Philadelphia Folklore Project Transfers Its Archive to Temple University

The folklife archive of the Philadelphia Folklore Project (PFP), a cherished repository of local folk and traditional arts and grassroots activism, has been moved to the Special Collections Research Center as part of the Urban Archives at Temple University.

The archive preserves primary ethnographic materials documenting the folklife, arts, history, and culture of local communities in the Philadelphia region. It includes PFP’s administrative history, exhibits, publications and programs, as well as records of significant but often ephemeral community events, traditions, and arts, captured in various formats and languages. The archive also supports PFP’s mission to advance folk arts for social change, and is a valuable resource for scholars, artists, and families, preserving diverse materials such as photos, recordings, artifacts, and field notes. Key subjects include community dance traditions, folk arts of social change, African American folklife, and the cultural traditions of Cambodian, Hmong, and Liberian communities, among others.

The collection will begin to be accessible to the public in 2026, at the Charles Library on the Temple University Campus. Information about how to use the Special Collection Research Center is available here.