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The Library of
Congress American Folklife
Center On-line Collection site has a growing list of collections
from the Archive have been made available as part of the American Memory
Project. Current collections are: "Buckaroos in Paradise: Ranching Culture
in Northern Nevada, 1945-82" (Documentation of a Nevada ranching community),
"California Gold: Northern California Folk Music From the Thirties" (Materials
from the WPA California Folk Music Project Collection), "Hispano Music and
Culture of the Northern Rio Grande: The Juan B. Rael Collection" (Documentation
of religious and secular music of Spanish-speaking residents of rural Northern
New Mexico and Southern Colorado), "Omaha Indian Music" (Ethnographic field
collection contains 44 wax cylinder recordings collected by Francis La Flesche
and Alice Cunningham Fletcher between 1895 and 1897, 323 songs and speeches
from the 1983 Omaha harvest celebration pow-wow, and 25 songs and speeches
from the 1985 Hethu'shka Society concert at the Library of Congress), "Quilts
and Quiltmaking in America, 1978-1996" (Showcases materials from two American
Folklife Center collections: The Blue Ridge Parkway Folklife Project, and
the "All American Quilt Contest" sponsored by Lands' End and Good Houskeeping),
"Southern Mosaic: The John and Ruby Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording
Trip" (Folksingers and folksongs documented during a three-month trip through
eight Southern states), "Voices from the Dust Bowl: The Charles L. Todd and
Robert Sonkin Migrant Worker Collection" (A collection documentating migrant
worker camps in Central California). |
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Balch Institute for Ethnic
Studies A venerable
Philadelphia cultural institute. Some past exhibits can be visited
on-line including: "Philadelphia Armenian Rugs: Fabric of a Culture", "Building
the Gold Mountain: Philadelphia's Chinatown" , "Ethnic Images in the Comics",
"Ethnic Images in Advertising", "Ethnic Images in Toys and Games", "Ethnic
Weddings in America" , "Italian-American Traditions" , "The Japanese American
Experience" , "Preserving Polonia in America" , "Rites of Passage in America"
and "Sense of Self: Contemporary Ethnic Women Artists". |
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Anyone interested
in learning about the various cultural communites living in Utah today, will
enjoy visiting the newly renovated Chase Home Museum of Utah Folk Art.
Located in Salt Lake's Liberty Park, this is the only museum in the country
dedicated exclusively to exhibiting a state-owned collection of contemporary
folk art. In addition to free exhibits from the State Collection of American
Indian beadwork and basketry, woodcarving, textiles, cowboy crafts and ethnic
arts with worldwide roots, the museum hosts free concerts during July and
August featuring traditional performers from a variety of local folk and
ethnic communities. The Chase Home Museum is open weekends during the spring
and fall; daily during the summer. Group tours are available year round and
all programs are free. Visit the link to enjoy a virtual tour. |
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Indivisible: Stories of American Community
is an exploration of community life in America by some of this
country's most accomplished photographers, radio producers, and folklorists.
Here are the stories of twelve communities where people are coming together
to make their small piece of the world a better place to live. Indivisible
is a project of the Center for Documentary
Studies at Duke University in partnership with the Center for Creative
Photography, The University of Arizona, and is funded by The Pew Charitable
Trusts. |
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Michigan State University Museum
This site lists current exhibits
and retains virtual exhbits of some past ones including "To Honor and Comfort:
Native Quilting Traditions," (a landmark national exhibition developed by
Michigan State University Museum with the Smithsonian Institution's National
Museum of the American Indian and now touring the country under the auspices
of SITES. It features over 40 historical and contemporary North American Indian
and Native Hawaiian quilts, mainly drawn from the collections of Michigan
State University Museum. "A Community between Two Worlds" is the story
of Arab Americans in Greater Detroit. |
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Kansas Historical Society
Exhibits One of
ythe most exciting aspects of the Kansas Historical Society's site is their
virtual exhibits: "Moments of Glory", "From Far Away Russia: Russian-Germans
in Kansas", "They're Playing Our Song: Community Bands in Kansas", "Wheat
People: Celebrating Kansas Harvest", and "Wow! That Oughta Be in a Museum!" |
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Oregon Historical Society
The Oregon state folk arts program's
exhibits are well worth a visit: "From Generation to Generation" -- presents
work of master artists and their apprentices in traditional artistic forms,
showcasing the state Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. "Masters of Ceremony"
is Oregon Historical Society's first "virtual" exhibit -- "Guided by the
experiences of Oregon's traditional communities and artists, journey through
a series of pivotal life events: birth, coming of age, marriage, and death. |
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South Carolina
Traditional Arts Network (SCTAN) On-Line GallerySCTAN's on-line gallery
features on a regular basis, contemporary work by traditional artists and
photo exhibits of traditional arts and culture of South Carolina. Currently,
the gallery features documentary photographs and text by folklorist Douglas
Day. |
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UCLA Folklore
and Mythology Archives Among the things to search here are: "California & Western
Archive" (Student Projects); "Dance & Performance Archive" (The Hinman
Collection); "Ethnic & Regional Archive" (Chicano Heritage Collection
& More); "Visual Media Archive" (Vitas Film Festival & More); "Folksong
& Music Archive" (The D.K. Wilgus Collection); "Wayland D. Hand Library"
(A Folklore Reading Room at UCLA); "Korean Folklore Archive" (A Searchable
Database) |
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Southern Visions, the
traveling exhibits program of the Southern Arts Federation showcases
traditional folk arts and folklife from the Mississippi Delta to the low
country of South Carolina, from the black belt of Alabama to the Appalachian
mountains. Exhibits on the current roster feature work on a range of subjects
including African American and Native American cultures, the setting for
William Faulkner's writings, folk pottery and quilting traditions. (Note:
this is not an on-line exhibit). |
