Mountains.
http://www.tauny.org/
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PENNSYLVANIA
Institute for Cultural Partnerships
Develops and administers Pennsylvania Council on the Arts
statewide Folk & Traditional Arts Program, which
supports traditions and practitioners that are part of
a living tradition within a community.
http://www.culturalpartnerships.org/
Philadelphia Folklore Project
Focus is on the experiences and traditions of "ordinary" people.
The organization works to sustain the diverse folk arts
of the greater Philadelphia region.
http://www.folkloreproject.org/
The Rivers of Steel Industry Heritage Corporation
Conserve, interpret, promote and manage the historic, cultural,
natural and recreational resources of steel and related
industries in southwestern Pennsylvania and develop uses
for these resources so they may contribute to the economic
revitalization of the region.
http://www.riversofsteel.com/
Erie Art Museum
Museum’s goal is to expand awareness and
participation of the folk and traditional arts within the
Northwestern
Pennsylvania. A primary goal is to identify traditional
artists in the greater Erie community and link them with
existing local arts programming and grant opportunities.
http://www.erieartmuseum.org/programs/folkarts/index.html
Northern Tier Cultural Alliance
Educate the public about cultural traditions, history and
art of Pennsylvania’s Northern Tier and assist
tradition bearers and traditional artists in the preservation
of their work.
http://www.ntculturalalliance.org/
VIRGIN ISLANDS
Virgin Island Council on the Arts
The council’s mission is "To enrich the cultural
life of the Virgin Islands through leadership that preserves,
supports, strengthens, and makes accessible, excellence
in the arts to all Virgin Islanders".
http://www.vicouncilonarts.org
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VIRGINIA
Arlington County Cultural Affairs Division, Office of
Heritage Arts
Serves as the County’s resource point for folk and
traditional artists, folklife researchers and community
members. It divides its efforts into three overlapping
spheres: festivals, concerts & community events; fieldwork & documentation;
artist and community services.
http://www.arlingtonarts.org/cultural_affairs/heritagearts.htm
Virginia Folklife Program, Virginia Foundation for the
Humanities
Documents the diverse folk traditions of Virginia
while advancing the understanding and appreciation of traditional
culture through the development of public programs; reinforces
folk traditions by honoring and providing support services
for traditional artists and performers; and helps communities
develop plans and projects to strengthen their own cultural
traditions. Only folklife program in the nation based with
a state humanities council.
http://www.virginiafolklife.org/
Blue Ridge Institute and Museum
Ferrum College's Blue Ridge Institute and Museum documents,
interprets and presents the traditional culture of the
Blue Ridge and its people. Designated the State Center
for Blue Ridge Folklore by the Virginia General Assembly
1986, the institute promotes an understanding of regional
folklore past and present for all ages.
http://www.blueridgeinstitute.org/
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WEST VIRGINIA
Augusta Heritage Center
Encourage wider understanding and practice of artistic
expression found in local, regional, and ethnic traditional
folk cultures. Document, promote, encourage, and nurture
West Virginia’s folklife and folkways through workshops,
apprenticeships, publications and public presentations.
http://www.augustaheritage.com/
West Virginia Division of Culture and History
Support the documentation and presentation of West Virginia’s
folk and traditional arts. West Virginia folk arts are
described as those creative expressions that are learned
and passed down within families, ethnic or tribal groups,
occupational groups, religions, local and regional communities,
or age or gender groups. They include such forms as music,
dance, songs, stories, jokes, games, crafts, beliefs, occupational
skills, celebrations and rituals.
http://www.wvculture.org/arts/grantbook/community.htm#folk
West Virginia Folklife Center, Fairmont State College
Dedicated to the identification, preservation, and perpetuation
of the region's rich cultural heritage through academic
studies, educational programs, festivals and performances,
and publications.
http://www.fscwv.edu/wvfolklife/
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NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Created in 1976 by the U.S. Congress to "preserve
and present" American folklife through programs of
research, documentation, archival preservation, reference
service, live performance, exhibition, publication, and
training.
http://www.loc.gov/folklife
American Folklore Society
Professional association for folklorists founded
in 1888.
http://www.afsnet.org/aboutfolklore/aboutFL.cfm
American Folklore Society Public Folklorists Directory
Listing of public folklorists in the United States.
http://afsnet.org/sections/public/DIRECTORY_SPRING2005.pdf
Center for Folklore Studies at The Ohio State
University
The Center supports the learning, teaching, research,
and service endeavors of folklorists and students of folklore.
http://cfs.osu.edu/
National Council for the Traditional Arts
Founded in 1933, dedicated to the presentation and
documentation of folk and traditional arts in the
United States. It
is the nation’s oldest producing and presenting
organization with such a focus.
http://www.ncta.net
National Endowment for the Arts, Folk and Traditional
Arts Program
The National Endowment for the Arts enriches
our Nation and its diverse cultural heritage by supporting
works of
artistic excellence, advancing learning in the arts,
and strengthening the arts in communities throughout
the country.
http://www.nea.gov/grants/apply/folk.html
Smithsonian Institution Center for Folklife and Cultural
Heritage
The Center is a research and educational unit
of the Smithsonian Institution promoting the understanding
and continuity
of diverse, contemporary grassroots cultures in the United
States and around the world.
http://www.folklife.si.edu/index.html
Traditional Arts Programs Net (TAPNET)
Listing of public folklore programs in the United
States.
http://www.afsnet.org/tapnet/
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