PROGRAMS & SERVICES
Community Programming
“Folklore and folk arts are pervasive, but are often not recognized until someone points them out as being part of the social fabric of a community...Folklore as a discipline stands today at an interesting place. In an era when the next Big Idea is usually celebrated, folklorists are working hard to recognize communities’ maintenance of cultural traditions. We have allies in new movements that are coming to the forefront in American society, such as the 100-mile diet and buy-local movement, which champion locally harvested foods and locally owned businesses as key to maintaining communities’ character.
Folklorists are uniquely positioned to lend an important voice to the debates around immigration and immigration reform. As globalization brings the world together, folklore works to draw attention to that which is local, individual, and expressive...“—Ellen McHale, Executive Director, NYFS (From the Director, Spring-Summer 2010, Voices)
The New York Folklore Society, Building Cultural Bridges, the American Folklore Society, and the New York State Council on the Arts present
The Art of Community:
BUILDING AN ARTS & CULTURE SUPPORT NETWORK FOR NEWCOMER ARTISTS IN CENTRAL NEW YORK STATE
Friday, May 17, 2013, 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Utica Public Library, 303 Genesee St., Utica, NY 13501
DOWNLOAD a Registration Form.
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COMING TO YOUR COMMUNITY
The New York Folklore Society is planning to come to your community to meet you—our members and supporters! In a program initiated by the NYFS Board of Directors, NYFS is hosting small gatherings throughout the state. In honor of Leap Year 2012, Board of Directors member Kay Turner hosted a gathering at McManus Pub in Lower Manhattan to which several dozen people attended. A second gathering was held in Schenectady on June 30, 2012. Thanks to Joanne Sifo and other members of the band, “Dyer Switch,” the Society hosted an afternoon of music and Cajun cuisine at Café Nola in Schenectady. On May 12 at Proctors in Schenectady, we held a special reception and dinner preceding a concert that featured Pete and Peggy Seeger.
While these are events through which NYFS hopes to raise some needed funds, it is an opportunity also to meet you, our members and supporters. | 
Photo: Martha Cooper |
LATINO ARTIST GATHERINGS
Julia Gutiérez-Rivera and Juan Gutiérez of Los Pleneros de la 21, a bomba and plena performance group from New York City, demonstrate how they engage school-age children through music and dance. Photo: Nancy Solomon, Long Island Traditions
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| In 2010, the New York Folklore Society launched its first of a series of Latino Artist Gatherings with a focus on “working with youth and youth programming,” in partnership with Long Island Traditions. Latino artists and advocates from around New York State gathered at Long Island Traditions in Port Washington. Funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional support from the New York State Council on the Arts, the Latino workshops provided opportunities to support and sustain the work of Latino artists and community leaders through creating opportunities for professional development and networking with like-minded individuals. Read more... |
| A LATIN DANCE SYMPOSIUM, a new initiative of the New York Folklore Society, will provide a professional development opportunity for the myriad of community-based Latino dance programs in New York State which work with youth. The 2013 symposium will provide professional development for adult leaders who teach the dance styles of Latin and South America. At the same time, it will provide an opportunity for teen dancers to showcase their own traditional dance styles to their peers. The symposium will culminate in a final performance which will be open to the general public. Stayed tuned for more information and read the press release about National Endowment for the Arts funding for this project. |
SEE more of the community programs that we’ve sponsored, and come back here for updates on new community initiatives.
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COMMUNITY CULTURAL DOCUMENTATION
In its second year, the Schenectady Community Cultural Documentation Program again collaborated with the Schoharie River Center for a six-week summer employment training program. Besides learning skills of scientific inquiry through their studying the water quality of the Schoharie Creek and its watershed, 19 teens from Schenectady also worked with NYFS folklorists Ellen McHale and Lisa Overholser to learn ethnographic documentation skills. Read more...
This collaborative program continues throughout the 2012–2013 school year with support from the William Gundry Broughton Charitable Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts. New teams are meeting weekly at the Schenectady High School. On a project blog showing the results of the teens’ work, in their own voices, you can follow along with them as they uncover some of the most exciting and interesting aspects of Schenectady.
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Braided rug artist, Belle Thompson, working with documentation intern, Sapeca, at the
2nd Annual Schoharie River Day Celebration
HUNGARIAN TRILOGY
The New York Folklore Society sponsored Hungarian Trilogy, a series of Hungarian dance and music events presented statewide in spring 2011. The series highlighted both traditional and popular music and dance forms brought to New York State by Hungarian immigrant communities over the last century. Read more...
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| 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. |  |
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