Folklife Education Roster

The Oregon Folklife Program is a statewide program that documents, presents, and encourages the preservation of the traditional arts and cultural heritages of all people living in Oregon. Folklife accomplishes its mission through community documentation, public programs, exhibits, publications, and educational outreach.

The Folklife Program works solely with traditional folk artists who have a personal connection to the history and culture of their art forms. Folk arts are generally passed informally from generation to generation over time and space. “Community” means people who share a common sense of identity such as familial, ethnic, tribal, occupational, religious, regional or other groups.

The Oregon Folklife Program is part of the Regional Arts Education Network Providers  funded in part by the Oregon Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Folklife, Folklore and Folk Arts defined

These are several terms with basically the same underlying meanings - namely, they all relate to traditions such as beliefs, skills, and practices that are learned as part of the cultural life of a community and are passed on informally from one generation to the next. For example, folk arts include the artistic traditions of communities while folklore most often relates to the supernatural and narrative or storytelling aspects of cultures. Folklife, on the other hand, incompasses all traditions, including visual and performing arts, rituals, beliefs, healing practices, foodways, storytelling and more.

The Folk Artists Roster gives teachers and community organizations access to information about hiring folk artists to teach and/or perform unique traditional arts and cultural items for youth. Below are four sections, each providing information about artists, programs, fees, and scheduling procedures. Click on an individual section to access information about that topic.

Listing of Available Artists

 

Programs, Formats, and Fees

Scheduling a Program

Folklife and ODE Content Standards