A Fond Farewell to Laurie Longfield: Laurie was born and raised in Schenectady, but she has lived in many other East and West Coast locations. She joined New York Folklore in 2009, enriching the organization through her many prior years of learned experience in the...
On May 2nd, the email that I had feared arrived in my inbox. The evening before, I had read President Trump’s proposed budget for 2026 and seen his recommendation to defund the National Endowment for the Arts. I received the first email on May 3rd saying that one NEA...
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...
The New York State Senate and Assembly are held a joint hearing on the Arts in New York State, on Tuesday 2/11 at 11:00 a.m. New York Folklore Executive Director, Ellen McHale addressed the committee, You can read a full copy of her testimony below. My name is Ellen...
In May and June 2021, I had the opportunity to share in food, fellowship, and history with members of the Armenian community at St. Peter’s. The relatively secluded church is a thriving cultural center for many Armenians in the Upper Hudson and Mohawk Valleys. As I...
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...