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Program Overview The Oregon Historical Society Oregon Folklife Program works with traditional artists to preserve, encourage, and promote public understanding of the state's rich artistic and cultural traditions. The Oregon Folklife Program was established at Lewis & Clark College in 1988 and moved to the Oregon Historical Society in the summer of 1993. It is funded by the Oregon Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, Portland's Regional Arts and Culture Council, and foundations, corporations, and individuals. Folklife, folklore, folk arts, and traditional culture are ways of describing those art forms that are passed on from one generation to the next within a community. A family, an occupational, religious, or ethnic group, a particular region, or any group with a shared aesthetic form a folk community. Traditional arts are learned informally through one-on-one instruction or by imitation and include music, dance, storytelling, crafts, rituals, beliefs, architecture, and foods. A few examples of Oregon's traditional folk arts are: Nez Pierce beaded cradleboards, tule mats, Wasco twined root baskets; Ukrainian egg decorating; Hmong embroidery and wedding songs; Mexican wheat weaving, furniture carving, and corona making; European American saddlemaking and fly tying; logging and cowboy poetry; quilting, embroidery, music, and storytelling from many groups; and much more. Programs The Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program awards small monetary stipends to master folk artists to pass on specific cultural and artistic traditions to one or more apprentices over an eight-month apprenticeship. The master artist and apprentice(s) submit a joint application which is reviewed by a panel. Since 1989, the TAAP has awarded an average of 10 apprenticeships each year to a total of 80 master artists and 125 apprentices. For future deadline information and application forms, contact the OFP at (503) 306-5292. The Neighborhood Arts Program is a joint project of the Portland-Metro area's Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC) and the Oregon Folklife Program. The program's mission is to bring artists into underserved areas to work with at-risk youth and other populations in Multnomah County. Programs are scheduled at the request of community organizations and take the form of neighborhood festivals, artist residencies, video projects, among others. For more information about the Neighborhood Arts Program Traditional Arts Component, contact Nancy Nusz at (503) 306-5291. Educational Materials : Instructional Units These units are designed for a fourth grade classroom and include table-top exhibits with art objects that students can handle, student magazines and teachers' guides, overhead projector transparencies, resource materials on related topics for teachers and students.
Two new units are currently being developed and will be ready by the 1998-1999 school year. The areas of study will be the traditional arts and cultures of the Lao and Chinese communities in and around Portland. Traveling Exhibit Six freestanding double-sided vertical panels (4' x 8' each). Recommended for sixth grade and up. The exhibit can be rented by the month at a fee of $100 for members and $150 for non-members. For more information on scheduling and shipping costs, contact the Oregon Historical Society's Education and Outreach Line at (503) 306-5280. Artist Residencies The Oregon Folklife Program contracts with traditional artists to conduct customized residencies in schools. The residencies are available for any grade level and may include performances for school assemblies, workshops for students and teachers and/or special classroom presentations. Folklorists are also available for residencies to teach students about folklore and traditional cultures including those of their families and ethnic communities. For more information, or to schedule an educational program, contact the Oregon Folklife Program at (503) 306-5290 at least two months prior to the date. Audio/Visual Materials Videos are available for purchase at $29.95 each (includes shipping and handling). For information on renting or purchasing any of these videos, please contact the Oregon Folklife Program at (503) 306-5290. Oregon Folklife: An Introduction This is a slide/tape presentation that has been adapted to video format. It surveys the depth and breadth of Oregon folklife showing occupational practices, folk artists at work, community celebrations, and other traditional activities in communities statewide. (18:00 minutes) So They Will Know Who I Am: Traditional Artists in Refugee Communities This video was produced by 20 young refugees as a collaborative project of the Oregon Folklife Program and the International Refugee Center of Oregon (IRCO) in 1994. The young people learned interviewing, fieldwork, and video production skills while documenting traditional artists in the Portland-Metro area. (22:00 minutes) Oregon Folk Arts: Student Videos I Feel Mexican Even Though I was Born Here: Hermiston's Mexican American Traditional Arts and Culture (10:50 minutes) and Lincoln County's Maritime Folklife (17:07 minutes) Two video projects by students in Hermiston in eastern Oregon and coastal Lincoln County about each region's artistic and cultural traditions. This was a joint project of the Oregon Folklife Program, the Northwest Film Center, the Eastern Oregon Regional Arts Council, the Oregon Coast Council for the Arts, and the Hermiston and Lincoln County School Districts. Contact Information Oregon
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Dated for freshness! Page last updated March 21, 2009 |
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