Applications are now being accepted for this paid opportunity, supported through the Internship program of New York Folklore and the New York State Council on the Arts. The Folklore Graduate Student Folk Arts Internship provides opportunities for graduate students in folklore to learn first-hand about public folk arts programming and field research while completing a project that will benefit both the host organization and the folklorist intern.
Any student enrolled in a masters or doctoral graduate folklore program may apply. Folklorists who graduated from a graduate folklore program in the past two years may also apply.
Interns will be expected to undertake a special project linked to their learning program for graduate study which will also benefit the host organization. This year one internship is available, to be hosted by GLOW Traditions, located in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State. GLOW Traditions is a shared program with the Arts Council for Wyoming County, the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts, and the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council which is directed by Karen Canning. GLOW Traditions is located in a predominantly rural area of western New York between Rochester and Buffalo, with a service area encompassing around 2200 square miles.
The duration of this internship is 8 weeks, 30-35 hours per week. It will occur from late May through August, 2022.
How to Apply:
A driver’s license and use of an automobile is required. A dedicated office at the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts in Mt. Morris, NY will be made available for the intern. Karen Canning will assist in securing housing in a centralized location, possibly in Geneseo, NY. A stipend of $5000 will be provided to the intern.
To apply, submit a resume’ or CV and a letter describing the potential benefits of the internship for the applicant’s career goals as a public folklorist. For current graduate students, please reflect on the internship’s relationship to your graduate learning program. The application letter should also indicate how previous experiences in programming, field research and/or administration would contribute to the organization hosting the internship. Following the internship, the intern and the host organization are both required to submit a report evaluating the internship.
Applications must be received by midnight on Sunday, March 13th and decisions about the successful candidates will be made by March 28. Applications must be submitted electronically to Laurie Longfield at New York Folklore llongfield@nyfolklore.org. (please do not contact GLOW Traditions for information about these internships). Additional information can be obtained by contacting Ellen McHale, Executive Director of New York Folklore, emchale@nyfolklore.org.
Internship Description
Stories That Cook: Art, Memories and Recipes
This is a two-year project, recently funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, that will include a series of arts workshops, an exhibit, and a cookbook created by artists, farmworkers and their families in western New York. It is a collaboration between GLOW Traditions and another GVCA program, Creative Artists Migrant Program Service (CAMPS). CAMPS was founded in 1975 at the Geneseo Migrant Center, with a mission to offer free art workshops to migrant farmworkers and families in Western New York, who are currently predominantly Hispanic. GLOW Traditions has consistently worked with these communities for more than 15 years to document and present traditional arts, music, dance, foodways, and celebrations such as the Día de Muertos and Tres Reyes. This project will spotlight and honor the rich cultural gifts that reside in our agricultural community, from generational farm families to newer farmworkers, and celebrate points of connection among diverse cultures in the region. The intern will assist GLOW Traditions staff with interviews of farmers and farmworkers to gather foodways and family histories, and work with ongoing data entry of recipes and contextual materials for the book preparation.
A history of GLOW Traditions:
The folk arts program was established in 1985, one of the first in New York state. Dr. Bruce Buckley, a noted scholar and folklorist who had retired from the folklore program at Cooperstown/SUNY Oneonta, came to Wyoming County and began his second career in public folk arts documentation and programming. His work forms the basis of our archive of traditional arts, which contains interviews and slides of more than 200 artisans in our region from 1985 to the present day. Folklorist Kathy Kimiciek led the program from 1988-1990, and in 1996 Karen Canning became the staff folklorist for the region encompassing Wyoming, Livingston, Genesee and Orleans (GLOW) Counties. In 2013, the program was officially renamed, GLOW Traditions, to further emphasize the connection between partnering arts councils in surrounding counties: ACWC, Livingston Arts and the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council.