This section highlights museums and cultural centers known for their folklore collections.
Early American Museum
Located in Mahomet, in Champaign County, the museum displays tools, implements, personal
belongings, and other artifacts of domestic life which tell the story of life on the Grand Prairie.
Past exhibits have focused on Illinois quilts and the history of African Americans in the region.
The museum website includes digital exhibits and information on educational programs.
Illinois State Museum
Exhibits of interest include anthropology displays on Native American pottery, basketry, and
weavings, and a quilt exhibit. The Illinois State Museum is currently featuring the Smithsonian
Exhibit,
New
Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music, running June 21 - August 4, 2007 at the Dickson
Mounds Museum, a branch of the Illinois State Museum. The exhibit features folk music along with
other types of American music.
Tarble Arts Center Folk Arts Collection
Based at Eastern Illinois University, the Folk Arts Collection at the Tarble Arts Center is
most visible collection of Illinois folk art in the state. Special features include memorial
tributes to Cora Meek of Mattoon and Martha Hayden of Greenup. Meek passed away on July 1st, 2001,
at the age of 111 and was well known as a textile artist and Hayden was known for her imaginative
papier maché sculptures.
American Folklife Center
The AFC, established as part of the Library of Congress in 1976 is dedicated to the
documentation and preservation of traditional culture within the United States, including materials
from a range of cultural groups within the U.S. such as Native American, African American, and
immigrant groups, in addition to materials from other urban and rural cultures within the U.S. The
center also houses the
Archive of Folk Culture, which includes
materials from all fifty states.
American Folklore Society
The primary professional organization among folklorists, AFS holds an annual conference in
October with presentations on a wide range of topics, in addition to workshops and pre-conference
tours of local or regional folkloric or cultural sites. AFS also publishes the quarterly
Journal of American Folklore,
and the bi-monthly newsletter, AFSNews.
Educational CyberPlayGround
Provides information on a range of folklore resources, is especially useful for K-12
teaching materials on folklore and folklife.
Folkstreams
A site which provides access to a rich assortment of folkloric and ethnographic films that
document and provide insight into the importance of folklore and traditional culture in people's
lives. Strong examples include The Painted Bride, The Men Who Dance the Giglio, Appalachian
Journey, Home Movie: An American Folk Art and Joy Unspeakable.
National Council for the Traditional Arts
Among the oldest organizations to promote traditional and folk arts, the NCTA organizes the
National Folk Festival and sponsors the
National Heritage Fellowship Awards
for folk artists.
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and
Cultural Heritage
A research and educational unit of the Smithsonian Institution, which promotes the
understanding of contemporary grassroots cultures in the U.S. and internationally. The center
organizes the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and produces
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. It is also
home to the
Ralph Rinzler Folklife
Archives and Collections.
Snopes
A site that documents urban legends and offers opinions on their validity; a valuable
resource for those undertaking research on urban legends. Snopes offers a range of categories from
Autos to Cokelore; the site is also searchable by subject.
Traditional Arts Programs Net
TAPNET provides a list of national resources to support traditional arts projects, including
links to relevant National Endowment for the Arts sites, links to prominent folklore archives, and
information on the National Heritage Fellows.
Uncle Ben, CEO?: The Strange History of Racist
Spokescharacters. David Segal. Slate. (Racist Folklore & Advertising slideshow)
A slideshow provided by Slate magazine which examines a range of racist depictions
throughout advertising history in the last 150 years and how these depictions relate to popular
conceptions on race. The display was prompted by Uncle Ben's 2007 "promotion" from servant to
CEO.
Illinois Arts
Council (Ethnic & Folk Arts Division)
Provides information on the IAC's Ethnic and Folk Arts Master/Apprentice Program, which
provides stipends to master artists and apprentices learning their crafts.
Illinois Quilt Research Project
Information on collaborative project between the Early American Museum (Mohomet, IL) and the
Land of Lincoln Quilters' Association.
Old Town School of Folk Music
Provides information on adult and children's classes offered in a wide range of roots music
and dance traditions, also provides information on concerts and other events at the school.
Tarble Arts Center Folk Art Collection
Provides information on the Tarble Arts Center's folk art collection, which includes
paintings, baskets, quilts, woven textiles, thread and needlework, carvings, blacksmithing, and a
number of mixed media works such as dolls, scaled replicas of buildings, and dioramas. Many of the
approximately 500 pieces are from the Midwest, with most works dating between 1950 and 1990.
Appalshop
A nonprofit media arts center, based in Appalachia (Whitesburg, KY), which promotes local
cultures and supports people's efforts to use new media technologies to tell their stories.
Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures
Based at the University of Wisconsin, the CSUM promotes research and supports archival
collections on the diverse cultures of the Upper Midwest.
Iowa
Arts Council, Folk & Traditional Arts Program
Provides information on resources provided by the Folk & Traditional Arts Program at the
IAC, including lesson plans, media materials, traditional arts tours and rosters, and Iowa's new
immigrant communities. Also provides information on the Iowa State Fair and the Midwest Folk
Festival.
Kentucky Artisan Center
Located in Berea, KY, the center supports traditional local culture by making Kentucky
crafts, music recordings, and foods available for purchase.
Missouri Folk Arts Program
The MFAP is a program of the Missouri Arts Council, administered by the Museum of Art and
Archaeology at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Its mission includes documenting and preserving
living Missouri folk cultures and making these rich traditions more accessible to the people of
Missouri.
Ozark Studies Institute
A multidisciplinary institute devoted to research and education about the culture, history,
and geography of the Ozarks. Its mission also includes collaboration with regional folklife
centers, museums, historical and cultural societies and making relevant university collections
visible (i.e. the
Max Hunter Folksong Collection), based at
Missouri State University (Springfield).
Traditional Arts Indiana
A program of the Indiana Arts Council, housed at the Department of Folklore &
Ethnomusicology at Indiana University. Its mission is to promote public awareness of Indiana's
cultural traditions and foster pride among practitioners of traditional art and culture.
Wisconsin Arts Board, Folk and
Community Arts
Designed for students, educators and the general public, Wisconsin Folks!, is a rich
resource for information on Wisconsin artists and their crafts and their ties to various ethnic
communities in the state. The site includes information about arranging artist presentations for
schools and community centers.
Folklore
& Popular Culture, Special Collections, University of Arkansas Library
A description of folklore resources from the Ozarks available at the UA Library, including
the manuscripts and other papers of renown Ozark specialists Vance Randolph and a collection of
Ozark folksong transcripts.
Long Island Traditions
Promotes ethnic and maritime traditions of Long Island, including information on programs
for K-12 and artist profiles.
Ozark Folk Center
Educational and resource center in Mountain View, Arkansas, promoting Ozark culture and
crafts. Center provides crafts demonstrations and sponsors events centered on folklife practices
such as traditional music and horticulture.
New York Folklore Society
Information on the publications and projects undertaken by the New York Folklore Society,
including information on regional artists and a useful discussion of what folklore is.
North Carolina Folklife Institute
NCFI documents and presents traditional culture in North Carolina. The site includes a list
of audio links to various segments in their Changing Faces of Tradition audio series. Topics
include Mexican rodeo, African American quilting traditions and attempts by regional potters to
adapt to changing conditions.
Western
Folklife Center
This nonprofit center, based in Elko, Nevada celebrates the everyday traditions of people in
the western United States. The site includes information about the center's various projects and
exhibits, including the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.
Kentucky Folk Web
Site dedicated to promoting Kentucky's culture, including festivals, exhibits, and other
events. The site also provides curriculum guides and materials for teaching about traditional life
and culture and information to link people to resources in or near their communities. Provides some
very useful definitions of folklore, including those drawn from key folklorists.
New York Folklore Society
Provides some useful definitions and examples of folklore in modern contexts drawing for
folklore scholars and documentation of community folklore by public folklorists.
Indiana University Department of Folklore & Ethnomusicology
University of Wisconsin, Folklore Program
Western Kentucky University Programs in Folk Studies & Anthropology
University LibraryFor comments on this page contact: Education and Social Science Library
Last modified by: Jennifer Hodges on 4/19/09