Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center Seeks Folklife Archival Researchers

The goal of the Accessing the Archives: New Works and Old Traditions project is to make the archive at the Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center at Fairmont State University in Fairmont, WV more accessible to artists, scholars, and practitioners by commissioning new work informed, inspired, and invigorated by the archive. This archive-inspired new work will then be presented at the Folklife Center, connecting folk and traditional archival content to an existing audience of students, faculty, staff, and community members.

Applicants will propose a project that involves visiting the archive to use one or more of the main collections in order to create new work based on their visit. This work can be in the form of a performance, workshop, lecture, or small exhibition at the Folklife Center and/or digitally (e.g. a digital exhibition, vlogs, blogs, etc.). The applicant is free to choose the public work aspect of the project, but it must foreground making the archival content accessible to the general public. After a review panel of local folk and traditional arts experts selects two applicants, those applicants will visit the archive; research, create, plan, and execute public work dates with the Folklife Center; and be paid a stipend of $3,000 each upon completion of the project. Applications will be assessed for feasibility, merit, creativity, and potential community interest and engagement.

This project is made possible by Mid Atlantic Arts’ Central Appalachian Living Traditions program.

Apply by November 1, 2025.