About

Who We Are

New York Folklore collaborates with communities in New York to identify and to understand the artistic and cultural needs of diverse populations in the state. Working collaboratively with communities, New York Folklore strives to bring regenerative practices to bear to support the maintenance, cultivation, and nurturing of the diverse cultural heritages found in New York State.

New York Folklore is a membership organization, open to all, concerned with furthering cultural equity and strengthening the understanding of the role of folk and traditional arts in our lives.

New York Folklore was founded in 1944 as New York Folklore Society.  At its inception, New York folklore provided  opportunities for individuals interested in folklore in New York to share their collecting activities and their scholarship. Through its conferences and publications, the Society provided a vehicle for continued folklife activities in the state. Early members included students of founders Harold Thompson and Louis Jones, as well as folklore scholars and enthusiasts, several of whom were also involved in progressive education experiments and early civil rights activism. The Society began publishing its journal in 1945. The journal, first named New York Folklore Quarterly, was later titled New York Folklore (1977).  Since 2000, the Journal has been known as Voices: The Journal of New York Folklore.

Since hiring its first professional staff in 1991, New York Folklore has developed into a cultural service organization providing professional development and technical assistance to professional folklorists, community cultural experts, grassroots organizations, and folk and traditional artists. Today, New York Folklore has a close partnership with the Folk Arts Program of the New York State Council on the Arts to provide technical assistance to the field in New York State.

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