Fieldwork and Collecting

NY NJ 2025 Folk Arts Roundtable Wrap Up

NY NJ 2025 Folk Arts Roundtable Wrap Up

For the second year in a row the NY/NJ Folk Arts Roundtable convened in Schenectady, NY! From May 5th to 7th folklorists, artists, arts administrators and tradition bearers gathered for the 42nd time! We kicked things off on Monday afternoon with Asiyah Kurtz, who...

Artist Spotlight: Nada Odeh

Artist Spotlight: Nada Odeh

​Nada Odeh is a Syrian artist, activist, humanitarian, and a modern-day poet. She was born and raised in Damascus and lived in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates before coming to the U.S. in 2013 due to the conflict and revolution in her country. Nada received ...

Common Ground: Folk Arts, Cultural Heritage, and Equity

Common Ground: Folk Arts, Cultural Heritage, and Equity

Photo:  Aziz Peerzada and his 11-year old son Saboor perform a beautiful set of Punjabi folk songs at the 2016 Brooklyn Arts Council Festival.   On November 23, 2020,  I attended a virtual Zoom hearing on the decision by the Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC) to cancel...

Touching Hearts, Not Hands

Touching Hearts, Not Hands

As we are confronting the coronavirus crisis, City Lore, in New York City, is putting out a call to collect creative responses to the crisis in song, poetry, video and other forms. New Yorkers are famous for coming together in community after September 11th. There...