VOICES IN NEW YORK—A Special Benefit to New York Folklore Society Members. We are excited to announce that this year when you join the New York Folklore Society, or renew your membership, you can be part of the CD-of-the-month program: Voices in New York.
NYFS celebrates outstanding artists who honor the traditional repertoire, while presenting it in the highest quality, and/or interpret the traditional in an experimental form. Each month, we’ll drop the latest CD of one of New York’s master musicians, poets or storytellers in your mailbox!
The February selection was Sara by Abdoulaye Djoss Diabate, and March’s selection is The Keeper of the Crock of Gold by Bairbre McCarthy. Previous selections: Abrienda Caminos by Groupo Rebolú (October), Honor Songs by the Dawnland Singers (November); the self-titled CD by æ (duo Eva Salina Primack and Aurelia Shrenker) (December); and Home of Our Hearts by the Fraser Family.
February’s featured CD: Sara
by Abdoulaye Djoss Diabate Find out how you can join Voices of New York and receive this CD!
Read Q&A articles with the artists for previous months’ selections: Grupo Rebolú the Dawnland Singers, æ, and the Fraser Family. New in Our Gallery Shop: New York Folklore Society member, Lucine Kasbarian, is an author and syndicated journalist who writes first-hand about Armenian culture and history. The Greedy Sparrow is an Armenian folktale that has been handed down orally in the author’s family for many generations.
JOIN OUR MAILING LIST to receive free monthly email updates of all the Society’s events and programming.
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).
You are cordially invited to a
New York Folklore Society fundraiser at Café Nola, 617 Union Street, Schenectady, NY 12305
Great Food! Great Music! Dining, Raffles, Art Sale, Music and more! Saturday, June 30, 2012, 2-7 p.m.
Come and join in the fun! Café Nola will be our host for this fundraising event with a Cajun twist, featuring the musical talent of the award-winning bluegrass band, Dyer Switch who will be joined by other area bluegrass bands. Ten percent of all proceeds from sales of food by Café Nola will be donated to the New York Folklore Society. Hope to see you there!
*Let the good times (and folk art) roll!
New York Folklore Society Receives NEA Art Works Grant to Support
Statewide Folk Arts Activities
Grant part of NEA announcement of 788 Art Works grants and
$24.81 million in funding nationwide
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Rocco Landesman has announced that the New York Folklore Society is one of 788 not-for-profit national, regional, state, and local organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. The New York Folklore Society is recommended for two grants, totaling $65,000.00, to support its statewide activities supporting folk and traditional arts.
Grants from the NEA specifically support the New York Folklore Society’s ongoing technical assistance activities. Also receiving funding is a new initiative of the New York Folklore Society, a Latino Dance Symposium, 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. Read the full press release here.
Left to right:Rep. Paul D. Tonko, (D, NY - 21st Congressional District); Judy Schmidt-Dean, Commission Chair, Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor; Beth Sciumeca, Executive Director, Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor; Lisa Overholser, Folklorist, New York Folklore Society; and Ellen McHale, Executive Director, New York Folklore Society
The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor Commission, in partnership with the Erie Canalway Heritage Fund, awarded $43,700 in grants to assist organizations with canal-related education, preservation, and tourism projects. The New York Folklore Society, in partnership with the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse, received $7,000 to present a two-day symposium, Music of the Erie Canal, exploring the connections between the Erie Canal and traditional music in New York State. The symposium will involve panel discussions, musical performances, and the development of a post-symposium interactive website. “The New York Folklore Society is thrilled to be able to partner with the Erie Canal Museum on this project, which wouldn’t have been possible without this support from the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor,” said Ellen McHale, Executive Director. “The symposium will uncover distinct musical traditions that have been directly shaped and forged by the Erie Canal. We look forward to bringing these traditions to light.” Read the entire press release here.
VOICES: The Journal of New York Folklore Voices, our membership magazine, features articles, stories, interviews, reminiscences, essays, folk poetry and music, photographs, and artwork drawn from people in all parts of New York State, folklorists and non-folklorists alike.
Back Issues New York Folklore Journal, New York Folklore Quarterly and NYFS Newsletter. Selected articles available on-line. Back issues and articles available for purchase.
Folklore in Archives A Guide to Describing Folklore and Folklife Materials and companion to Working with Folk Materials in New York State: A Manual for Folklorists and Archivists
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
Join Now for 2012 and continue to receive Voices: The Journal of New York Folklore
The New York Folklore Society needs your membership more than ever! Please join now at the highest possible level.
The Fall/Winter 2011 issue of Voices: The Journal of New York Folklore has been delayed as we await much-needed funding from the New York State Council on the Arts. This grant support from the New York State Council on the Arts provides support for the preparation and printing of the journal. Our projected publication date for the Fall/Winter 2011 issue now falls in March 2012.
Your renewal at the basic level of $45.00 or the Harold Thompson level of $100.00 will help us to resume our publications and programs.
Please, won’t you renew for 2012 now?
Sincerely,
Ellen McHale
New York Folklore Society
P.S. VOICES IN NEW YORK is a Special Benefit to New York Folklore Society Members. See Special Announcement in left column.
New York Traditions Our Gallery for New York Folk Arts: 129 Jay Street, Schenectady, NY, Open 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Monday-Friday; Saturday 10:00 a.m.-3 p.m. and Sunday (May-October) 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
New York Traditions On-line A great place to find that unique gift for someone special! Folk art, CDs, books, and handmade gifts!
“Sustaining Culture: A Regional Conversation,” will bring together folk and traditional arts practitioners, professionals and enthusiasts from the mid-Atlantic region and New England. The meeting includes professional development workshops, a conversation with local cultural activists, documentary film screening, and field trips, along with the opportunity to meet informally with your peers. Public sector and academic folklorists, community scholars, tradition bearers, students, and others interested in traditional culture are welcome to attend. Over 75 participants are expected, so don’t miss this opportunity to network!
The Retreat is a project of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation in partnership with the Folk Arts Program, New York State Council on the Arts, New York Folklore Society, and Folklorists in New England. For more information, contact Sally Van de Water, Program Associate, Folk & Traditional Arts at 410/539-6656 x 107 or sally@midatlanticarts.org.
Membership
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!
Check our new level of membership: Voices of New York with traditional music CDs coming your way each month!
There’s more than one way to
support the New York Folklore Society!
Send a tax-deductible donation directly to the New York Folklore Society. Your
dollars will support our many programs, including forums, the annual conference, and Voices: The Journal of New York Folklore.
Shop at the NYFS gallery. We have CDs, books, and handmade objects—all made in New York State and sold by consignment. Members receive a 10 percent discount.
Shop online through ShopforMuseums.com or through
www.Goodshop.com. Both of these platforms work with major brand retailers, with a portion of your purchase price going to a nonprofit of your choice. You can stipulate that a percentage of your purchases will go
to the New York Folklore Society.
The New York Folklore Society celebrates the extraordinary in everyday life, bringing focus to the traditions of our state’s diverse peoples. NYFS is the leading resource for folklore and folklife by disseminating research and information throughout the state. Find out more about us—our mission and history, our board, and our staff.
BUY “LOCAL” AT THE NEW YORK FOLKLORE SOCIETY
Visit our Gallery in Schenectady, on the Jay Street Pedestrian Walkway—at 129 Jay Street. The New York Folklore Society’s Gallery is a consignment gallery which supports the traditional folk art and craft of New York. Folk or traditional artists pursue an artform which is rooted in their community’s history and culture and which is intimately linked to their community’s sense of identity, pride, and self-determination. Sales of art in the Gallery directly benefits the artists and communities with whom we work.
SAVE THE DATE: November 2-3, 2012 Symposium on the Music of the Erie Canal
To be held in collaboration with the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse. The symposium will present two days of speakers and performances. CALL FOR PROPOSALS and Proposal Submission Guide and Form are now available online. Final proposals are due June 29, 2012.
Community Cultural Documentation for Schenectady and the Mohawk Valley A collaborative project of the New York Folklore Society and the Schoharie River Center, with support from the William Gundry Broughton Charitable Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts.
The New York Folklore Society is pleased to announce that it will be launching an ongoing out-of-school documentation program for Schenectady- area teens. If you are between the ages of 12 and 18 and are interested in exploring your community’s history and culture, and would like to learn real-life skills of interviewing and video and audio documentation, this program is for you! Call the New York Folklore Society at (518) 346-7008 or email us at nyfs@nyfolklore.org to receive updates and further information.
Camp Woodland Reunion and Folk Festival July 14-15, 2012 SUNY Albany and Phoenicia, NY
Campers come sing and dance again, hear panel discussions on the folklore and history of the camp and Norman Studer’s vision. Oral history interviews of Camp Woodland alumni by Ellen McHale, New York Folklore Society, and Dr. Gerald Zahavi, University at Albany Professor of History, who will be recording alumni memories of camp. Read more and register here.
GUIDE TO NYS TRADITIONAL MUSIC We highlight musical forms and artists with streamed examples, bios, geographical survey, and other resource materials.
NEW YORK FIELD TRIPS Graduate Student Conference: Legends and Tales, November 12, 2011, Binghamton University A heartfelt Kudos to Dr. Elizabeth Tucker for a wonderful conference. The student panels were provocative and the afternoon presentations by Libby Tucker, Jaimee Wriston Colbert, Kay Turner, and Connie Sullivan-Blum provided a focused look at New York’s Southern Tier and its narratives. Milbre Burch’s performance was spell-binding and was a wonderful conclusion to a very full day. In addition to paper sessions by graduate student scholars, the conference featured a panel discussion dedicated to public sector folklore entitled Folklore in Practice: Collecting Narratives after Disaster Strikes, with our two esteemed panelists to discuss their work, Dr. Kay Turner and Dr. Constance Sullivan-Blum. View conference schedule.
“Three Generations on the Erie Barge Canal,” subtitled “Photographs from the Graham Family Collection.” Opened on Downtown Schenectady’s Summer Night, July 15 through September 9, 2011 at the Gallery of New York Traditions, 129 Jay Street.
GALLERY OF NEW YORK TRADITIONS
Along with selling affordable traditional art, the gallery also hosts demonstrations by the artists of their artistic traditions, which serve to enlighten the public about various cultural communities around New York State.
Folk and Community Arts Organizations: Creating, Producing and Managing
Co-sponsored with Empire State College, this course is designed for students interested in non-profit community arts and folk arts programming, presenting, researching (field work methods), documenting, archiving and managing.
The New York Folklore Society’s programs are made possible in part with public funds from the Folk Arts Program of the
