The Association of Western States Folklorists (AWSF) is an informal group of public folklorists in the Western U.S., which also welcomes folklorists from other regions, former Westerners, eternal Westerners, and anyone with an interest in the West. We stay in touch with
News from the Field
The National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) offers a first glimpse at the year ahead in traditional arts with the release of their 2022 Festival Season, including the National Folk Festival in Salisbury, Maine, and Folk Festivals in Lowell, Massachusetts; Butte, Montana; Greensboro, North Carolina; and Richmond, Virginia.
Invading Russian forces destroyed a museum in Ivankiv, a city northwest of the capital Kyiv, that was home to dozens of works by the Ukrainian folk artist Maria Prymachenko on Sunday, according to the Kyiv Independent.
The FisherPoets Gathering, an Oregon-based annual poetry event with contributions about the occupational folklore of fishing, will be live-streamed on YouTube this year on February 25-26, 2022.
The Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA) will host an overview of California funding opportunities for traditional artists and traditional arts organizations on Thursday, February 24, 2022 at 4:00 pm PST.
In honor of the World Day of Social Justice on February 20, Artists Standing Strong Together (ASST, pronounced “assist”) is hosting a webinar storytelling program, “Folktales, Fairytales and Social Justice,” on Saturday, February 19, 2022 at 2:00 pm EST.
February 24, Carol Silverman will present a virtual discussion of the contradictions between the explosion in popularity of Balkan “Gypsy” music and dance, while at the same time thousands of Balkan Roma have emigrated westward due to deportations and harassment.
The American-Scandinavian Foundation has opened its sixth annual competition for Scandinavian folk arts and cultural traditions in the Upper Midwest including North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Applications are due by August 1, 2022.
Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts (AFTA) will host a free public webinar on accessibility for cultural programs on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, 2:00-3:00 pm CST.
Katy Clune has joined the Virginia Folklife Program as its new director and the state folklorist.