afs public programs bulletin

AFSPUBLIC PROGRAMS BULLETIN

Volume 21, Number OneSpring 2003

Public Programs Section of the American Folklore Society

Published by Programs in Folk Studies at Western Kentucky University

AFS Public Programs Bulletin Spring 2003

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Letter from the EditorDear Section Members:

This is the last issue of the Bulletin in biannual format. In the foreseeable future, the Bulletin willbe an annual published every Spring. The next deadline for contributions will be February 1,2004. As the deadline approaches, reminders will be posted on the Publore listserv, the AFSPublic Programs Section web page and other appropriate venues. The Bulletin will continue to bepublished in both hard copy and electronic formats.

We are hoping that, once the Bulletin/newsletter is an annual, public and applied folklorists willmake a special effort to send annual reports on activities. We will continue to publish the sectionconveners’ report, tributes to departed colleagues, and other features. We would especially like toencourage short articles, critiques, manifestos or commentaries on current issues or controversiesin public/applied folklore. The Bulletin will also include an annual update of the Public FolkloristDirectory.

This issue includes two syllabi from Public Folklore related classes. In future issues, we wouldlove to include information on the training of public folklorists in academic programs, workshops,conferences or any other venue.

As always, the success of the Bulletin depends on the time and efforts of section members, and itreflects the varied skills and ideas of public and applied folklorists. I would like to thank AngelaHorn, Tim Lloyd, Andrea Graham, Gregory Hansen, Holly Oglesbee, Chris Antonsen, KevinMurphy, Thor Templin, and all contributors for help with the Bulletin. Suggestions for changesand improvements are always welcome.

The deadline for the Spring 2004 Bulletin will be February 1, 2004. Contributions can be e-mailed, mailed on a disk, or mailed as hard copies. When e-mailing a contribution, we preferattached files (not in the text of the e-mail), with the name of your program in the file title and e-mail subject line. Please send attached documents in rich text format. Photos are always appre-ciated and can be sent in electronic or hard copy format. Be warned that high-resolution elec-tronic photos sometimes give us problems. TIFF images sized 1280 x 1024 pixels with at least300 dpi resolution are optimal (file will be between 500 and 700K). Please submit electronicphotos separately; do not send them as part of the text. Electronic or hard copy, please do notforget a caption and let us know if you would like hard copies returned. Submit contributions to:Tim Evans, Programs in Folk Studies, Dept. Of Modern Languages and Intercultural Studies,Western Kentucky University, 1 Big Red Way, Bowling Green, KY 42101. E-mail:[email protected]. Phone: (270) 745-5897. Fax: (270) 745-6859.

Tim Evans, Western Kentucky University

The electronic version of this journal is at http://afsnet.org/sections/public/newsletter.


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Contents

CONVENER’S REPORT ..................................................................... 3ISSUES AND QUERIES ...................................................................... 5ANNOUNCEMENTS ......................................................................... 15PROGRAM & AGENCY REPORTS .................................................... 16 NATIONAL.......................................................................... 16 REGIONAL ......................................................................... 18 STATES .............................................................................. 21 ALABAMA ................................................................... 21 CONNECTICUT ............................................................ 22 IOWA .......................................................................... 24 KENTUCKY .................................................................. 32 MASSACHUSETTS ........................................................ 35 MICHIGAN .................................................................. 36 NEBRASKA .................................................................. 39 NEW YORK................................................................. 40 OREGON ..................................................................... 42 UTAH.......................................................................... 44

Cover Photo: Dinner on the grounds of the 2002 NationalSacred Harp Convention in Birmingham, AL. Photocourtesy of the Alabama Center for Traditional Culture.

Photo on Left: Mark Davis and Ms Marquez leading song at2002 National Sacred Harp Convention, Birmingham, AL.Photo courtesy of the ACTC.


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AFS Public Programs SectionCo-Convener’s Report

Andrea Graham & Gregory Hansen

CONVENER’S REPORT

This Conveners’ Report, the last from usnear the end of our three-year term, will be arecap of the section meeting at the AFSconference in Rochester last October. Themeeting opened with the introduction of thesix recipients of the Student Travel Award.The original award program provided forfour stipends, but this year one applicationwas shared by two students, and the fieldwas so strong that the selection committeedecided to give a fifth award. The member-ship voted to raise the number of awards infuture to five, and a committee was ap-pointed to select an honorific name for theaward. A few weeks after the meeting, thename proposed (and accepted) was theArchie Green Student Travel Award, inhonor of pioneering public folklorist andmentor to many in the field, Archie Green ofSan Francisco. Thanks to committee mem-bers Lucy Allen, Kathy Condon and SallyVan de Water for collecting suggestions andmaking the recommendation. See elsewherein the Bulletin for a call for applications tothe program for this year.

The Program Committee (Barbara Lau,Terry Liu and Lynne Williamson) reportedthat there were nine section-sponsoredsession at the meeting, including panels,forums, a poster session and a sound record-ing workshop. The Botkin Prize Committee(Sue Eleuterio, Bea Roeder and BettyBelanus) reported a good crop of nomina-tions to choose from, but said that morewere still needed, particularly for womenfolklorists. There were two recipients of the

prize this year, Robert Baron and NickSpitzer, both honored for their national aswell as regional work. Both generouslyreturned their prize money to the section andthe society.

After reports from the major national folkloreorganizations (the National Endowment forthe Arts, the American Folklife Center, theSmithsonian Institution and the Fund for FolkCulture), there was a hastily-called agendaitem to discuss advocacy strategies, occa-sioned by reported changes at the NEA underthe direction of an acting chair, and with littleinput from staff or constituents. Althoughmost of the proposed changes appear now tohave been at least put on hold with the ap-pointment of a new chair at the agency, thesituation reinforced yet again the need forongoing advocacy for and education aboutour field with legislators and policy makers atall levels.

The business meeting was followed, as pertradition, by the annual auction of eclectic andcollectible goodies, organized again by theseemingly tireless Teresa Hollingsworth andSally Van de Water. Revenues were down forthe first time in several years, coming in atjust over $1,000. There were likely severalreasons for this: the section meeting andauction were held on Thursday instead of theusual Friday because of schedule conflicts;the meeting also started later than usual andran long because of the advocacy discussion,thereby forcing the auction to a late 10:30p.m. start; and many people were distracted


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by the changes at the NEA and the need tomobilize quickly to express our concern, thuspulling them away from spending big bucks atthe auction. We hope this is a one-timeconvergence of negative factors, and we willforge ahead with the auction again next year.Start scouting thrift stores and rifling yourpersonal folk art stashes now so you’ll beprepared with the best possible merchandisein Albuquerque.

Well, it has been a privilege and a joy to serveas your co-conveners for lo these past threeyears. New conveners will be announced atthe Albuquerque meeting, and we will allcarry on our twenty-plus year tradition ofdoing good work and having good fun undernew leadership. Thanks to all for beingwilling to pitch in when needed, and espe-cially to those many of you who have volun-teered to serve on various committees overthe past three years. We couldn’t have done itwithout you.

Andrea Graham & Gregory Hansen


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Arkansas State University has initiated a new doctoral program in Heritage Studies. This programis interdisciplinary, and includes classes taught by folklorists, anthropologists, historians, andliterary critics. The program is designed especially to prepare graduates to work in fields thatinvolve researching, interpreting, and presenting local history and culture within public programs.The following syllabus is for a core course in cultural research methods that I taught in the springof 2003. It focuses on fieldwork techniques and ethnographic description, with a particular em-phasis on relations between public programming and cultural display.

Gregory HansenDepartment of English and PhilosophyArkansas State UniversityJonesboro, Arkansas

Heritage Studies 7933: Cultural Resource MethodsEthnography, Fieldwork, and Presentation

Dr. Gregory Hansen Spring 2003202 Wilson/972-3044 Thursday: 5:00 - 7:[email protected] Museum 157

Office Hours: Thursday and Friday, 8:00 - 10:30. Other times by appointment.

Course Description: This course examines interrelationships between ethnography, field re-search, and the presentation of culture and history. As students learn field research methods, theywill read ethnographic studies and oral histories that are developed from fieldwork. Students willdiscover how the presentation and representation of culture and history is related to researchtechniques and styles of ethnographic writing. Throughout the course, students will learn skillsthat are essential for their own ethnographic studies and for evaluating other researchers’ ethno-graphic presentations.

Objectives: At this course’s completion, students will:

* demonstrate competency in completing taped interviews* use a camera effectively for documentary field research* write an interpretive ethnographic study based on fieldwork* evaluate various ethnographic presentations and representations

ISSUES AND QUERIESArkansas State UniversityCultural Research MethodsSyllabus


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Texts:

Brady, Erika. 1999. A Spiral Way: How the Phonograph Changed Ethnography.Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.

Briggs, Charles. 1986. Learning How to Ask: A Sociolinguistic Appraisal of the Role ofthe Interview in Social Science Research. Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress.

Collier, John. 1986. Visual Anthropology: Photography as a Research Method.Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.

Glassie, Henry. 1995. Passing the Time in Ballymenone: History and Culture of anUlster Community. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Hinson, Glenn. 2000. Fire in My Bones: Transcendence and the Holy Spirit in AfricanAmerican Gospel. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Hufford, Mary, ed. 1994. Conserving Culture: A New Discourse on Heritage. Urbana:University of Illinois Press.

Ives, Edward B. 1995. The Tape-Recorded Interview: A Manual for Fieldworkers inFolklore and Oral History. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press.

Neustadt, Kathy. 1992. Clambake: A History and Celebration of an AmericanTradition. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press.

Spradley, James. 1997. The Ethnographic Interview. New York: Holt, Rinehart, andWinston.

Schedule:

Jan 9 Introduction to Class

Jan 16 Fieldwork and Oral HistoryGlassie: Passing the Time in Ballymenone. Preface through (andincluding) Part IV: Battles

Jan 23 Fieldwork and Ethnographic StudyGlassie: Part V - end of book

Jan 30 Introduction to Field Research TechniquesIves: The Tape-Recorded Interview: A Manual for Fieldworkers in Folklore andOral History


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Feb 6 Ethnography, Field Research, and the ResearcherNeustadt: Clambake: A History and Celebration of an AmericanTradition

Feb 13 Applying Field ResearchHufford, Mary: Conserving Culture: A New Discourse on Heritage

Feb 20 Photographic Documentation and Ethnographic StudyCollier, John: Visual Anthropology: Photography as a Research Method

Feb 27 Developing Field Research TechniquesSpradley, James: The Ethnographic Interview

Mar 6 Challenges and Methods in FieldworkBriggs: Learning How to Ask: A Sociolinguistic Appraisal of the Role ofthe Interview in Social Science Research

Mar 13 Fieldwork Methods, ContinuedReview fieldwork guides and ethnographic studies for additional class discussion— particularly as relevant to your own fieldwork

Mar 20 Spring Break

Mar 27 Experiential Fieldwork and Ethnographic PresentationHinson: Fire in My Bones: Transcendence and the Holy Spirit in AfricanAmerican Gospel— Fieldwork materials are due by the beginning of class

Apr 3 Student Presentations of Field Research

Apr 10 Student Presentations, Continued

Apr 17 Technology, Fieldwork, and Cultural ChangeBrady: A Spiral Way: How the Phonograph Changed Ethnography.— Research paper is due on April 21

Apr 24 Student Research Papers

Requirements:

Class Participation: Class participation is a significant part of this course. I expect students tocome to class prepared to discuss significant issues within the readings. I will also assign essayquestions about various readings throughout the course to encourage students to connect thereadings to their own interests in fieldwork and ethnographic study. Students will also makepresentations throughout the class. Excellent class participation may improve a final grade.


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Project: The major component of your grade will be a fieldwork project and research paper. I willgrade it in two segments. 30% of your grade will be an assessment of your fieldwork materials. Iwill distribute a specific assignment sheet, but keep in mind that your fieldwork is due on March27th. After I return the fieldwork materials, students will write an ethnographic presentation basedon this research. The paper will be 50% of your grade. Students will read copies of their peers’papers for class on April 24th; consequently your paper is due on April 21st. You may send thepaper out as an attachment via email, and I will copy papers and place them in reserve in thelibrary.

Short Paper: Students will also develop skills for evaluating other presentations of oral history orethnographic field research by writing a short review (approximately 3 pages) of some displayevent, museum exhibit, documentary, radio program, internet site, audio CD, festival, drama, orother presentation of local history or culture. This paper is due on May 6th and is worth 20% ofyour grade.

The following syllabus is for the graduate seminar in Folklore and Education, as it was offered atWestern Kentucky University, Spring semester 2003. This class is required for students in thePublic Folklore track at WKU. Class requirements include developing and leading class activities,and creating lesson plans that can be used in Kentucky schools as part of the Kentucky CoreCurriculum. Some lesson plans will be submitted to the Kentucky Folklife Programs for possibleinclusion in future editions of the Teacher’s Guide to Kentucky Folklife.

Many resources were used in class that are not referred to on the syllabus: for example, several ofthe Smithsonian’s teachers packets, including Borders and Identity, Discovering the Delta and SilkRoad; Kristin Congdon’s Uncle Monday and Other Florida Folktales; and Walk Around the Block,an excellent K-12 lesson plan dealing with the built environment, produced by the Center forUnderstanding the Built Environment (CUBE), a Kansas-based non profit organization associatedwith the American Institute of Architects.

Tim EvansProgram in Folk StudiesWestern Kentucky UniversityBowling Green, Kentucky

FOLK STUDIES 562: FOLKLORE AND EDUCATION

Instructor: Timothy H. EvansOffice: FAC 245

Western Kentucky UniversityFolklore and EducationSyllabus


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Office Hours: Monday 12-2, Tuesday 9:30-11:30Phone: (270) 745-5897 (office) 745-2412 (MLIS office)E-mail: [email protected]

In a broad sense, almost everything folklorists do is education. This class focuses on, but is notlimited to, the K-12 curriculum. Teacher training, folk artists in the schools, the preparation ofguides and curricula, and the use of folklore to teach writing, multiculturalism and other skills andvalues is an important and rapidly increasing part of folkloristics. This class will survey the fieldof Folklore and Education, considering a variety of publications, lesson plans, audiovisual materi-als, web pages and other resources. Goals for students include familiarity with resources and thedevelopment of practical skills. We will also explore the relevance of folkloristics in the currenttrend toward test-oriented education, with an emphasis on the Kentucky curriculum (KERA). Thisclass is experimental and collaborative in nature.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

1. Class participation (20% of final grade). Participation is essential in a graduate seminar. Toparticipate, you must keep up with the readings and other assignments.

2. Oral and written review of a web site or other educational product (20%). Websites and prod-ucts may be chosen from a list to be handed out in class, but other sites and products will beconsidered.

3. Oral and written presentation of a lesson plan based on both primary and secondary research(30%). Written materials should be easily adaptable to a website. Oral presentations shouldinclude actual classroom activities. More details will be presented in class.

5. Final examination (30% of final grade). An open book, open note essay exam, possibly takehome.

READINGS

TO BE PURCHASED AT CAMPUS BOOKSTORE:

Belanus, Betty, editor. Folklore in the Classroom. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau, 1985.

Davis, Amy, et al. “What’s Your Name?”: Rhymes and Rhythms from Pennsylvania’s Neighbor-hoods, A Study Guide. Harrisburg, PA: Institute for Cultural Partnerships, 2001.

Derman-Sparks, Louise and the A.B.C. Task Force. Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools for EmpoweringYoung Children. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children,1989.

Heath, Shirley Brice. Ways With Words: Language, Life and Work in Communities and Class-room. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996.


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Simons, Elizabeth Radin. Student Worlds, Student Words: Teaching Writing Through Folklore.Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1990.

TO BE ACCESSED AND COPIED FROM THE WORLD WIDE WEB:

Bartis, Peter and Paddy Bowman. A Teacher’s Guide to Folklife Resources for K-12 Classrooms.American Folklife Center, Library of Congress. Web page: http://lcweb.loc.gov/folklife/pub.html

Culture Catalog. New York: City Lore, 2003. Web page: http://www.citylore.org.

A READER OF PHOTOCOPIED ARTICLES can be picked up at Kinko’s, 1689 CampbellLane, Bowling Green (KR on the schedule).

WORLD WIDE WEB: Other readings will be accessed on the world wide web.

OTHER MATERIALS: Additional materials will be made available during the semester.

CARTS NEWSLETTER: Students are strongly encouraged to subscribe to the free CARTSnewsletter. Information can be found at http://www.carts.org.

SELECTED FOLKLIFE IN EDUCATION WEB SITES

Alaska Native Knowledge Network. http://ankn.uaf.edu. A huge online network. Includes theSpiral Chart (www.ankn.uaf.edu:591/chart.html), which gives access to resources via grade anddiscipline. Of particular note are the lesson plans which use indigenous knowledge and learningmethods to teach science and math (www.ankn.uaf.edu/UNITS/index.html), but contains links tomany other resources.

American Folklife Center, Library of Congress. http://lcweb.loc.gov/folklife. In addition to onlinepublications such as “Teacher’s Guide to Folklife Resources” and “Folklife and Fieldwork,”contains thousands of photographs, recording and documents, many of which could easily be usedin education projects.

American Folklore Society. http://www.afsnet.org. Includes links to the Education and PublicPrograms sections, and many other resources.

American Folklore Society, Folklore & Education section. http://www.afsnet.org/sections/educa-tion. Includes information, links, and the online newsletter.

American Folklore Society, Tapnet. http:www.afsnet.org/tapnet. Includes links to many, amnyfolklife resources. Click on “Folk Arts in Education.”

American Memory Learning Page. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/index.html. TheAmerican Memory Project is a huge collection of online historical resources from the Library of


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Congress. The learning page contains lesson plans utilizing these materials, and access to manyother resources. Of particular note is folklorist Paddy Bowman’s webpage on place, http://www.memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/educators/workshop/folklore/fiover.html.

CARTS: Cultural Arts Resources for Teachers and Students. http://www.carts.org. Web site of theNational Task Force on Folk Arts in Education, with many links to national resources. This is thebest general website for Folklore & Education resources.

City Lore. http://www.citylore.org. With a focus on the folklife of New York City, this organiza-tion also works with teachers nationally and manages the “Culture Catalog,” a very valuablesource of folklife and multicultural classroom resources.

FieldWorking. http://www.fieldworking.com. A new site dedicated to cultural conservation andeducation, taking its name from the book Fieldworking by Elizabeth Chiseri-Strater and BonnieSunstein.

Kentucky Folklife Program. http://www.kyhistory.org/Programs/Folklife/Kentucky_Folklife_Program.htm. Includes links for the Kentucky Folklife Festival and schoolprograms. The “Teacher’s Guide to Kentucky Folklife” can be downloaded from here.

Kentucky Department of Education. http:kde.state.ky.us/. Click on “Core Content for Assess-ment,” to access the Kentucky state curriculum.

Kentucky Educational Reform Act (KERA). http:www.wku.edu/library/kera/kera.htm. It is im-perative for anyone working with Kentucky schools to work closely with the curricular materialsand testing systems created by KERA.

Louisiana Voices: An Educator’s Guide to Exploring Our Communities and Traditions. http://www.crt.state.la.us/folklife/edu_home.html. Written for Louisiana classrooms, this large andoutstanding guide can serve as a model for any region.

Mississippi: Crossroads of the Heart. http:www.arts.state.ms.us/crossroads/main.html. Excellentclassroom materials on Mississippi folklife.

Montana Heritage Project. http://www.edheritage.org. Another excellent state guide for teachersand students. Particularly strong on writing and place.

National Council for Preservation Education (NCPE). http://www.uvm.edu/histpre/ncpe/. Themain site for historic preservation education. Contains many useful links to websites and re-sources. Also the place to go for historic preservation internships.

National Park Service, Teaching With Historic Places. http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/. Excellentwebsite containing lesson plans and other materials for teaching about historic architecture, land-scapes and preservation.


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National Trust for Historic Preservation. http://nthp.org. Contains information on National Trustprograms and many useful links.

NEH Edsitement. http://edsitement.neh.gov/. This National Endowment for Humanities siteincludes links to many useful websites in the humanities.

Oral History Association. http://omega.dickinson.edu/organizations/oha. Homepage of the mainnational organization devoted to oral history, contains much useful information and links.

Oregon Folklife Program “Masters of Ceremony”. http:www.ohs.org/exhibitions/moc/shell.htm.Lessons based on the work and lives of four immigrant artists.

Public Broadcasting System. http://www.pbs.org. Resources include online lessons such as Riverof Song (www.pbs.org/riverofsong) with lessons on traditional music along the Mississippi; TheNew Americans (www.pbs.org/kcet/newamericans) on immigration; Vietnam: Stories Since theWar (www.pbs.org/pov/stories), which has dozens of archived personal stories; Africans inAmerica (www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia); Ken Burns’ Jazz (www.pbs.org/jazz/classroom/); AmericanRoots Music (www.pbs.org/americanrootsmusic/); and many others.

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. http://www.folklife.si.edu. Click on“Education and Exhibits.” Offers many resources including online curricular materials (e.g.,Borders and Identity about the U.S./Mexican border, Discovering Our Delta, etc.), educational kitsto order, Smithsonian Folkways records and links to many other resources.

Teaching Tolerance. http://www.splcenter.org/teachingtolerance/tt-index.html. Resources onteaching tolerance and combating prejudice in the classroom. Maintained by the Southern PovertyLaw Center. Can be accessed from CARTS.

Texas Folklife Resources. http:www.main.org/tfr. Includes a number of interesting school packets;see especially “Powwow in the Schools.”

WebCT Cultural Diversity Forum. http://webct.com/education/forum/browse. You have to registerto use this site (it’s free), but then you can access several ongoing discussions about diversityissues.

Wisconsin Folks. http://arts.state.wi.us/static/folkdir/index.htm. An interactive, multimediawebpage for schools, focusing on Wisconsin traditional artists.

SCHEDULE OF CLASSES

1/15. Introduction.

1/22. Folklore and Education: Encompassing the Field.Paddy Bowman, “My Adventures in Folk Arts and Folklife in Education,” 1997, KR.


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Peggy Bulger, “Politics, Principles, and Principals,” Southern Folklore 48:1, 1991, 13-20. KRRita Moonsammy, “From Majority to Maturity: The Development of Folk Art in Education Pro-grams,” Southern Folklore 48:1, 1991, 21-30. KRBetty Belanus, Folklore in the Classroom.

1/29. K-12 Teaching Resources, on the Web and elsewhere.Marsha MacDowell, editor. Folk Arts in Education, selections, KR.Rita Moonsammy, “Passing It On,” Auctioneering Lesson Plan, from www.carts.org.Familiarize yourself with the Louisiana and Mississippi web sites listed above.

2/5. Education and Community, pt. 1.

Davis, What’s Your Name?

2/12. Education and Community, pt. 2.Heath, Ways With Words.

2/19. Folk Arts.Mary Hufford, A Tree Smells Like Peanut Butter: Folk Artists in a City School. KRGraeme Chalmers, “How to Teach Folk Arts to Young People: the Need for Context,” fromwww.carts.org. KR.Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, “An Accessible Aesthetic,” from www.carts.org. KR.Debora Kodish and William Westerman, “Negotiating Pitfalls and Possibilities,” fromwww.carts.org. KR.Familiarize yourself with the Wisconsin website and the Oregon START website, listed above.

2/26. Student Reports on Products and Web Sites.

3/5. State Programs and Curricula.“Teacher’s Guide to Kentucky Folklife,” will be handed out in class.Familiarize yourself with Kentucky Core Content materials, to be made available in class, oronline at http://www.kde.state.ky.us/, click on “Core Content for Assessment.”

3/12. Writing.Simons, Student Worlds, Student Words.

3/19. Multiculturalism, Immigrant/refugee.Lynne Hamer, “Folklore in Schools and Multicultural Education: Toward Institutionalizing Nonin-stitutional Knowledge,” Journal of American Folklore 113:447, 2000. KR.Many Cultures, One People: A Multicultural Handbook About Vermont for Teachers, excerpts.KROregon Folklife Series, curriculum units on Mexican Americans, Lao, Chinese. KRDerman-Sparks, Anti-Bias Curriculum.

3/26 Spring Break!


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4/2. Historic Preservation Education.Teaching Cultural Heritage Preservation. National Park Service, 2002, excerpts. KR.Masters of the Building Arts: Activity Guide. Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heri-tage. KR.

Week 12. Student Presentations: lesson plans.



Week 15. Catch up, review, miscellaneous.

Week 16. Final Exam.


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The Public Programs Section of the American Folklore Society is providing up to five awards ofup to $300 each for students to defray costs for traveling to the 2003 annual meeting in Albuquer-que. The Public Programs Section is interested in supportinggraduate and undergraduate students who have an interest in working as public folklorists or whohave chosen an area of public folklore as a primary topic of research.

Application materials will consist of: (1) a two-page letter written by the applicant, (2) a letter ofsupport written by a faculty member or public folklorist that describes the student’s interest inpublic folklore and supports the student’s plan for using the AFS meeting to further her or hisinterests in public folklore, and (3) a budget outlining anticipated expenses.

The letter of application should address the applicant’s interest in public folklore, goals for attend-ing the meeting, and plans for using the resources of the meeting to further her/his academic and/or professional development. Previous winners of the student travel award are not eligible for thisyear’s competition.

The deadline for receipt of applications is July 1, 2003. Awards will be announced by August 1.To apply, send three copies of all materials to Gregory Hansen, Arkansas State University, PO Box1890, State University, AR 72467-1890.

ANNOUNCEMENTSArchie Green Student TravelAwards


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CATEGORY/YEAR # OF APPLICATIONS REQUEST AMOUNT

Creativity/2002 17 $737,329Creativity/2003 17 $1,172,028

Organizational Capacity/2002 0 0Organizational Capacity/2003 2 $128,023

Access/2002 15 $941,598Access/2003 33 $1,562,270

Heritage/Preservation/2002 106 $5,310,215Heritage/Preservation/2003 103 $4,505,951

Folk Arts Infrastructure/2002 35 $1,472,405Folk Arts Infrastructure/2003 33 $1,454,902

PROGRAM & AGENCY REPORTS

NATIONAL

National Endowment for the ArtsFolk & Traditional Arts

Barry Bergey, DirectorRose Morgan, Specialist

In late January the United States Senateconfirmed President George W. Bush’s nomi-nation of Dana Gioia to be the ninth Chair-man of the National Endowment for the Arts.Mr. Gioia, a poet, literary critic, educator, andformer business executive, assumed office inearly February. In his testimony before theHouse Appropriations Subcommittee in earlyMarch, the new Chairman outlined his goalsfor the agency: 1) to provide the focusedleadership and careful management theagency needs; 2) to restore the public statureand prestige of the NEA; 3) to demonstratethe Endowment’s potential by creating modelprograms of indisputable artistic merit andbroad national reach; 4) to develop andpromote effective models for arts education;

and 5) to reclaim its leadership role inAmerican culture. He elaborated on the lastpoint by saying that the NEA “must pro-mote, preserve, and celebrate the best of ourculture, old and new, classic and contempo-rary. It must reacquaint America with itsbest self. Nothing less is worthy of ournation.”

The President’s 2004 budget request for theNational Endowment for the Arts is$117,480 million, an increase of $1,749million. Of course this request needs tomake its way through the appropriationprocess, so stay tuned.

In Folk & Traditional Arts, we are in thefinal stages of processing the Fiscal Year2003 grants in the various competitivecategories of funding. A glance at ourapplication request levels over the past twoyears reveals that we have had a slightincrease in numbers of applications and aslightly larger increase in the amount ofmoney requested.


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Local Cultures Pilot/2002 32 $1,256,782Local Cultures Pilot/2003 35 $1,649,288

Grant recommendations are still pending insome categories, but when all is said anddone the combination of competitive grantsand Leadership Initiatives will probablyrepresent an investment of over $4 millionin Folk & Traditional Arts projects, orroughly 7% of the Endowment budgetdevoted to grants to organizations. Thisdoes not include the money that supportsfolk arts projects through ChallengeAmerica or Arts Learning, nor does it takeinto account folk arts related projects thatreceive support from other disciplines, suchas Media Arts, Presenting,Multidisciplinary, Music, and Dance.

As with so many of you, we are concernedabout the fiscal crisis at the many state artsagencies and we are keeping a close eye ondevelopments at the state and regionallevel. Please remember that we are anxiousto hear about your situation and we standready to do what we can to help. OurTraditional Arts Growth (TAG) and sitevisit monies can sometimes be used to bringin someone to consult about a specificproblem that might arise. Mark Puryear(202/682-5522) is available to discuss TAGrequests.

In early summer we will be announcing therecipients of the 2003 National HeritageFellowships. The honorarium for thesefellowships has been increased to $20,000,with a maximum of ten regular fellowshipsand one Bess Lomax Hawes award eachyear. Please keep in mind that the deadlinefor nominations is October 1st and that weare always seeking new nominations.Ceremonies this coming year are tentativelyscheduled to occur over the period ofSeptember 17-19.

It is still our hope to have a folk arts peersession at the annual National Assembly ofState Arts Agencies Meeting to be heldDecember 4-7 in Charleston, South Carolina.If travel monies become available, we willcirculate information through PUBLORE.

Please check our website (http://www.arts.gov) for the latest news and forelectronic versions of our application forms.

National Endowment for the ArtsFolk & Traditional Arts1100 Pennsylvania Ave, NW,Suite 720 Washington, DC 20506202/682-5428 (voice)202/682-5669 (fax)202/682-5496 (TDD/TTY)www.arts.gov


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Paddy Bowman, Coordinator

National Network for Folk Arts inEducation

Please don’t forget to send me informationabout new resources useful for K-12 educa-tors for the CARTS website, and use andpublicize this site. Take a look at entries foryour region and send corrections as well asadditions to encourage people to use the newartist residency with National Heritage FellowEva Castellanoz and the online CARTSCatalog. Again, Network associates arecollaborating with AFS Education Sectionmembers to plan a Saturday morning work-shop for the meeting in Albuquerque. Folk-lorists, graduate students, teachers, and artistsparticipate enthusiastically in these annualopportunities to interact and share newprojects and new ways of teaching.

609 Johnston PlaceAlexandria, VA 22301(703) 836-7499fax: (703) [email protected]

The 2002 AFS meeting in Rochester included a significant number of deafparticipants, including Simon Carmel of Florida. Here Simon and his interpretershare a story during the annual Saturday morning education workshop, whichfeatured the theme “Backyards and Beyond: Sense of Place Education”. Photo

REGIONAL

Last August, I had the opportunity to travelto Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia as a par-ticipant in an International Lakes EducationPartnership. My role was to act as thecultural specialist by making recommenda-tions for future programs and offer informa-tion to Russians about cultural expressionsand programs in Illinois. Of particularinterest was folklore related to the GreatLakes.

In 2001, Susie Schrieber of the Citizen’sAdvisory Group (CAG) in Illinois formed analliance with Dr. Elena Kuzevanova aRussian scientist concerned about conserv-ing Lake Baikal, the world’s largest supplyof fresh water. As a result, Elena has madeseveral trips to the United States to learn

about forming grassroots coalitiongroups and organizing volunteer pro-grams (Volunteerism wasn’t a popularstrategy under Soviet rule).

Great Lakes ConservationPartnership Needs Informationfrom Local Cultural Groups

Cindy KerchmarIndependent Folklorist

Lake Baikal has a healthy population ofendemic species and is surrounded inmany places by national parks, forests,and small villages dependent on thelake for survival. Not far from the lakeis Irkutsk, Siberia’s and a center for artsand culture. The city’s sophisticatedroots date back to the 19th centurywhen the aristocratic wives of theSeptemberists moved to the area inorder to be near their imprisonedhusbands. The Septemberists were thefirst revolutionists in Czarist Russia.


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Of the many places we visited, OlkhonIsland was particularly interesting to mebecause shamanism is their major religion.We were able to meet the island’s shamanand hear him recite an hour of epic poetry.Later that day we stayed in a yurt and ateliver stroganoff. Everything was great aboutthis adventure except the stroganoff. How-ever, this is not to say that the food in Russiais bad. Most of the food we ate was wonder-ful. Our trip organizer used the best cooksand guides wherever we went.

It is the hope of Elena and others in Russiato preserve the lake through education andencouragement. Elena has been involved inprojects such as designing a city park at alocal seaport, encouraging small K-12education programs and camps, and teachingclasses in conservation at the RussianAcademy of Sciences in Irkutsk. She is alsoteaching a class on how ethnic groupsthroughout the world use the environment infolk tales.

The Partnership also has an interest in usingfolk expressions as a tool for encouragingpositive awareness of conservation. We arein the process of collecting informationabout local artists and cultural institutionswho incorporate art, folklore and historyrelated to the Great Lakes. This informationwill be posted on a web site that comparesthe natural history and culture of the lakes.Eventually the partnership would like tocreate lesson plans and workshops that useboth cultural and environmental concepts.

Please contact me if you have informationabout Great Lakes folklore and history or, ifyou are interested in presenting Russianartists for a cultural exchange program. Ifyou are interested in more information aboutthe Lake Baikal and Lake Michigan

partnership visit our website at www.baikal-michigan.org.

Cindy Kerchmar5010 North Central # 1Chicago, Illinois [email protected]

On February 21, 2003, the Illinois FolklifeSociety hosted the Midwest Folklorist’sRetreat for the first time. The 26 arts adminis-trators and independent scholars from SouthDakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, andIndiana who attended the conference heardpresentations about arts programs in Illinois,Indiana, and Wisconsin and discussed issuesconcerning improving archiving practices andgrants applications for NEA Fellowshipawards.After a discussion over the organization ofnext year’s retreat, it was determined that theretreat should remain in the same state for twoyears. This will give retreat coordinators anopportunity to improve programming thesecond year.

Next year, the conference will be held in thesame location with a similar format. However,improvements will be made in a few areas.Most importantly, we hope to get funding forartist performances and will look into spon-soring an all day workshop. The theme ofnext year’s workshop is education. A call forpresentations will come out soon.

Make a point to attend next year’s retreat.Everyone interested in traditional and ethnicarts or history will find the meeting benefi-cial. Below is the date and location for next

Midwest Folklorist’s RetreatCindy Kerchmar

Independent Folklorist


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year’s retreat.Dates: February 20-22Location: Illinois Beach State ParkIf you are interested in helping with program-ming, please contact Cindy Kerchmar [email protected] to the Illinois Arts Council forpartially funding the retreat.

Cindy Kerchmar5010 North Central # 1Chicago, Illinois [email protected]

Latino/Hispanic InitiativeSAF held four public meetings for the Latino/Hispanic Initiative, March 17-20, 2003. Themeetings, facilitated by Dr. Norma Cantú,were held in Dalton, GA; New Orleans, LA;Winter Park, Florida; and Raleigh, NC.Meeting space was donated by the CreativeArts Guild (GA); University of New Orleans(LA); Crealdé School of Art (FL); and ElPueblo, Inc. (NC). Dr. Cantú is preparing abilingual report that will include detailedinformation about the meetings and recom-mendations for future planning. The reportwill be available Summer 2003. She will alsolead a discussion at the 2003 Folklorists in theSouth meeting (May 30-June 1) to discuss themeeting outcomes with folklorists working inthe SAF region. Three major areas wereaddressed during the meetings: 1) identifyingexisting resources, 2) discussing barriers andobstacles, and 3) dreaming/planning for thefuture. Meeting participants indicated educa-tion, communication, cultural sensitivity, andnetworking as areas where much work isneeded.A number of traditional and contemporary

Southern Arts FederationTeresa Hollingsworth

artists attended representing genres frompiñata making and Capoiera to spoken wordperformance and poetry. Organizationsrepresented included The Latin MusicInstitute, Student Action with Farmworkers,National Performance Network, United Artsof Central Florida, Georgia HumanitiesCouncil, North Carolina Humanities Coun-cil, Deep South Humanities Center (TulaneUniversity), and Culturas Unidas in additionto representatives from the Consulate Of-fices of Mexico and Spain. We were alsopleased to have representatives from socialand community organizations, high schoolart students and interested communitymembers as participants. A number ofmedia outlets sent reporters to the meetingsincluding the Orlando Sentinel, La Prensa(New Orleans), and News & Observer(Raleigh). Many thanks to the staffs of theFlorida Folklife Program/Florida Division ofCultural Affairs, Georgia Council for theArts, Louisiana Division of the Arts and theNorth Carolina Arts Commission for theirenthusiastic support in planning and imple-menting this project, and for their attendanceat the meetings. Funding for the meetingsand report was provided by the NationalEndowment for the Arts, Folk & TraditionalArts Infrastructure Initiative.

Fast Track Touring & Technical AssistanceGrant FundsTwo new grants categories, Fast TrackTouring and Technical Assistance, areavailable through SAF. Technical AssistanceGrants is a new program, which strives tostrengthen Southern non-profit performingarts presenting organizations by providingopportunities for contracting outside con-sultants. The maximum award is $2,500.Fast Track Touring offers artist fee supportto promote touring in the South. The maxi-mum award is 50% of the artist fee, up to$2,500. Deadlines for both programs are


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rolling with applications due 60 days priorto the project start date. Please see the SAFwebsite, www.southarts.org, for completeguidelines and application information.

Folklorists in the SouthPartnering with the Tennessee Arts Commis-sion and The Arts Center of Cannon County(TN), the Southern Arts Federation ispleased to announce this year’s Folkloristsin the South meeting, May 30 – June 1, 2003in Smithville and Woodbury, Tennessee. Wewill be staying at Evins Mill Inn inSmithville and holding Saturday sessions atThe Arts Center in Woodbury. This year’sprofessional development workshop willaddress legal issues folklorists often encoun-ter when developing concert series andfestivals, recording projects, broadcast andInternet programs. We have two fieldtripopportunities planned. Dr. Charles Wolfewill introduce the new Uncle Dave MaconHeritage Driving Tour. The trail honorsmaster banjo player and Grand Ole Oprylegend, Uncle Dave Macon. The secondfieldtrip, led by Evan Hatch and DonaldFann of The Arts Center, will include visitsto the homes and workshops of anumber of local traditional artists.

Teresa HollingsworthManager, Traditional Arts ProgramsSouthern Arts Federation1800 Peachtree St., NW Suite 808Atlanta, GA 30309(404) 874-7244 x. [email protected]

The Alabama Center for Traditional Culture(www.traditionalculture.org) released “Tradi-tional Musics of Alabama Vol 2: AfricanAmerican Seven Shapenote Singing” last yearand will release, in April of 2003, “TraditionalMusics of Alabama Vol 3: 2002 NationalSacred Harp Singing Convention.” JohnBealle was given the task of producing thenotes to add to Steve Grauberger’s recordingof last year’s National Sacred Harp Conven-tion held in Birmingham, Alabama. Linernotes for both CD products can be freelydownloaded from our website.Traditional Musics of Alabama Vol 4, areissue of the 1980 LP “Wiregrass Notes” isslated for release in 3 months. This CD willhave all the original African American SacredHarp singing remastered from original reel-to-

STATES

ALABAMA

Alabama Center for TraditionalCulture

Steve Grauberger

Creola Bennett, Arlonzia Pettway, and Georgiana Bennett sing together in PettwayGess Bend, AL. Photo courtesy of the ACTC.


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reel tapes with added songs from the same theevents, nearly doubling the LP’s originallength.

Photos seen here are from a recording tripmade in June and July of this year. Parts ofrecording were released by Tinwood Media’s“How We Got Over: Sacred Songs of GeesBend”.

The Alabama Center for Traditional Culture410 North Hull StreetMontgomery, Alabama 36104(334) 242-3601fax: (334) 269-9098www.arts.state.al.us/actc/index folkarts-actc

The difficulties of funding loom large for allof us these days. Yesterday, March 27, wasArts Day at the Capitol, an annual eventsponsored by the Connecticut Commission onthe Arts to showcase artists and arts programsto legislators. The turnout of legislators andother participants was excellent this year,showing a high level of interest in artisticissues and boding well for sustaining artsfunding. One of the three featured artists wasSonal Vora, an Odissi dancer and masterteacher who performed with her daughter. Iintroduced them to the audience and spokeabout our statewide folk arts program. Severallegislators expressed interest in our work andI will definitely pursue these new and impor-tant contacts. Connecticut is lucky: the gover-

CONNECTICUT

Institute for Community Research(ICR), HartfordConnecticut Cultural Heritage ArtsProgram

Lynne Williamson

nor supports arts funding and decreed minorcuts this year despite a huge state deficit.The problem is that tourism, preservation,and humanities programs stand to lose undera proposed combination of agencies.

Other projects and activities we’re workingon:

The Southern New England TraditionalArts Apprenticeship Program - Year 5In collaboration with the Folk Arts Programsof the Rhode Island State Council on theArts and the Massachusetts Cultural Coun-cil, the program is funding eight master/apprentice pairs (master artists in bold):* Charlie York(MA)Manuel Palomo - Beetle Cat boat building* Seija Floderus (RI)/5 members of the

Finnish American Heritage Society(CT) - Finnish weaving

* Jose Mello (RI)/Bobby Ponte and GaryArrenegado (MA) - Azorean boatbuilding

* Eldrid Arntzen (CT)/Betsy Ketudat- Olsen (MA) - Norwegian rosemaling* Bounleaune Ketnavong (MA)/ Khamphone Phonekeo (CT) - Laotian khene playing* Skip Healy (RI)/Will Hare (CT) - Irish flute and fife playing* Georges Menard (RI)/Bob Livingstone

(CT)/Conrad Depot (RI) - Francoquadrille calling

* David Ayriyan (RI)/Sarkis (Jimmy) Shahrigian (CT) - Armenian kamanche playing

All apprenticeship are progressing extremelywell this year, but the Armenian pair isperhaps the most inspiring. Master DavidAyriyan has looked for a student to learn therare and difficult instrument kamanche for avery long time. He also wants to be moreinvolved with the area’s Armenian commu-


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Franco-American fiddle player Conrad Depot, at his home in Pawtucket, RIduring an apprenticeship session with quadrille callers Georges Menard andBob Livingston. Photo by Winnie Lambrecht.

nity and locate performance opportunities.His apprentice - who is 75 years young -plays oud and double bass with other musi-cians at many Armenian community eventsthroughout New England. He says thatmeeting and working with David haschanged his life through reconnecting him totraditional music. For David, a dedicatedand knowledgeable student has been foundfor his beloved instrument. Jimmy’s connec-tions with other Armenian musicians andtheir performing network will now includeDavid and the kamanche. On April 24,Jimmy will play two pieces on thekamanche at Armenian Remembrance Dayat the Capitol in Hartford, which I’m surewill be a very moving experience for allinvolved.

Archive Project – We have completed thefirst stage of a process to organize andmanage the program’s 12 years of collecteddocumentation. A locked storage room withthe same climate control as our offices hasbeen outfitted with metal shelving andarchival quality storage materials, and basicinventories of materials have been compiled.

This summer an intern will catalogue,label, and file the collected images, audio/video/DAT tapes, project documents andephemera, and art works. A group ofthoughtful and supportive folklore col-leagues came to Hartford to advise me ondeveloping programming strategies that usethe archive materials, and fundraising willcommence to put these great ideas intopractice. Plans include inviting communitymembers to the archive to discuss what hasbeen collected from their group; hostingtraining sessions on oral history, documen-tation, and archiving; teacher workshops;and linking with the CT HumanitiesCouncil’s statewide library series to present

artists and issues important to their communi-ties.

Summer 2002 Workshops and Website –Last summer we hosted four traditional andcommunity arts workshops for older teens andadults: Lithuanian straw ornaments, Carib-bean dancing and carnival arts, African-American quilt making, and Puerto Ricanpainted textile designs. Photos from all eventscan now be viewed on our vastly improvedwebsite,www.incommunityresearch.org/programs/artsprograms.htm or /news/recent.htm.

Summer 2003 Puerto Rican Events - ICRwill be a site for CityLore’s traveling exhibit¡Que Bonita Bandera:! The Puerto RicanFlag in Folk Art, from July to September. Anadvisory group of local artists and culturalleaders is assisting with fieldwork so that wecan add a Connecticut dimension to theexhibit. Presentations will include músicajibara, bomba dance, and Taino-influencedmusic, as well as poetry and a panel discus-sion on the meaning of the flag to HartfordPuerto Ricans. After the exhibit we willproduce a Consurso Trovadores, a competi-tion for regional traditional singers/poets who


24

compose décimas. We are thrilled thatone of Hartford’s most respected PuertoRican traditional musicians, cuatristaVirgilio Cruz, will join us from PuertoRico to host this revived event that hehimself started a number of years ago.

Master Armenian kamanche player David Ayriyan shows apprentice JimmyShahrigian how to position the instrument, during a teaching session at David’shome in Johnston, RI. Photo by Winnie Lambrecht.

New Projects - For a long time I’vewanted to develop a project in market-ing traditional arts based on concernsand needs expressed by artists. Laterthis year we will explore activities inthis area, starting with a tour of selectedtraditional artists’ homes and studios.Other possible initiatives include a saleof limited edition art works on theinternet, training for artists in promotionand presentation skills appropriate to theirneeds, and development of marketing materi-als with them. A local foundation has ex-pressed some interest in funding this initia-tive.

In collaboration with ICR’s Depression in theElderly Study, my program will build on itstwo previous series of adult workshops byencouraging residents in senior housing toshare life stories and reduce their socialisolation as they participate with others fromtheir cultural group in traditional arts work-shops led by local (mostly senior) folk artists.Few people are as enthusiastic and creative asthe artists and tradition bearers we work within this field, and they can have an extremelypositive impact on their peers. We will reallymiss David Shuldiner’s guidance and humorhere.

AFS 2002 - What a great experience theconference was for me in my hometown! Iloved involving local Haudenousaunee artistsin the conference sessions and in the market-place, and they also enjoyed meeting all ofyou. Thanks to the many folklorists whobought artwork - all the artists reportedexcellent sales.

Lynne WilliamsonConnecticut Cultural Heritage Arts ProgramInstitute for Community Research2 Hartford Square WestHartford CT 06106860/278-2044 x 251

As many of you know, the Iowa Arts Coun-cil went through major staff and budget cutsin the previous year. At this point, we’vestabilized some programs, cut others, startedsome new ones, and are mostly surviving.Along with Bruce Williams, my IAC col-league, I am now wearing many hats and co-coordinate the IAC Grants as well as theCommunity Cultural Grants. Bruce and Ihave been on the road doing grant writingworkshops since last fall. We are also work-ing on artist rosters of various sorts; work-

IOWA

Iowa Arts Council,Folklife Program Update

Riki Saltzman


25

shops for artists, organizations, and educa-tors; and grant panels.

For those of you wondering about KarenHeege and Steve Ohrn, Karen is still in DesMoines, involved in various consultingprojects and providing many of her friendswith wonderful pastries and jams. Steve hasbeen working in his incredible garden (well,not as I write this, since we’ve just had someearly April snow), supplying his friends withjokes, reading lots of novels, watching lotsof films, and traveling; he is also doingsome consulting. I, and many others in ourdepartment, still feel the loss of their profes-sional and personal contributions, though wedo keep up friendships beyond the work-place.

As far as Folk and Traditional Arts in IA areconcerned, I am still the Folk & TraditionalArts Coordinator, though that role has beensubstantially reduced. We are still doing a(reduced) Traditional Arts ApprenticeshipProgram and will soon be debuting a radioseries, Iowa Roots, in partnership with WOIpublic radio in Ames, Iowa. These 5-minutemini-documentaries will also be audio-streamed on our website,www.iowaartscouncil.org in July 2003.

We are also working on a performance/touring program called “Cultural Express:Traditional Arts on Tour,” which will debutin May with a program on Bosnian sociallife. This pilot project involves collabora-tive planning with five different culturalgroups and will consist of 2-hour programsfrom May-September 2003 from 1-3 p.m. onthe second Sunday of each month. Pro-grams will start with a Bosnian coffee partyin May, Vietnamese traditions will be fea-tured in June, and then Anglo and AfricanAmerican gospel singing, Old Time music,and American Indian programs will occur

July-September. Currently supported by NEAUnderserved funding, this series will serve asmodels for a folk arts touring roster, whichprovide financial support for Iowa publiclibraries to host a growing number of themedprograms involving performance, demonstra-tion, talk, and a small touring exhibit as wellas a recommended reading list for the particu-lar theme.

Apprenticeships

Following are the apprenticeships funded forthe current year and following that is mywrite-up for the six teams who’ve just com-pleted their apprenticeships.

The recently revived Iowa Traditional ArtsApprenticeship Program has just completedits first year with six master artist/apprenticeteams and will shortly be starting the programfor 2003 with three teams. For more informa-tion on the Traditional Arts ApprenticeshipProgram, visit the Iowa Arts Council Web siteat www.iowaartscouncil.org. This program issupported in part by a grant from the NationalEndowment for the Arts, Folk & TraditionalArts Infrastructure Program.

Congratulations to the following for beingawarded Apprenticeship grants for 2003:

Master Artists Somphong Baccam andVilay Nguyen with ApprenticesJasmine Vong, Makayla Tuon, SelenaBaccam, Gabby Baccam, BrooklynnBaccam, Viana Nguyen, Viera Nguyenand Hong Vong for a second year ofTai Dam traditional dancingMaster Artist Aldijana Radoncic withApprentice Alma Cocic for Bosniantraditional dancingMaster Artist Al Murphy with Appren-tice Alice McGary for Eastern IowaOld Time Fiddling


26

During 2002, Master Artist Guy Drollinger,Iowa City, worked with Suzie Nehring, CedarRapids, on Old Time and Irish Fiddling.Master Artist Jorge Morales, Des Moines,taught Apprentice Carlos Nunez traditionalMexican guitar playing. Master ArtistArnulfo Camarillo worked with KarinaCamarillo on the techniques of teaching anddirecting a folklorico dance company in theQuad Cities. Master Artists SomphongBaccam and Vilay Nguyen taught a variety oftraditional dances to their Apprentices, theYoung Tai Dancers. Master Artist EuniceStoen worked with Apprentice RachelHoffland on traditional Norwegian pastriesand baked goods. And Master Artist HarleyRefsal taught Apprentice Dr. Dan Mansfieldthe ins and outs of traditional Norwegianfigure carving.

Norwegian Figure Carving

Norwegian figure carving is a flat-plane stylethat emerged in the mid-eighteenth century;Norwegian carving itself dates to well beforethe Viking Era (800-1050). Using a singlecarving or whittling knife, Scandinavianwoodworkers created small, six-to-nine- inchfigures that likely began as children’s toys.The figures, which typically depicted farmanimals and country folk also appealed toadults. Transportable and affordable, thecarvings provided a small income source,especially during the winter months. Thetradition grew in popularity throughout thenineteenth century and into the twentieth butbegan to decline after World War II. In thepast twenty years, the tradition has undergonea revival in Scandinavia and among Scandina-vian Americans.

Master Artist Harley Refsal, who grew up ona farm settled by his Norwegian immigrantgrandparents, has always worked in wood.Both his grandfather and father were carpen-

ters and farmers, so wood, tools, and encour-agement were readily available. Refsalbegan to carve in the flat plane style in thelate 1960s and has been working in thismedium for over 30 years. Like manytraditional artists, he learned his craft bywatching and observing as well as throughhis own experience. Refsal, who teaches inthe Art Department at Luther College, alsostudied and researched the history andtechniques of Scandinavian carving inNorway.

During the apprenticeship, Refsal metweekly with carving apprentice DanMansfield to learn tool selection as well asmaintenance and sharpening, wood selec-tion, design, and carving techniques. ForMansfield, who had over three years ofcarving experience, carving is not only askill he enjoys, but it also reinforces theheritage passed on to him by his Norwegiangrandmother. He has fond memories notonly of her rommegröt but also of carvingthe turu or stirring tool for that traditionalcream pudding. Reports Refsal, “We begancarving stylized horses, a traditional favoriteamong Scandinavian carvers. Basing ourdesigns on the Dala horse tradition in Swe-den, as well as horses carved on the Norwe-gian side of the border, we have carvedtradition-inspired as well as contemporaryversions of horses.” The pair moved on toroosters, another Scandinavian favorite, andthen on to human figures.

This style of carving involves roughing out afigure with an axe or bandsaw and using amodified Swedish slöjdkniv (whittling knife)to carve figures out of basswood. Beyondthe carving, however, this apprenticeship hasinvolved the transmission of Norwegianculture, history, and language. HarleyRefsal, who has taught and exhibited hiswork internationally for many years, has a


27

palpable love for his craft and his heritagethat he is passing on to Dan Mansfield, andDan, in turn, to his son. As Mansfield putsit, “Figure carving captures the expressionand emotion of everyday people doingeveryday things. It allows the common tobecome extraordinary.”

Eastern Iowa Old Time and Irish Fiddling

Old Time music in Eastern Iowa is a combi-nation of Anglo-Scotts-Irish dance tunes.Settlers from the east coast and migrationfrom the Upland South resulted in a low-key, matter-of-fact style of playing withoutmuch ornamentation. In the nineteenthcentury and through the mid-twentiethcentury, this music functioned primarily ashome and community entertainment—fordances, parties, and the like. From the1920s onwards radio and records alsoinfluenced playing styles, choice of tunes,and transmission, as did and do fiddlecontests and folk festivals.

Music making is a way of life and his wholelife for Guy Drollinger, who grew up in amusic-making family in Iowa City. Heremembers his father and his grandfather,Charlie Drollinger, fiddling all the time—jigs, reels, old time, jazz, whatever. Al-though everyone else in the family played,Guy didn’t really start playing an instrumenthimself until his grandfather gave him aguitar when he was twelve. He attemptedthe violin but gave it up after a couple ofweeks; he tried again a few years later, butnothing really took until he saw John Hart-ford play in 1976. That, plus backing up hisgranddad on guitar for a public performancearound the same time made Drollingerrealize just how much he liked this musicand the fiddle. He started practicing fourhours a day and hasn’t backed off by muchsince.

For the apprenticeship with Suzie Nehring,Drollinger, who started to teach his daughtersto play traditional fiddle when they werearound four years old, has emphasizingbowing, rhythm, and ornamentation like rolls,trills, double stops, and phrasing as well as avariety of old time and irish melodies. ForNehring, who grew up playing classical violinand listening to traditional Swedish music inher family, the challenge is learning to playwithout written music. Drollinger has herlearning phrase by phrase and playing overand over again, sometimes with a little varia-tion.

About a year before the apprenticeshipstarted, after hearing Guy and daughterMegan playhing at the local Farmers’ Market,Suzie approached Guy about lessons andstarted to attend local music jams, whichhelped considerably. But the process ofplaying traditional fiddle or any kind of folkmusic is not just about technique. It’s aboutbelonging to a cultural group and being partof the local scene. Nehring has been playingby herself and with Guy for local groups, inlibraries, at the Old Time Fiddlers Picnic, andfor school children as well as at jams in theQuad Cities and in Cedar Rapids. Accordingto Guy, she’s learned old time Americanfiddle playing, as done around Iowa, andtunes from other traditions, i.e. Irish jigs,German polkas, and Great Old ScotchWaltzes—over 50 tunes in all.

Guy Drollinger writes, “I do think fiddleplaying is something, both Suzie and I will dofor the rest of our lives. I feel grateful, andvery thankful to live in a place, Iowa, thatdoes value it. I also think that this TraditionalArts Apprentice Program will have pricelessand lasting dividends, for the people of ourCommunity, our State and even our Nation.”


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Tai Dam Dancing

Tai Dam traditional dance is a mixture ofsocial and performance styles influenced byTai, Chinese, and Lao folk and court dancetraditions, a result of migration and culturalinterchange in Southeast Asia. The influencesof the Ramayana, which depicts the life of theBuddha, Buddhist and Hindu rituals, courttraditions, and everyday life, are all apparentin this type of dance. Today in Iowa, Tai Damdancers perform to popular as well as tradi-tional music, and combine some Americandance steps and ideas with those from theirhome culture.

The Tai Dam people, an ethnic Chineseculture group originally from NorthwestNorth Vietnam, were forced out of theirhomeland and into Laos in the mid-twentiethcentury, during the French-Indochineseconflict. Then, in the aftermath of the Viet-nam War, the Tai Dam, who allied with theAmericans, became refugees again whenSaigon fell to the communists. In 1975, thenGov. Robert Ray signed a contract with theUS State Dept. agreeing to take responsibilityfor the resettlement of 1,200 Tai Dam refu-gees from Southeast Asia. Today, over 90%of Tai Dam not in Southeast Asia reside inIowa, which is known as the group’s secondhomeland in the Tai language.

Master Artists Somphong Baccam and VilayNguyen, both of whom were born and spenttheir early childhood in Laos, began learningTai Dam traditional dance at the ages of eightand seven, respectively. This form of dance,like other forms of Southeast Asian and AsianIndian dance, feature careful hand motionsand a straight torso. Steps are slow anddeliberate and must be coordinated with upperbody movements. Since the traditional outfitstightly cover the upper body and wrappedskirts shield the legs from view, the focus is

on collective, uniform, and graceful place-ment of the arms, hand, and head.

This apprenticeship involved ten Appren-tices from ages four through ten: JasmineVong, Makayla Tuon, Selena Baccam, KaylaCam, Gabby Baccam, Ona Luong,Brooklynn Baccam, Viana Nguyen, VieraNguyen and Hong Vong. Master artistsBaccam and Nguyen teach by first showingthe girls the foot movements, then handmotions and how to use various objects(scarves, baskets, flowers) to tell a story viadance. The girls learn how to coordinatedance steps and hand motions, keeping timewith the music as well as how to convey themeaning of each hand and foot movement.Vilay and Som call out the steps, correcthand movements, and make sure the girlsare properly spaced. According to Som,“We make them dance until they’ve finished[learning a new dance].”

During the course of the apprenticeship, thegirls have learned five dances. They haveperformed at various schools in the DesMoines area, for the Governor’s Inaugural,for the Tai Dam New Year at the TourismBuilding on the State Fair Grounds, and atthe State Historical Building. Dances likethe bell, scarf, and flower dances, the butter-fly, and a rice harvest dance are among thoselearned and performed to great acclaim thisyear. Besides dancing, the girls are learningto speak the Tai Dam language. They helpprepare and eat traditional foods and enjoysocializing with their Asian friends, all ofwhich reinforces the cultural connection ofthis folk art.

According to Som and Vilay, “The Tai Damdancers wish to share the traditions of ourculture with the people of Des Moines in thehopes of creating a better understanding andrespect of each other. It is also very impor-


29

tant to the Tai Dam people that these tradi-tions be passed down to our children so thatthey always remember where it is we camefrom and can continue to carry the traditionsthroughout their lifetimes.”

Directorship for Ballet Folklorico

Mexican Folklorico dance groups exist allover Mexico and throughout the UnitedStates. These traditional dance groups areoften university-trained dancers who learn toperform the various dances from each stateof Mexico. Mexico’s traditional dances areregional and often local and have beeninfluenced by European colonial (Spanish,German, and French) as well as indigenouscustoms, evident in the costumes, steps,music, and themes or stories. In the UnitedStates, Mexican Americans often formfolklorico groups to pass their culturaltraditions on to their children. Mothersmake the costumes, teachers generally teachfor free, and community members supportthe groups by attending performances andoften having fundraisers.

The Quad Cities Ballet Folklorico, directedby Master Artist Arnulfo Camarillo, hasbeen in existence for over 20 years.Carmarillo studied folkloric dancing at theUniversidad de Guadalajara in Jalisco,Mexico and also performed in a dance groupthere. When he came to the United States,he wanted to continue this tradition for hisdaughter and for his community. Arnulfodoes not charge for lessons, and he and hisfamily, as well as the dancers’ familiessupport the cost of handmade costumes,props, and specially tailored outfits importedfrom Mexico for the male dancers. TheQuad Cities Ballet Folklorico has performedall over Iowa and Illinois as well as acrossthe United States.

Apprentice Karina Camarillo, who has stud-ied folk dance in Jalisco, Mexico, has workedwith master artist Arnulfo Camarillo toprepare dances from the Mexican states ofNayarit, Tamaulipas, Huasteco, Veracruz,Nuevo Leon, Michoacan, and Jalisco, whichare scattered over the North, Central andSouthern part of Mexico. According toArnulfo, each dance tells a story, which is notwritten down but carried in the heads of theteachers and dancers. Karina has spent thelast several months working with two groups,one elementary age, and one high school age,to learn several dances. She is a strict instruc-tor, demanding that her students repeat stepsagain and again until they get them right.Karina has also become the primary bookingcontact for the group, providing informationto presenters and making sure that the danc-ers, their costumes, and their equipment allmake it to each performance.

Karina, who began dancing when she wasfive, has also learned to prepare and make theintroductory remarks that precede each danceand that provide the cultural backgroundabout each dance and the state from which itoriginates. She and the group have givenperformances at Western Illinois University atthe Quad Cities, at the Rock Island Arsenal,for the Our Lady of Guadalupe (church)celebration, at the Col Ballroom in Daven-port, at the University of Iowa’s DiversityDay; and in Des Moines. The eventual goalof this apprenticeship is for Karina to takeover the directorship of the Ballet Folkloricofrom Arnulfo.

For recent immigrants, seeing the traditionaldances is like a homecoming; what Karinaand Arnulfo do helps to keep their culturealive. As Arnulfo says, “this art form is ofgrave importance to this community. As timepasses, the Mexican population needs to feeland see that their culture is one to be


30

celebrated and not hidden. The more edu-cated citizens can be, the easier for everyoneto understand one another.”

Norwegian Foodways

Norwegian cooking and baking are similar tothose of the other Scandinavian countries,Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. Potatoes,fish, and dairy products are featured in manydishes, while dill and cardamom are commonspices, beyond salt and pepper. Not surpris-ingly, Scandinavian foods take advantage ofthe plentiful fish and easily stored root veg-etables common to that part of the world.Some of the most well-known dishes arelefse, a potato flat bread similar to a Mexicanflour tortilla or an Asian Indian chapati;krumkake, a waffle cookie served withwhipped cream, powdered sugar and some-times lingonberry jam; and pickled herringand other kinds of preserved fish such aslutefisk, which is dried cod that has beensoaked in lye (and later prepared for eating bysoaking in water and baking in a butter or acream sauce).

Decorah, Iowa is known as a Norwegianstronghold. The home of the Vesterheim(western home) Norwegian-American Mu-seum and Luther College, the town andsurrounding farm communities are bound bykinship, ethnic, and religious ties that areevident in the predominance of church sup-pers, lutefisk fall dinners, Sons of Norwaysuppers, the summertime Nordic fest, and thestill-evident traces of Norwegian speechrhythms in people who are fourth and fifth-generation Americans. According to EuniceStoen, visitors say, “Decorah is more Norwe-gian than is Norway.”

Master Artist and renowned local cook andcookbook author Eunice Stoen grew up inMinnesota, Wisconsin, and then outside of

Decorah, surrounded by Norwegian Ameri-can traditions. She is well acquainted withthe preparation, serving and history ofNorwegian traditional foods as well as manyIowa favorites. As the pastor at her churchnotes, Eunie “learned her Norwegian bakingand cooking skills from the best—hermother and Ida Sacquitne, to name just two.And she has been generous in putting thoseskills into practice for the benefit of herfamily and friends.”

Stoen is teaching her apprentice, RachelHoffland, who attends the same church, BigCanoe Lutheran, to refine her Norwegiancooking skills as well as her cultural knowl-edge regarding recipes, customs, ancestors,styles of presentation, holiday observances,and associations of various foods and ingre-dients. Hoffland, who is already a pastrychef for Luther College and whose paternalgrandparents are Norwegian, has improvedher lefse making skills as well as learning tomake kringle, krumkake, heart waffles,potato dishes, and other pastries. Last fall,Eunie and Rachel spent much of a daycreating a kransekake (pictured), a multi-layered confection served for special occa-sions. The cake is served on a special platterso that it can be eaten from the bottom up,thus preserving its tree-like shape. Euniereported some trouble getting the cakes outof the rings, “but this was a good learningexperience of how to correct mistakes.”

Most of these dishes are not for everydaybut for specific times of year or specialoccasions. Lefse, a potato-based flat bread,is a traditional Norwegian food served fromThanksgiving through Christmas and eatenspread with butter and sometimes sprinkledwith sugar. The key to good lefse is to rollthe dough very thin and to bake it on theround lefse iron until it is floppy, not crisp.Krumkake, a fragile rolled waffle cookie,


31

should just about shatter when you bite intoit; the trick to eating it, says Eunie, is toplace your tongue in the center before youbite down. Stoen and Hoffland have alsobeen working on various kinds of cookies,breads, beet pickles, meatballs, and open-faced sandwiches.

Rachel has assisted Eunie with lefse andheart waffle demonstrations around Decorahas well as at a lefse-making class at a localchurch. So popular is this kind of classamong local Norwegian Americans, reportedEunie, that women from six neighboringtowns plus some from Decorah showed up,as well as three men and a teenaged boy.Clearly, the goal the two set out at thebeginning of this apprenticeship has beenmet: “to teach Rachel the joy of Norwegiancooking and our own heritage.”

Mexican Guitar

The music of home is one of the thingsMexican immigrants in Iowa miss most. AsApprentice Marco Nuñez puts it, “I speakgood English but hearing the sound oflanguage, lyrics, and sound of Mexico is areminder of my heritage. Mexican music ispassed on from generation to generation.Hearing traditional Mexican music stirs upmemories and reminds me of home.”

One of the best-known types of Mexicanguitar music is associated with trios andquartets in the Mexico City area. A groupmight consist of a requinto, a small acousticguitar; a guitar; and a guitarron, an acousticbass guitar, which accompany the vocalharmonies for boleros, cumbias, rancheras,corridos, juapangos, and jarochos, rhythmsand styles used to seranade, for listening,and for dancing at home, on the streets, andin local clubs.

Master Artist Jorge Morales was born inMexico City, where he learned to play therequinto, a small acoustic guitar. Jorgelearned to play from older musicians andrecordings. His favorites are ballads. He isknown for his meticulous attention to detail,intricate finger work, and his lyrical voice.Jorge lives and works in Des Moines.

Morales is the lead singer and instrumentalistfor Las Guitarras de Mexico. Las Guitarrasde Mexico first came together in 1985. The3-member group, whose musical tradition isrooted in the Mexico City area, plays regu-larly in Des Moines and around the state.Iowa natives RJ Hernandez (rhythm guitar,vocals) and his brother Joe (clavols, maracas,guitarron, vocals) grew up singing and play-ing music with their father and sisters. Today,Las Guitarras plays for a variety of commu-nity gatherings and festivals around theMidwest. Las Guitarras de Mexico repre-sented Iowa in the Global Sounds, HeartlandBeats Midwest tour in 2000/2001 and at the2001 Festival of Iowa Folklife.

Morales has been working with ApprenticeMarco Nuñes to learn traditional Mexicanguitar music, which include a variety ofrhythms such as rancheras, boleros, waltzesand tropical rhythms. Marco has masteredseveral of the basic scales and chords as wellas a “Cancion Misteca,” a ranchera, and“Reloj,” a bolero. This apprenticeship alsoinvolved fingering and strumming and thenputting the rhythms and chords together tolearn simple traditional Mexican songs.

Marco has performed at some family gather-ings and surprised his wife by learning a songthat Jorge wrote for Marco’s daughter whenshe was born. Traditional guitar playinginvolves not only learning tunes but masteringcomplicated chording and strumming tech-niques while at the same time keeping the


32

rhythm going and singing. The duo hadbegun to perform at some local venues inCentral Iowa, as well as at the State HistoricalBuilding.

According to Morales, his apprentice “isproud and grateful to have been given theopportunity to participate in this activity. Hissuccess in learning to play Mexican guitarfortifies his Mexican heritage and enables himto share his culture with others. Marco alsofeels more a part of the community. Playingguitar in front of Iowans presented him anexperience he would not have had without thegrant.” Concludes Jorge Morales, “This grantallowed me to share with Marco the interest,importance, and commitment the state ofIowa has for the arts and cultures of thoseliving in Iowa.”

Traditional artists are a treasured part ofIowa’s multicultural landscape. The IowaArts Council Traditional Arts ApprenticeshipProgram encourages Iowa’s traditional artsand cultures by providing grants to MasterArtists to teach qualified Apprentices. TheApprenticeship program is designed to benefittraditional artists and their culture groups(ethnic, geographical, occupational, andreligious) in Iowa; promote passing of tradi-tions from one generation to the next; increaseintercultural appreciation among diversegroups and individuals; and broaden publicaccess to traditional arts.

Riki Saltzman, Folklife CoordinatorIowa Arts Council600 E. LocustDes Moines, IA 50319515-242-6195, 515-281-6911fax: [email protected]

This New Year finds the Kentucky FolklifeProgram busier than ever. From a ongoingexpansion of our Community Scholarsprogram and material culture exhibits to thefall planning of a statewide folklife confer-ence and an invigorating new folklife festi-val, the KFP continues with its mission todocument, conserve and present the folklifeof the Commonwealth. The following areseveral important events in the making.

Folklife Conference: November 14-15,2003

During our outreach efforts over the yearsthe KFP has recognized a growing interest infolklife. Programs such as the VIP programand our work with teachers and folklorists inthe schools has demonstrated that there aremany groups of people throughout the stateinterested in celebrating and sharing distinctregional traditions.In response to this growing interest, theKentucky Folklife Program and the Programin Folk Studies at Western Kentucky Univer-sity are working together to plan a folklifeconference on November 14th - 15th 2003.This conference, to be held in BowlingGreen, will include a number of workshops,presentations, panels and discussions center-ing on topics such as:_ Bringing folklife into the schools_ Making heritage festivals reflectlocal traditional culture_ Presenting folk artists in communi-ties_ Documenting regional folklife usinglocal community scholars

KENTUCKY

Kentucky Folklife ProgramBob Gates, Brent Bjorkman, Mark Brown


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An additional purpose of this conferencewill be to explore how the formation of astate folklife association might benefit allthese different groups by offering opportuni-ties to share knowledge and resources anddevelop projects about local cultural re-sources.Through this conference, KFP and the FolkStudies Program at WKU hope to bringtogether a wide range of individuals fromaround the state and region interested in allaspects of folklife. For more informationabout how you can participate in thisgroundbreaking folklife event please contactthe Folk Studies Program at WKU or theKentucky Folklife Program. Contact infor-mation for KFP staff is listed below.

Update: Kentucky Folklife Festival 2003Returns September 25th-27th

A one-year hiatus from festival productionhas allowed us to take a full look at allaspects of the Kentucky Folklife Festival.Beginning last winter the KFP organized aseries of advisory committees to addressvarious key issues surrounding ourprogram’s largest educational event. Thiswas followed by a recent visit to our officeby two folklife festival consultants whoshared their vast experience and knowledgewith KFP staff and community advisoryteams. In November folklorists Mike Luster(Louisiana Folklife Festival) and MarshaMacDowell (Great Lakes Folklife Festival,Michigan) helped us assess our work overthe past five years and plan for the future. Itwas their general consensus that our effortsto this point have been a great success.As we plan the 2003 Kentucky FolklifeFestival we will continue the elements thathave made the festival so successful, such asits home in the capitol city in Frankfort andour emphasis on educating Kentuckians,young and old, about folklife in everydaylife. We will also offer exciting changes,

such as shifting the site to include more ofdowntown Frankfort and increasing ourefforts to market the festival in all corners ofthe state.Everyone is invited to attend September 25-27, 2003!

Become a Festival Insider!!

One way we are expanding our festivalpromotional outreach is by way of our Friendsof the Festival e-newsletter. If you would liketo get the inside story on changes to thefestival and artists scheduled to perform at theSeptember event, just join our on-line mailinglist. Every few weeks folklorist Mark Brownwill keep folklife enthusiasts “in the know” asto where we are headed with this fall’s pro-duction. Be the first to find out about our“Chance to Dance” Friday when Latino and

During the spring legislative session the Kentucky Folklife Program’sexhibit pertaining to elements of regional folklife greeted visitors to thehalls of the capitol.


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Appalachian dancers instruct and entertainfestival goers. Contact KFP’s Mark Brown formore detail on joining this list.

Community Scholars Program Grows -Rural to Urban

The Community Scholars program put intoplace over two years ago has begun to take ongreater local and statewide prominence.Since its beginning in Jackson County theinitial pilot program has grow to include afurther NEA grant which is assisting these

Master artist Clevie Childress shares basketmaking knowledge with hisgrandson Jeffry Carroll near Cub Run, Kentucky. Childress and Carrollare currently participating in the KFP’s Folk and Traditional ArtsApprenticeship granting program.

local scholars to begin to construct a “hands-on” toolkit and teacher training manual for thepurpose of sharing regional cultural documen-tation processes with others. Recently theCovington Community Center in NorthernKentucky has embraced this idea to imple-ment a similar program in a defined section of

their downtown neighborhood. Based onthe growing success of this program theKentucky Arts Council is looking at variousoptions to assist in formalizing this trainingto increase its access to communities furtherout in the state. Future issues of the PPNwith cover the work being done by Commu-nity Scholars throughout the summer andfall 2003.

Stop the Real Beverly Hillbillies – AnUpdate

Perhaps you have heard about CBS’ plans totake a real family from rural America andput them on display in a Beverly Hillsmansion as part of a new “reality-based”program. The producers of the so-called“Real Beverly Hillbillies” are looking for alow-income, multigenerational family froma rural area to be the real-life cast. Recentlythe Center for Rural Strategies, based inWhitesburg Kentucky, initiated a publiccampaign to oppose the creation of such aprogram based on damaging stereotypes ofrural residents. Many dedicated individualsand organizations continue to lend theirvoices to this cause. Current word fromCBS is that this project has been at leasttemporarily tabled and the work of theCenter for Rural Strategies goes on.If you would like to help stop CBS bylending your voice to the campaign againstthis inappropriate stereotyping of Appala-chian communities visit the Center’s websiteat: http://www.ruralstrategies.org/.

The Folklife Staff:Call toll free: 1-888-833-2787 or e-mail:Director Bob Gates([email protected])Folklife Specialist Brent Bjorkman([email protected])Folklife Specialist Mark Brown([email protected])


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Grants to Individual Artists: To recap: Atthe end of the budgeting process in late July2002, Acting Governor Jane Swift cutthe Fiscal Year 2003 budget for theMassachusetts Cultural Council (MCC)by 62 percent from last year. MCC’sstate allocation went from $19.1 millionto $7.3 million. This is the lowestappropriation to the council since 1994.In the current fiscal environment, it isgood news indeed that the Folk Artsand Heritage Program survives. BothArtist grants to traditional artists andApprenticeships will continue, how-ever, on alternating years. The grantamount in each of these categories hasbeen lowered to $5,000 and $6,000 respec-tively. The Traditional Arts Apprenticeshippanel met in March 2003; grant awards willbe made public in early June. Last year’sapprenticeships have all been documentedwith tape-recorded interviews and photo-graphs. The work of one apprenticeship inArmenian Marash embroidery is on displayat the statehouse in Representative JayKaufman’s office through early May.

Fieldwork: The MCC is working in depthin three partnership communities (Spring-field, Framingham and the NorthernBerkshires) as part of the State Arts Part-nership for Cultural Participation (START)Initiative, a three-year grant from theWallace-Reader’s Digest Funds. Theoverarching goal of the initiative is tobroaden, deepen and diversify participa-tion in the arts within communities, whilebuilding the organizational capacity of

MASSACHUSETTS

Folk Arts & Heritage ProgramMassachusetts Cultural Council

Maggie Holtzberg

organizations. One measure of ourCommunity Partnership work is how proac-tive cultural organizations’ leadership andprogramming are in promoting culturalequity within their communities.Four folklore fieldworkers (Millie Rahn,Janice Fleuriel, Jessica Payne and KateKruckemeyer) have begun fieldwork in thethree partnership communities of Spring-

Anahid Kazazian, Armenian Marash embroidery. Photo by Maggie Holtzberg.

field, Framingham and Northern BerkshireCounty. Findings from this fieldwork willbe reported to each of the community’slocal START Partnership steering commit-tees. The knowledge will inform the com-munity at large and support efforts toincrease cross-cultural participation. Inaddition to the START related fieldworkdescribed above, staff will document ap-prenticeship grantees and pursue leads inother areas of the state.

Radio: WUMB-FM Radio is excited aboutcollaborating with us to develop a new radiosegment that highlights traditional and com-munity-based arts across the state. Segmentscould eventually go statewide, through anetwork of 23 radio stations that work closelywith WUMB. One possibility under seriousconsideration is fitting Maggie into a once amonth slot on the program Commonwealth


36

Journal with host Barbara Neeley.

Visibility: We are delighted that the AmericanFolklife Center has invited us to showcaseMassachusetts’s folk artist Joe Derrane andthe MCC’s Folk Arts and Heritage Programthis April. Maggie travels to Washington, DCto present this legendary Irish accordionist ina performance on the Neptune Plaza at theLibrary of Congress on 23 April. The concertis part of the “Homegrown: The Music ofAmerica” series, presented by the AmericanFolklife Center at the Library. Maggie willintroduce Joe and do a short post-concertinterview with him for the Archive of FolkCulture.

Massachusetts Cultural CouncilMaggie Holtzberg,Folk Arts and Heritage Program Manager10 St. James Avenue, 3rd FloorBoston, MA 02116-3803(617) 727-3668 ext. 254fax: (617) 727-0044www.massculturalcouncil.orgmaggie.holtzberg@art.state.ma.us

BUDGET WOESLike many other states, Michigan is facing amassive state budget crisis. This month, thegovernor proposed a 50% reduction in ourstate arts agency. Obviously the impact ishuge and we are not yet sure how the pro-posed changes, if passed by the legislature,will fall on us. An arts advocacy organizationin the state organized Arts Advocacy Day, astate senate subcommittee took testimony, and

MICHIGAN

Michigan Traditional Arts ProgramLuAnne G. Kozma and Rebecca Clark,

East Lansing

arts organization staff recruited legislators tojoin the Legislative Arts Caucus, a bi-cameral, bi-partisan group. On top of thisgrim news, the state budget also includeddeep cuts to higher education (a total of10%). Being based in a university museum,this too will affect our capacity to do thelevel of programming we have built over thepast ten years. In this challenging time, wewill examine what it is we do best. Goodluck to all our colleagues facing similar,daunting challenges!

GREAT LAKES FOLK FESTIVALSee our latest plans for 2003’s Great LakesFolk Festival at the website:www.greatlakesfolkfest.netThe dates are August 8, 9, and 10th. Hope tosee many of you there.

MSU MUSEUM QUILT COLLECTIONSEXHIBITED IN JAPAN“American Quilts from the Michigan StateUniversity Museum,” opened Jan. 28, 2003,in Tokyo, Japan, marking the first timemajor MSU Museum collections wereexhibited overseas. The exhibit drew 53,000visitors during its first 10 days in Tokyo, andit will travel throughout Japan through 2003.

The exhibition draws from 60 quilts in theMSU Museum’s Great Lakes Quilt Center,which houses a collection of more than 500historic and contemporary quilts. “Ameri-can Quilts from the Michigan State Univer-sity Museum” is funded by Kokusai Art ofTokyo, one of Japan’s leading developers ofexhibitions. The MSU Museum joins aselect set of institutions whose noted Ameri-can quilt collections have been showcased inJapan by Kokusai, including the MarylandHistorical Society and the University ofKansas Sheldon Art Museum. In each case,Kokusai publishes an accompanying exhibi-tion catalogue in Japanese and English; and


37

the MSU Museum catalogue is now intranslation.

“The Michigan State University Museumhas had a long-standing commitment topreserve and present the history of tradi-tional arts in general and quilt history inparticular,” notes Marsha MacDowell,curator of folk arts at the MSU Museum andthe exhibit’s organizer. “The Michigan QuiltProject, begun at the museum in 1984, notonly spearheaded the documentation of thestate’s quilting history, but also stimulatedinterest in strengthening the museum’s quiltcollection, upgrading its care, and expandingits use.”

The exhibition reflects the MSU Museum’scommitment to international outreach, addsMacDowell, who is also a professor of artand art history in the College of Arts andLetters. “This exhibition is a wonderfulopportunity to make our extraordinarycollections more accessible to users through-out the world and to use the collections tofoster transnational understanding andappreciation of distinct cultural histories andexpressions,” she says.

From Tokyo, “American Quilts from theMichigan State University Museum” willtravel to Osaka, Niigata and Kyoto throughDecember. Special receptions for MSUalumni in Japan are being planned through-out the exhibition schedule.

The MSU Museum’s Great Lakes QuiltCenter has evolved from the museum’sstrong interest in quilts. In 2001 the mu-seum and the Great Lakes Quilt Centerbecame formally affiliated with the Alliancefor American Quilts as a Regional Center forthe Quilt. The Alliance is a national organi-zation established “to further the recognitionof quilts; to preserve the history of quilts and

quiltmakers; and to establish the Center forthe Quilt, a place that actively communicateswith people about quilts and quilting.”

‘QUILTS OLD AND NEW’ EXHIBITA new exhibit at the Michigan State Univer-sity Museum explores the process of repro-ductions and reinterpretations of originalquilts in “Quilts Old and New: Reproductionsfrom the Great Lakes Quilt Center,” openedJan. 12 in the museum’s Main Gallery.

The exhibit showcases 12 new quilts thatwere inspired by quilts in the MSU Museum’sGreat Lakes Quilt Center collection, and thereproduction quilts will be shown next to theoriginals.

“Historically, quilters have relied on olderquilts as reference sources for designs, tech-niques, fabrics, and styles,” explains MaryWorrall, cultural collections assistant at theMSU Museum. “Reproductions raise bothsolutions and challenges for documenting andinterpreting history.”

Today, textile manufacturers frequentlyproduce textiles that are based from older(and usually out-of-print) fabrics, and patternmanufacturers write step-by-step instructionsthat make it easier for artists to reproduceolder quilts, explains Worrall. The new quiltson display were designed and patterned byWorrall and Beth Donaldson, quilt collectionsassistant.

Because textiles are easily damaged by longexposure to light or by handling, museumscan only put their quilts on exhibit for shortperiods of time; and by creating and display-ing reproductions, they can share the collec-tions with a wider audience, she adds.

The MSU Museum has found other creativeways to share quilt designs with an active


38

audience of quilt-makers, numbering morethan 20 million. Patterns and instructions forthe quilts on exhibit are contained in “GreatLakes Great Quilts: Quilts from the MSUMuseum Collections,” published in 2001.Meanwhile, the MSU Museum worked withfabric retailer RJR Fashion Fabrics of Tor-rance, Calif., to develop two fabric lines thatreproduce textiles in the museum’s collec-tions. Royalties from the fabric sales helpssupport care and maintenance of the originalcollections.

“The Michigan 4-H History Project” exhibition told the story of former 4-Her JaneWerner, who learned how to sew through 4-H. She saved all of her 4-H clothingprojects, awards, and patterns and donated them to the MSU Museum’s Michigan4-H History Collection. Photo by LuAnne Kozma.

“Quilts Old and New: Reproductions from theGreat Lakes Quilt Center” runs through Aug.17. For more information about the exhibitand related educational programs, contact themuseum’s Quilt Line at 517-432-3800 or e-mail [email protected]. The exhibit issupported through a grant from the MichiganCouncil for Arts and Cultural Affairs.

MICHIGAN HERITAGE AWARDSThe MSU Museum announces the MichiganHeritage Awards (MHA) for 2003 - honoringindividuals who continue their family andcommunity traditions with excellence and

authenticity.

“The Michigan Heritage Awards are pre-sented each year to honor master practitio-ners of Michigan who continue the folktraditions of their families and communitiesthrough practice and teaching,” explainsYvonne Lockwood, curator of folklife at theMSU Museum and coordinator of theMichigan Heritage Awards program.Awards are also presented to outstandingcommunity leaders who support and advo-

cate for the maintenance and documen-tation of traditional arts.

Since 1985, the MSU Museum’s Michi-gan Traditional Arts Program hasrecognized the achievements of Michi-gan artists in one of three MHA catego-ries: performance, material culture andcommunity leadership. This year’sMichigan Heritage Award recipientsare:

Richard M. Dorson (posthumous),scholar and former Michigan StateUniversity faculty member, forresearching and documenting Michi-gan folklore traditions. His researchwas conducted early in the field offolklore, leaving a legacy for this andfuture generations.Laina Maria Lampi of Clawson, forhandwoven rag rugs.Ronald Paquin of Sault Ste. Marie,for Native American birch barkcanoes.

In August, recipients of the 2003 MichiganHeritage Awards will be recognized at aceremony at the Great Lakes Folk Festival inEast Lansing. The Michigan Council forArts and Cultural Affairs provides supportfor the MHA program. For more informa-tion, contact Yvonne Lockwood, (517) 355-


39

2370 or visit http://www.museum.msu.edu.Previous awards have recognized artists indiverse areas of quilting, bones (and spoons)playing, fiddling, cedar fan carving andNative American dance traditions.

MICHIGAN TRADITIONAL ARTS AP-PRENTICESHIP PROGRAM RECIPIENTSThe Apprenticeship program supportstraditional folk arts practiced in Michiganthat are learned informally from one anotherin small groups and families. This year’sapprentices will study art forms rangingfrom birch bark cutouts, music decoy carv-ing, leatherworking and mehendi (henna) artapplication. Over the next year, a masterworks with an apprentice artist in the samecommunity on traditional arts development.For this partnership the master artist receivesa $2,000 stipend.

The Michigan Traditional Arts Apprentice-ship Program’s master artists and appren-ticeship recipients for 2003 are:

Master artist Anna Hubbard of SaultSte. Marie, and apprentice Edythe C.Nichols of Sault Ste. Marie, forOjibway birch bark cutoutsMaster artist Wilho Kilpela ofMarquette, and apprentice TanyaStanaway of Ishpeming, for Finnish-style accordion playingMaster artist Reverand CzeslawKrysa of Orchard Lake, and appren-tice Susan L. Tipton of Wyandottefor pisanki (Polish egg decorating)Master artist Edward Lauluma ofChassell, and apprentice KellySuvanto of Chassell for Finnish-American fiddle playing and Ameri-can square dance musicMaster artist Cynthia McCormick ofGrand Ledge, and apprentice JulieSullivan of Eaton Rapids, for rag rugweaving

Master artist William McDonald ofDelton, and apprentice Dwane RutanOng II of Southgate, for decoy carvingMaster artist Ronald J. Paquin of SaultSte. Marie, and apprentice CecilPavlat, Sr. of Sault Ste. Marie, forNative American birch bark canoemaking and fishing implementsMaster artist John Perona of Calumet,and apprentice Randy Seppala ofWatton, for spoon playingMaster artist Ashoka Rao of SwartzCreek, and apprentice Neeta Erinjeriof Flint for Kathak (North Indianclassical style) danceMaster artist James Rice of Hudson,and apprentice Danielle Cole ofHudson, for saddle making andleatherworkingMaster artist Anshu Varma ofOkemos, and apprentice MoushumiMokherjee of East Lansing, formehendi (traditional Indian hennaapplications)

Michigan Traditional Arts ProgramMichigan State University MuseumEast Lansing, MI 48824fax: (517) 432-2846/ 353-0676www.museum.msu.edu/museum/esp/mtap/mtap.html

By the time you are reading this, I hope that Iwill have been able to announce the foundingof a new, non-profit state folklife organizationin Nebraska. Whether those plans come to

NEBRASKA

Gwen MeisterPlains Cultural ResourcesLincoln Nebraska


40

fruition this year or later, however, dependson several factors that remain to be deter-mined. More on that topic will be in the nextPublic Programs Newsletter.

I can report that I served on the planningcommittee for the Prairie Visions TeacherTraining Institute. This year the Institutefocused on Folk Arts in the Classroom and wewere lucky enough to have Paddy Bowman asthe chief instructor. The Prairie VisionsInstitute was advertised on the CARTSWebsite this year and took place simulta-neously in Omaha and Kearney, Nebraska onJune 8-11.

I have been consulting with the SoutheastNebraska Development District on a culturaltourism/marketing project where I workedwith community volunteers who interviewedpersons who had been or are still involved infruit production in the far southeastern cornerof Nebraska, along the Missouri River. Thearea used to be one of the largest fruit produc-ing and shipping regions in the country priorto 1940, when a disastrous freeze destroyedalmost all of the fruit trees. Now some neweroperations are joining the few growers whowere left.

Originally called the Missouri River BluffsFruit Culture Folklife Project, the project wasre-named “These Fruitful Hills” from one ofthe descriptions that kept cropping up in theinterviews. In April the original projectofficially closed with a public presentation atthe new winery in Brownville Nebraska. Acrowd of about 80 people (half the size of thetown) watched and listened to excerpts fromthe interviews, drew the locations of formerorchards and vineyards on large-scale areamaps, and ate homemade fruit desserts madeby project volunteers. We collected somereally great recipes too! The project wasmade possible in part by a grant from the

Fund for Folk Culture’s Partnerships inLocal Culture Program, underwritten by theFord Foundation. Additional support camefrom the Whiskey Run Creek Winery andVineyards of Brownville. The DevelopmentDistrict staff and I are now working with thelocal University Extension staff and localvolunteers in the area to do similar inter-views in additional communities and to puttogether a driving tour of southeast Ne-braska based on the orchards, vineyards andhistory of the area.

I am also continuing to be active in theseven-state consortium of folklorists whohave been documenting folklife along theMissouri River. Although the original NEA-funded project has been completed, this fallwe plan to submit a grant proposal to an-other funding source to support additionalfieldwork and develop materials for use inschools.

The New York Folklore Society has beenworking on a series of folklife radio docu-mentaries from around the state that are theproducts of collaborations between folklifeprofessionals and radio professionals. Thishas enabled the involvement of many of thefolklorists and ethnomusicologists to teamwith producers in public radio from all overthe state. This series of eleven documenta-ries has been completed and are mastered toCD.

The first part of the distribution strategy forthe documentaries focuses on public radio

NEW YORK

New York Folklore SocietyEllen McHale, Executive Director

Dale Johnson, Director of Services


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airplay around the state and elsewhere. Thesecond is for distribution to schools, whichincludes a curriculum guide created byKathy Condon with NYFS staff targeted tomeeting the ELA learning standards for NewYork State. The guide will have contextualbackground including relevant history,contemporary analogies, learning activities,examples of traditional topics for study,resource pages, and lesson plans. Thedocumentaries are further illustrated withphotographs and easy to copy handouts andoverhead displays. Intended to take its placealongside our technical manuals, materialsare situated in binder form so research canbe added or subtracted when necessary tokeep it current. The curriculum is beingmodeled in several school districts forteacher revisions and then made availablethrough the New York State BOCES infinished form later this year.

Another audio project has been completed.With the help of technician Jameson Bruhn,we have transferred to digital and reel-to-reel 156 cassette recordings collected by theNorth American Fiddler’s Hall of Fame.These historic recordings of old-time fid-dlers will be accessible at their museum andperformance park in Osceola, NY, whilebeing preserved for future generations. Ourdigital workstation and Studer recorder areavailable to collectors who wish to makepreservation copies of their fieldwork, as wecontinue to make archival copies and findrepositories for endangered folklife collec-tions.

Continuing our series of free forums ontopics of interest to the field and our mem-bers, we have two meetings in 2003 withothers to be announced. The FolkloreSociety partnered with the Folklife Center atthe Crandall Public Library in Glens Falls,New York, on Wednesday, April 9, to

present ways of using recorded narrativecollections beyond archiving and access. Thisforum was entitled, What to Do with ThoseOral Histories. Greg Sharrow of the VermontFolklife Center presented VFC’s remarkableuses for oral history in creating a series ofchildren’s books, radio programming, exhibi-tions, publications, and other products. Thiswas in conjunction with the CrandallLibrary’s exhibition, Family Stories, FamilySagas, an innovative audio-visual installationshowcasing the histories of six New Englandfamilies who share a powerful tradition ofstorytelling.

The second forum planned is on vernaculararchitecture and is entitled, Built to Use, Notto Last: Temporary Structures and the Use ofSpace in Community Life. The forum willexamine the research by folklorists of tempo-rary structures such as ice shanties, smokehouses, farm stands, sugar shacks,Adirondack camps, lean-to shelters, riverhouses, corn cribs, and many others. Theemphasis will be on the use of space. For thisforum we have partnered with the MabeeFarm in Rotterdam Junction, New York, onthe Mohawk River. We will meet in thereconstructed Dutch barn of the oldest Dutchfarm in the Mohawk Valley. We encouragecolleagues from outside as well as withinNew York State to contribute to the long-standing services to the field provided by theNew York Folklore Society. Forums are freebut we ask for registration.

Located in our storefront on historic JayStreet in Schenectady, The Gallery of NewYork Traditions is a consignment gallery fortraditional artists, and will once again featuredemonstrations in 2003 incorporating adiverse range of traditional art forms. Artistsare enlisted from all over New York State andNYFS staff provides interpretation to thepublic.


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The annual conference and meeting of theNew York Folklore Society will take place onOctober 24-26, 2003 at Sackets Harbor, NewYork, on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario.We are pleased to be partnering with Tradi-tional Arts of Upstate New York for thisconference focusing on “culturallandmarking.” As usual, the conference willinclude tours of the region, music and dance,and regional foodways. We welcome anyoneand everyone. Please call the New YorkFolklore Society or visit its website for furtherinformation.

New York Folklore SocietyP.O. Box 764Schenectady, NY 12301(518) 346-7008fax: (518) [email protected]

Latino Arts and Culture in Rural Librarieswas a one-year, grant project that endedFebruary 28, 2003 and was supported by theInstitute of Museum and Library Servicesthrough the Library Services and TechnologyAct, and administered by the Oregon StateLibrary. It served nine rural libraries throughbilingual arts and culture programming,outreach and network building between locallibraries and their Spanish speaking commu-nities, and Spanish language offerings andparticipation through programming, computerworkshops and Spanish language printedmaterials.

OREGON

Oregon Folklife ProgramNancy Nusz, Trilce Navarrete Hernandez,

Gabriella Ricciardi, Carol Spellman,Anne Rogers

Las Artes Tradicionales en La Comunidad isa multi-year, statewide Latino project.Culminating the project’s first two years, theFolklife Program opened a traveling exhibit“Our Ways: History and Culture of Mexi-cans in Oregon” in September 2002. To datethis has visited six sites, four in rural areas,and it is scheduled for six more sites throughAugust when it will move to the OregonHistorical Society for the grand opening ofits new entry. The exhibit is bilingual andconsists of two, ten-foot panels (four sides)with a metal truss system that frames one ofthe sides and holds ten handcrafted artpieces from Oregon Mexican artists. Fund-ing for the exhibit and ATC comes from theNational Endowment for the Arts, theOregon Arts Commission, the Regional Arts& Culture Council, and PGE Foundation.

The Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Pro-gram is up and running again after a year’shiatus thanks to the National Endowment forthe Arts, the Oregon Arts Commission andthe Regional Arts & Culture Council. Typi-cally, the program funded 10 master artists,however, this year with decreased fundingfour masters have been selected to worktogether for eight months. Native AmericanChet Clark will teach drum making andpowwow songs to Chris Garcia in Salem.Michael Izuchuku of Portland’s Nigeriancommunity will teach Igbo masqueradetraditions to Anthony Abah and LaurenMarie Cave. Yelizaveta Khudaya will teachUkrainian weaving to Svetlana Rusnak, bothof Portland. Bertrand Ramos of Woodburnwill apprentice his nephew Antonio inwoodworking traditions of their indigenousPurepecha culture from Mexico.

The Neighborhood Arts, Schools UnitingNeighborhoods and Arts in Library Pro-grams are ongoing. Through these theOregon Folklife Program routinely sends


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traditional artists to community organiza-tions and neighborhood settings to performand present workshops and other arts activi-ties. Thousands of audience members enjoythese activities every year. Funding for NAPand SUN is from Multnomah County andthe National Endowment for the Artsthrough the Regional Arts & Culture Coun-cil.

Portraits of Oregon: Youth Exploring Cul-ture and Community is a partnership projectof the Oregon Folklife Program and theOregon State Extension Services 4-H Pro-gram. Portraits of Oregon was designed toteach 4-H youth about documenting theircommunities’ traditional artists and cultureand to give 4-H club teens “hands on”training in fieldwork strategies, interviewingskills, black and white and color photogra-phy, sound recording, and video production.This yearlong project in five rural countiesin Oregon (Coos, Jefferson, Josephine,Malheur, and Washington) involves 4-Hersand their team leaders who participate intraining workshops run by the OregonFolklife Program. Teens gain field experi-ence as they explore, investigate and gathervisual and oral information from traditionbearers in their respective communities.Portraits of Oregon Project includes docu-mentation of the Basque community inJordan Valley, the Latino community inWashington County, ranching related activi-ties such as saddle making, weaving, andspinning in Jefferson County, agriculturaland Native American traditions and customsin Coos County, and pioneering, equinetraditions in Josephine County. At theconclusion of this project, 4-H teens willdesign and create exhibits for display atlocal historical museums, libraries, countyfairs and civic organizations as well as enterdocumentary video productions in film andvideo festivals locally and nationwide. The

results of the projects and the documentationmaterials will be available on the OregonHistorical Society website at www.ohs.org inthe summer of 2003. This project is fundedby the National Endowment for the Arts, theOregon Arts Commission and 4-H.

The Cultural Arts Resource Directory willsoon be an online teacher resource developedby the Oregon Folklife Program in partner-ship with Oregon Alliance for Arts Education(OAAE). The purpose of the annotateddirectory is to provide educators with re-sources for teaching culture through the artsprimarily located in the state of Oregon. Thedirectory includes: Regional Arts Providers,Cultural Arts Community Groups, FolkArtists Rosters, Student Cultural Arts Groupsat Universities, Teaching Units and TeacherResources, Model Cultural Arts Programs inOregon Schools, Oregon Folklife ProgramTeaching Resources and Units from Nationaland Statewide Museums and HistoricalSocieties. This directory is schedule to beonline in May 2003 at www.ohs.org.

Folklife Education Programs of the OregonFolklife Program are part of the Oregon ArtsCommission’s Regional Arts EducationNetwork http://art.econ.state.or.us/ae/aie.htmfunded by the State of Oregon and the Na-tional Endowment for the Arts. The programincludes a folk artists roster of 38 traditionalartists who work in the schools in perfor-mance, multicultural workshops and residen-cies. In addition, OFP’s outreach includesfive educational kits, which include tabletopdisplays, maps, books, overheads, articles,videos, cassettes, and teacher and studentguides. Cultures include: Chinese Traditionsof Oregon, Lao Traditions of Oregon, Mexi-can American Traditional Arts and Culture,Maritime Folklife of Lincoln County, andTraditional Arts of the Oregon Country.


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Oregon Folklife ProgramOregon Historical Society1200 SW Park AvenuePortland, OR 97205fax: (503) 221-2035www.ohs.org/exhibitions/moc/shell.htm

2003 Folk Arts Apprenticeship ProjectsThe Folk Arts Advisory Panel met on Friday,Feb. 28, 2003 to review 18 applications request-ing $25,762 for the 2003-2004 Folk Arts Ap-prenticeship Project grants. The following eightprojects were selected to receive Utah ArtsCouncil funding and will begin after April 1st.

Projects were selected on the basis of:How traditional the art form is. Has it been pastdown through a traditional community fromperson to person? Does the work represent theheritage of a group (ethnic, regional, occupa-tional or family)? Quality of the work of boththe master and apprentice. Has the master de-veloped skills over a lifetime of experience? Doothers who practice the art form value the workof the master artist? Has the student reached amid-level of competence in the art form? Be-ginners are rarely funded. Master and appren-tice must come from the same cultural group.Traditional arts are based on cultural heritageand traditional values. We fund projects thatcontinue that lineage of heritage within the spe-cific group. Cross-cultural projects will not befunded. Dedication of the apprentice. Moststudents have achieved a moderate level of skillin the art form, showing an interest and involve-ment in the preservation of the art and the com-

UTAH

Utah Arts Council Folk ArtsProgram

Carol Edison, Craig Miller,George Schoemaker

munity it represents. The likelihood for suc-cess of the project. The panel reviews the planof study and evaluates it on the feasibility ofthe project and the number of hours requiredto accomplish the proposed plan. Applicationswith clearly defined objectives and appropri-ate budgets are the strongest. Total amountrecommended for the Folk Arts Apprentice-ship Project grants: $11,008.

1. Robert Ray (Parowan) and RoyMatthews (Parowan) applied to receivefunds to teach/learn saddle making. Duringthe instruction, Roy Matthews will learnpattern layout, hand tool use, stirrup cover-ing, saddle making/rigging, leather qualityand hide use.2. Dennis C. Manning (Roosevelt) andJacob Manning (Roosevelt) applied toreceive funds to teach/learn traditionalblacksmithing. During the instruction, JacobManning will learn blacksmithing skills likebending, drawing, upsetting, cutting/punch-ing, brazing/welding, and heat treatment oftools.3. Mike Mescal (Crownpoint, NM) andLucille Mescale Hunt (Blanding) applied toreceive funds to teach/learn NavajoStorytelling. During the instruction, LucilleMescale Hunt will continue her training bylearning traditional Navajo legends, stories,and songs.4. Deanna PenningJack (FortDuchesne) and Mariah Cuch-Zufelt (FortDuchesne) applied to receive funds to teach/learn Ute Cradleboard Making. During theinstruction, Mariah Cuch-Zufelt will learncollecting and shaping willows, beading,sewing of cradleboard.5. Barbara Campbell (Providence) andToni Taylor (Logan) applied to receive fundsto teach/learn traditional quilting. During theinstruction, Toni Taylor will learn design,layout, and aspects of quilt construction.6. Miiko Toelken and Chiyoe Kubota


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(Logan) and Kazuko Toelken (Logan)applied to receive funds to teach/learnJapanese foodways. During the instruction,Kazuko Toelken will learn different forms ofshushi, ozoni, sekihan, Kubota, and sunomo.7. Colen Sweeten Jr. (Springville) andColen Sweeten III (Springville), applied toreceive funds to teach/learn traditionalwhittling. During the instruction, ColenSweeten III will learn how to whittle woodchains, and other woodcarvings.8. Carole Barlow (Hildale) and JaniceBarlow (Hildale) applied to receive funds toteach/learn Old-time Utah dance music.During the instruction, Janice Barlow willlearn to coordinate two pianos with violins,learn chording rhythms, waltzes, andschottisches.

Navajo woodcarvings by Marvin Jim and Grace Begaye inspired bylegends that tell of a time when animals walked on two legs; Photo byBrent Herridge & Associates.

Utah Traditions 2003 CalendarWe produced the second in our series of UtahTraditions Calendars. Entitled “Utah Tradi-tions 2003: Discovering the Artistry of UtahFolk Arts,” this edition of 2000 copies fea-tures the State Folk Arts Collection that isexhibited in our museum. Its production wasfunded by a $5000 grant from the Utah Officeof Museum Services.

The calendar contains six-dozen photographsof art and artists and twelve brief essays onthe elements and principles of art found infolk art including composition, design, color,the use of abstract or pictorial elements andsymbolism. With this year’s calendar wetargeted arts educators. We distributed it freeto artists, teachers, libraries, and legislators,and sold it to the general public.

Here’s a summary of the calendar contents:More than six-dozen photographs ofart from the State Folk Arts Collectionfeaturing basketry, buckskin &beadwork, carving, rugs, furniture,whittling, rawhide & leather, metal-work, horsehair, paper arts, textilesand painted objectsTwelve essays on the elements andprinciples of art found in folk artincluding composition, design, color,the use of abstract or pictorial ele-ments and symbolismDates of local ethnic and communitycelebrationsInformation about folk artists and theircultural communities statewideInformation about free exhibits at theChase Home Museum of Utah FolkArtsInformation about the Folk ArtsProgram of the Utah Arts CouncilFull size (17 X 11 inch) hangingformat for office or home


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Archival CollectionIn 2002 the Folk Arts Program began anextensive project to describe our archivalcollections, to preserve materials and makethem accessible. Sound technician CyrusGardner was hired on contract to make digitalpreservation copies and service masters of theoriginal audio recordings that exist on cassetteand reel-to-reel tape.

As a participant in the Western States Folklor-ists Archival Task Force we have been work-ing to systematically identify and describe ourown archival collections and to quantify thecollection components. As our first step inthis process we have identified and summa-rized 55 separate collections that representour body of work to date.

The Utah Folk Arts Archives contain docu-mentation of the Program’s activities in theform of color slide transparencies and blackand white photography, audio, video and filmrecordings. There are also extensive programfiles, field notes, computerized searchabledatabases, a website, and a reference librarywith books, periodicals, artist files and topicalfiles. New items are continually beingaccessioned that document new projects andongoing programs. Archival materials areorganized in three categories that reflect howthe program collects its materials.

The first category consists of materials thatare collected as part of specific projects of theFolk Arts Program that have a completiondate. These materials were generated throughthe production of one-time surveys, exhibits,or finite projects that resulted in productsincluding booklets and recordings.

The second category includes materials thatare collected as part of ongoing Folk ArtProgram projects. This includes documenta-tion of annual projects produced by the

Program, including festivals, concerts andgrants programs. This category includessome folklife materials produced by otherfolklife organizations that are examples offolk art or are interpretations by folklorists.This category also includes files on indi-vidual artists, topical files on communitiesand their traditions and a resource librarywith books and periodicals about Utah’scultural communities and folklore as anacademic discipline.

The third category contains materials thatare filed according to the genre of folk artdiscipline such as material culture, perfor-mance, craft, etc. The ongoing collection ofthese materials provides representations offolklife activity as it occurs within the stateof Utah at any given time. Care is given todocument traditions, tradition bearers/artists,and the community contexts wherein theywork.

All materials contained in the Utah FolkArts Archives belong to the citizens of theState of Utah and are accessible to thegeneral public with limited use restrictions.

Utah Folk Arts ProgramUtah Arts Council617 E. South TempleSalt Lake City, UT 84102-1177Voice (801) 236-7555TDD 1-800-346-4128Fax (801) 236-7556www.utahfolkarts.org

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