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Welcome to the New York Folklore Society

Serving NY's folklore and folk arts & traditional arts and culture since 1944

NYFS Home

Link to About the Folklore Society

Link to NYFS Programs

Link to NYFS Music Pages

Link to NYFS Publications

Link to NYFS Resources

Link to Around the State events and announcements calendar

Link to What is Folklore? page

Link to Membership information page

Link to FOLK ARTS --Gallery of NY Traditions

Link to New York Traditions on-line gallery shop

Link to Search Engine

Link to form to contact NYFS


With support for practicing folk artists, professional development for those working within the field of folk and traditional arts, and the publishing of current scholarship, the New York Folklore Society is dedicated to New York's vibrant, diverse, and influential artistic legacy and future. Please join us!

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Please show your support by adding our GoodSearch toolbar to your browser. Each time you search the internet or shop online at one of our participating stores, a donation will be made to us at no cost to you!



Guide to NY STATE TRADITIONAL MUSIC
In 2009, the New York Folklore Society has expanded its website to include a special section for about NYS musicians and their music. Check it out and watch it grow!

ERIE CANALWAY ARTS INVENTORYThe New York Folklore Society was selected to begin a targeted inventory of the arts in the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor in 2009. The project is part of the Heritage-in-Arts Initiative begun in 2008. A team of folklorists and historians, as well as a photographer, will visit Canalway Corridor communities and regions gathering examples of the rich artistic and cultural expression inspired by and resulting from the development of the Corridor’s historic canals. For additional information on the arts inventory or the Heritage-in-Arts Initiative, contact Hannah Blake at 518-237-7000, ext. 202, or view the project webpage. We welcome your feedback and participation!


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FOLK ARTS - New York Traditions Gallery
our on-line
gallery shop
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music, books, and handmade gifts!

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Gallery of NY Traditions


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AVAILABLE ON-LINE IN OUR GALLERY SHOP

Cover of  North Country Christmas
North Country Christmas
Stan Ransom and Marne O’Shae

Cover of Sweetwater Passage by the Barefoot Boys
60th Anniversary Album
Kelly’s Old-Timers


Cover of  Mountain Air by Dan Berggren
Mountain Air
Dan Berggren
Traditional and Original Music of the Adirondacks

Old Stone Walls: Catskill Land and Lore
Old Stone Walls: Catskill Land and Lore
by Norman J. Van Valkenburgh


Adirondack Characters and Campfire Yarns
Adirondack Characters and Campfire Yarns
Early Settlers and Their Traditions
by William J. O’Hern


Catskill Mountain Bluestone by Alf Evers, Robert Titus, and Tim Weidner
Catskill Mountain Bluestone
by Alf Evers, Robert Titus, and Tim Weidner


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CYC logo
Donate to our work on-line by visiting
ChooseYourCharity.net,
the donor education and information website of the Council of Community Services of New York State, Inc. (CCSNYS).



New York Folklore Society
P.O. Box 764
Schenectady, NY 12301
518/346-7008
Fax 518/346-6617
nyfs@nyfolklore.org


     
Discover the New York Folklore Society
Cover of Spring Summer 2010 Voices
Become a member to receive VOICES!




Latino Folk Culture and Expressive Traditions - Graduate Student Conference, November 20, 2010, NYU

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Proposals due by September 30, 2010

This year, in collaboration with NYU’s Latino Studies and Latin American Studies Departments, we invite graduate students to present their work on Latino Folk Culture and Expressive Traditions. The NYFS seeks to encourage young scholars to continue their studies and become active contributors to the fields of folklore, ethnomusicology, anthropology and more.

Theme: Latino Folk Culture and Expressive Traditions

A cumbia group belting-out Colombian tunes at an outdoor cumbiamba, a Peruvian curandero diagnosing a patient through the use of animals, a Mexican family building a Diá de los Muertos altar in their home, a décima verse sung by a Puerto Rican jibaro—all of these are examples of Latino Expressive Traditions. While some of these forms have roots in African traditions and others have roots in Indigenous traditions, all are considered Latino Expressive Traditions or Folk Arts. These traditions speak to what Latinos say, believe, make, know and do—things that they first learned from their families and community.

The length and breadth of Latino traditions literally covers two continents; and transnational migration to major U.S. cities such as Miami, Chicago, San Antonio, Newark, and New York have ensured that the impact of Latino culture continues to be profound. We support papers which explore the topic of Latino Expressive Traditions from both the homeland perspective and immigrant perspective. We particularly encourage papers that address Latino traditions in New York’s tri-state area.

Students can cover any number of topics related to traditional performing arts, materials arts, vernacular culture, sacred arts, etc. as long as the research is with a particular Latino group. While attendees should be graduate students from any academic program, they do not have to major in folklore or Latino studies. Participants can be ethnomusicologists, anthropologists, historians, etc. For more information, download the Call for Proposals/Proposal Submission Guide and Form.


KIDS’ ART FEST
Jay Street, Schenectady, NY
June 5, 2010, Noon – 4 p.m.


The Kids’ Arts Fest occurs each year on the first Saturday of June. The focus is on participation by Schenectady’s youngest residents and all events are free. Held on Jay Street, in the block that runs from State to Franklin, there are stages for performances on either end, with artist’s booths lining the Jay Street pedestrian walkway.
Kid's Art Fest in Schenectady in 2009 -2

Bernard Domingo demonstrates his bead and wire sculpture art at the Kids Arts Fest in Schenetady
The Folklore Society has been participating since 2001, with hands-on folk arts activities which feature an artist. This year, Bernard Domingo of Yonkers worked with young people to show them his unique bead and wire scuptures, an art learned as a young person in Zimbabwe.

The festival is sponsored by the ElectriCity Arts and Entertainment District and organized with the help of a loyal group of volunteers.


NYFS to Sponsor Gatherings for Latino Artists
The New York Folklore Society will be sponsoring three gatherings for Latino artists in New York State. Supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, the gatherings will take place on three locations on three separate dates:

October 24, 2010 at Long Island Traditions, Port Washington
March 19, 2011 at Go Art!, Batavia
May 14, 2011 at Centro Civico, Amsterdam


Designed for musicians, dancers, craftspersons, and others who are practicing a traditional artform with its origin in any of the Spanish-speaking communities of North and South America, the gatherings will assist artists in sharing resources and experiences. They will provide an opportunity for future collaborations and technical assistance. For additional information, or to find out how to become a delegate for the gatherings, please contact Lisa Overholser at the New York Folklore Society.



I read every issue of Voices. The taxpayers are hollering, and the state’s contribution to this wonderful little magazine has been drastically cut. Those of us who read it all the way through have to all chip in.Pete Seeger, musician and activist, Beacon, New York


listen icon LISTEN to Voices—Hear the sounds of "sacred steel" and merengue típico and Celtic fiddle music. Look for the this icon to hear MP3s.



Find out about our Programs & Services
The New York Folklore Society is the recipient of a 2005/2006 award from the Documentary Heritage Program of the NYS Archives. As funded, the project is to support the arrangement and description of folklore collections using a "circuit rider" approach...read more about our Archives projects



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Worth the Wait!
New York Folklore Journal
Vol. 25, Nos. 1-4, 1999
Cover of NewYork Folklore v25

The 1999 Journal is a reprinting of some of the best public sector writing from 1985-1995, with an introductory essay by Robert Baron. Other essays include the work of Karen Taussig-Lux, I. Sheldon Posen, Joyce Ice, Douglas DeNatale, Kate Koperski, Anna (Chairetakis) Wood, and others.

If you would like to receive a copy and you weren’t a member of the New York Folklore Society in 1999, they are for sale as individual copies in our on-line gallery bookstore for $10.00/copy plus $1.50 postage and handling.


Green Wing Teal Duck
Visit Our Folk Arts Gallery in Schenectady or online
Handcarved wood green wing teal duck decoy by Jim Neenan, a woodcarver from Staten Island.




North by Northeast: Baskets and Beadwork from the Akwesasne Mohawk and Tuscarora. Exhibition: Sept. 25-Oct. 24, 2009, First Floor: Nott Memorial, Union College, 807 Union Street, Schenectady, NY 12308As a part of the Hudson Valley’s Quadricentennial celebrations, the New York Folklore Society commemorated the vibrant cultural traditions of New York’s Haudenosaunee tribes with “North by Northeast: Baskets and Beadwork from the Akwesasne Mohawk and Tuscarora.” Read about this exhibition and see photos and video.

Donate to New York Folklore Society
  • Make a tax-deductible donation through Paypal, using your Visa or Mastercard or Paypal account — just click the button below, enter the donation amount ("price"), and your payment information. Thanks for your support!


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Thank you to all of our fans and supporters! It was a wonderful night of music in the GE Theater at Proctors. See photos from the event.

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Gala Benefit Concert and Voices Release Party

Voices—Roots and Branches of New York Folk Music
Friday, May 29, 2009
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The New York Folklore Society remains in the forefront of a creative movement. The impulse in 1945 to publish the folklore of New York State for the people of the state is continued today through this publication Voices. The editors of this publication encourage your submission of scholarly writing, as well as nonfiction, fiction, poetry, memoir, and other forms of creative literature.—Ellen McHale, Director

Sample our Publications
NOW AVAILABLE ON-LINE
Self-Management for Folk Artists :
A Guide for Traditional Artists and Performers in New York

by Patricia Atkinson Wells

ORDER from our on-line gallery bookstore.


Folk and Community Arts Organizations: Creating, Producing and Managing (Intro or Adv)

Co-sponsored with the New York Folklore Society, this Empire State College study was designed for students interested in non-profit community arts and folk arts programming, presenting, researching (field work methods), documenting, archiving and managing. It offered aomprehensive look at how arts organizations operate, the services they provide local communities and the public at large, the wide range of programs they create and produce, the research and documentation that informs their work, how they educate youth about the arts and local communities, and grant-writing and fund-raising.

Read COURSE DESCRIPTION

SEE PHOTOS FROM THE ESC/NYFS SUMMER COURSE
Exploring Place: Documenting Your Community’s Culture and Traditions



Shop of for Museums -- support NYFS when you shop on-lineCAN’T FIND WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR at New York Traditions -- NYFS on-line shop for folk arts, handmade gifts, folk music CDs and books, our on-line shop, but still want to contribute to NYFS while you shop on-line — here’s how!
At Shop for Museums, you can shop at your other favorite on-line stores, and at no extra cost to you, you can have a portion of your purchase donated to the New York Folklore Society. You can register to track your donations or shop as a guest. Select NYFS and have fun shopping! And thank you for your support!


Learn more about folklore and connect to other organizations

Folklore in Archives:
A Guide to Describing Folklore and Folklife Materials
by James Corsaro and
Karen Taussig-Lux
A companion to
Working with Folk Materials in New York State
Order both from our on-line gallery bookstore.

Contact us

ABOUT NYFS | PROGRAM & SERVICES | MUSIC | PUBLICATIONS | RESOURCES | CALENDAR
WHAT'S FOLKLORE? | MEMBERSHIP | GALLERY | SHOP | SEARCH | CONTACT US




NYSCA logo The New York Folklore Society’s programs are made possible in part with public funds from the Folk Arts Program of the New York State Council on the Arts , a state agency. Additional funding is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts , the New York State Documentary Heritage Program, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, and the Fund for Folk Culture. NEA logo

© 2010, 2009-1998 New York Folklore Society
Last updated August 23, 2010
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