List of Folk arts & folklore related organizations

U.S. Organizations – by State

CALIFORNIA

  • Alliance for California Traditional Arts, Fresno and San Francisco, California (

The Alliance for California Traditional Arts promotes and supports ways for cultural traditions to thrive now and into the future by providing advocacy, resources, and connections for folk and traditional artists. From Ohlone basketry and African-American quilt-making to cowboy poetry and Vietnamese opera, California is home to hundreds of diverse traditions.

ACTA connects artists, communities, and funders to each other, information, and resources through grants and contracts, convenings, research, and technical assistance. ACTA also provides advocacy through local and national field-building. Recognized for its culturally competent leadership, intellectual capital, and excellence in program administration, ACTA is the California Arts Council's official partner in serving the state's folk and traditional arts field.

  • Sample report: Weaving Traditional Arts into the Fabric of Community Health:
  • Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center, Richmond, California ( )

Los Cenzontles is a band, a nonprofit organization, a music academy, a community space for youth and families, and a hub for Latino artists – all working in tandem to amplify our Mexican roots here in the Bay Area and beyond.

We produce original music, videos, and educational tools. We teach classes to hundreds of local youth in traditional Mexican music, dance, and arts and crafts. We host many popular community events throughout the year.

FLORIDA

  • The Hannibal Square Heritage Center - - represents a first-of-a-kind experience in Central Florida where the history of a community is told by members of the community itself through The Heritage Collection: Photographs and Oral Histories of West Winter Park, The Hannibal Square Timeline, which chronicles significant local and national events in civil rights and African-American history, and public art installations and educational programs that explore the African-American experience, southern folklore and cultural preservation. The center also features a Visiting Exhibition Series. The exhibitions and programs held at the center weave the stories of this unique and proud neighborhood together with African-American history and experience in general.

ILLINOIS

  • Chicago Cultural Alliance, Chicago, Illinois ( )

The Chicago Cultural Alliance is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and consortium of Chicago's ethnic museums, cultural centers, and historical societies whose mission is to effect social change and public understanding of cultural diversity through first voice perspectives. The Alliance connects our member museums and centers to flagship arts and cultural institutions, universities, schools, businesses and government agencies.

  • Global Voices Performing Arts Program, University of Chicago - The Global Voices Program provides a showcase for all performing arts at the University of Chicago's International House. The International House Global Voices Performing Arts Program has established a vibrant exchange with a wide range of Chicago-area cultural institutions, arts organizations, dance companies, ethnic and folk arts groups, and music and theater groups. Programs showcase individual artists as well as performing arts groups and support educational programs, art exhibitions and cultural celebrations throughout the year.
  • The Chinese Fine Arts Society - Founded in 1984, the Chinese Fine Arts Society is dedicated to promoting the appreciation of Chinese culture, enhancing cultural exchange and pursuing excellence in Chinese music, dance and visual arts.

MASSACHUSETTS

  • Keepers of Tradition – Traditional Arts and Folk Heritage Blog ( by the Massachusetts Cultural Council (

MINNESOTA

  • State Arts Board - Folk and Traditional Arts -

Folk and Traditional Arts is a pilot program designed to support the artistic traditions and customs practiced within community and/or cultural groups by identifying, documenting, preserving, presenting, and honoring Minnesota’s folk arts and traditions. The practice of folk or traditional art generally stems from birthright, community membership, or direct participation in the life of a community.

  • “Minnesota Potters: Sharing the Fire” The vision of “Minnesota Potters: Sharing the Fire” is to document how ceramic art is passed on from artist to artist to keep this vibrant tradition and community flourishing. The project will document the work of representative Minnesota ceramic artists, their methods of working with clay, and the way they pass on their skills. The project’s goal is to develop an understanding of the Minnesota ceramics community to share with the public, cultivating broader participation in and enjoyment of the ceramic arts. Meet the Artists…….
  • Related websites:
  • Northern Clay Center:
  • North House Folk School -
  • Minnesota Discovery Center's Folk Arts program -

MISSISSIPPI

  • Mississippi Folklife and Folk Artists Directory (

NEVADA

  • The Folklife Program of the Nevada Arts Council (

The Folklife Program of the Nevada Arts Council seeks to discover, understand, document, and support significant cultural traditions wherever they arise. Some of our grant programs encourage individual folk and traditional artists and practitioners to preserve and perpetuate their art forms and lifeways. Other grants support community engagement with traditional festivals and celebrations, foodways, and performance. Our education initiatives promote collaboration between traditional artists and schools or community groups in support of hands-on learning opportunities for all ages.

  • COMMUNITY CULTURAL PROJECTS

Folklife staff will come to your community and help you design and implement community Folklife research and documentation projects. Contact the Program Coordinator for more information.

  • Artist Roster:

NEW MEXICO

  • Museum of International Folk Art - - The mission of the Museum of International Folk Art (MOIFA) is to enrich the human spirit by connecting people with the arts, traditions, and cultures of the world. Since the opening in September 1953, MOIFA has gained national and international recognition as an accredited Museum that is home to the world’s largest collection of folk art. MOIFA explores the dynamics of artistic expression in the context of cultural change. Through its collections, exhibitions, publications, and educational programs, the museum expands perceptions of folk art and encourages dialogue about traditions, cultural identity, community and aesthetics.
  • The Fund for Folk Culture -
  • Report: “Brave New World: Nurturing the Arts in New Immigrant and Refugee Communities” Bye, Carolyn.

NEW YORK

  • City Lore, New York City, New York ( )

Founded in 1986, City Lore’s mission is to foster New York City – and America’s – living cultural heritage through education and public programs. We document, present, and advocate for New York City’s grassroots cultures to ensure their living legacy in stories and histories, places and traditions. We work in four cultural domains: urban folklore and history; preservation; arts education; and grassroots poetry traditions. In each of these realms, we see ourselves as furthering cultural equity and modeling a better world with projects as dynamic and diverse as New York City itself.

  • Place Matters, New York City, New York ( )

Places connect us to the past, host community and cultural traditions, and keep local environments distinctive. The Place Matters mission is to foster the conservation of New York City's historically and culturally significant places. These are places that hold memories and anchor traditions for individuals and communities, and that help tell the history of the city as a whole. We are convinced that such places promote the well being of New York's many communities in ways that too often go unrecognized.

Our process begins with surveying New Yorkers to learn about the places they care about. We follow up with educational programs and advocacy to promote and protect these places and others like them.

  • Brooklyn Arts Council (

Brooklyn Arts Council is proud to help nurture Brooklyn’s traditional artists and preserve our borough’s diverse heritage though our folk arts program.

  • Traditional Arts in Upstate New York (TAUNY) (
  • TAUNY sponsors demonstrations and workshops led by outstanding traditional musicians or craftspersons, producing or teaching such arts as fiddling, social dancing, wood carving, rug braiding, basket weaving, Iroquois pottery, balsam wreath making, and fly tying. (

OHIO

  • American Folklore Society ( The American Folklore Society website connects the Society to its members, and also connects folklorists to each other and to the world at large…
  • The American Folklore Society's Folklore in Education Section gives two awards to recognize excellent work to incorporate folklore into K-12 classrooms and curricula: the Dorothy Howard Prize, which recognizes projects that encourage K-12 educators or students to use or study folklore and folkloristic approaches in all educational environments; and the Robinson-Roeder-Ward Fellowship, which supports K-12 educators with a demonstrated commitment to folklore to attend K-12 folklore workshops at the AFS annual meeting. Recipients:

OREGON

  • The Oregon Folklife Network (OFN) - the State of Oregon’s official Folk & Traditional Arts Program. Headquartered at the University of Oregon, the OFN is housed at the Knight Library and lives administratively in Academic Extension.

The Oregon Folklife Network makes a meaningful difference in Oregon communities and Tribes by documenting, supporting, and celebrating our diverse cultural traditions and by empowering our tradition-bearers. The OFN conducts folklife fieldwork and sponsors statewide activities to increase public awareness of the significance of living cultural heritage and the role of the OFN in fostering such art forms.

PENNSYLVANIA

  • Asian Americans United, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ( )
  • Folk Arts–Cultural Treasures Charter School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ( )
  • Philadelphia Folklore Project, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ( )
  • “Cultivating Folk Arts and Social Change:” Debora Kodish, AFS 2012 Plenary, Part One…This past October Debora Kodish gave the plenary address at the annual meeting of the American Folklore Society. Entitled “Cultivating Folk Arts and Social Change,” Kodish explored the history of Philadelphia Folklore Project of which she is the founder. A passionate discussion gleaned from decades worth of deep community engagement, this short paper is quickly becoming essential reading for anyone engaged in cultural work and community action.
  • Philadelphia's Magic Gardens, ( -PMG, a nonprofit organization, inspires creativity and community engagement by educating the public about folk, mosaic, and visionary art.

RHODE ISLAND

  • The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) - RISCA embraces diversity as a proactive approach essential to our role as a state agency and as a promoter and supporter of the arts in Rhode Island. In building and serving diverse audiences, RISCA affirms and supports the diversity of persons and ideas both within the organization and throughout the state.

TEXAS

  • Texas Folklife (

Texas Folklife is a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and presenting the diverse cultures and living heritage of the Lone Star State. For 25 years, Texas Folklife has honored the authentic cultural traditions passed down within communities and explored their importance in contemporary society…Texas Folklife produces programs throughout the state that bring Texas traditions to life for new generations, including: Performances, Community Residencies, Exhibitions, Education programs & Curriculum Materials, Apprenticeships, Radio and television projects

VERMONT

  • Vermont Folklife Center (
  • Discovering Community Educational Program ( - offers educators the opportunity to explore the power of field research as a means to facilitate student engagement with their home communities. Over the course of an intensive, week-long program participants will work with cultural researchers, documentary media specialists, artists, and fellow educators in a learning environment that models an ethnographic approach to community enquiry. The Institute brings together place as the context, sustainability as the goal, and service-learning as the strategy.

VIRGINIA

  • Folk Art Society of America - The Folk Art Society of America, founded in 1987, is a nonprofit organization that advocates the documentation, preservation and exhibition of folk art, folk artists and folk art environments, with an emphasis on the contemporary. We publish The Folk Art Messenger free to members, and produce an annual Conference with symposia, special exhibitions and an auction. Our online Calendar lists current, upcoming and ongoing folk-art-related events and exhibitions.

WASHINGTON DC

  • National Museum of the American Indian, ARTIST LEADERSHIP PROGRAM RECIPIENTS, Washington, DC (

The Artist Leadership Program for Individual Artists enables indigenous artists to research, document, and network in Washington, D.C., and then return to their home communities empowered with new artistic insights, skills, and techniques to share with their communities and the general public the value of Native knowledge through art. This program aims to rebuild cultural self-confidence and to enable artists to think more broadly about themselves and their art while perpetuating Indigenous cultures and reflecting artistic diversity. Artists may apply to the Artist Leadership Program for Individual Artists in one of two areas:

  1. Youth Public Art
  2. Artist’s Community Workshop
  • The Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage - is dedicated to the collaborative research, presentation, conservation, and continuity of traditional knowledge and artistry with diverse contemporary cultural communities in the United States and around the world.

The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage is a research and educational unit of the Smithsonian Institution promoting the understanding and continuity of diverse, contemporary grassroots cultures in the United States and around the world. The Center produces the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, exhibitions, documentary films and videos, symposia, publications, and educational materials.

WASHINGTON STATE

  • Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, Seattle, Washington (

Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience is dedicated to immersing people in uniquely-American stories of survival, success, struggle, conflict, compassion and hope. The Museum is in the heart of Seattle’s vibrant Chinatown-International District, and includes the very hotel where countless immigrants first found a home, a meal and refuge. As our nation’s only museum devoted to the Asian Pacific American experience, it’s one of the few places that can truly give you a new perspective on what it means to be American. The Wing is a Smithsonian Affiliate, a partnership with the Smithsonian Institution.

  • Immigration Sites of Conscience Network ( )

We are a worldwide network of historic sites, museums, and initiatives dedicated to remembering past struggles and addressing their contemporary legacies.

  • Levine Museum of the New South ( )

Levine Museum of the New South is an interactive history museum that provides the nation with the most comprehensive interpretation of post-Civil War southern society featuring men, women and children, black and white, rich and poor, long-time residents and newcomers who have shaped the South since the Civil War.

Our mission is to engage a broad-based audience in the exploration and appreciation of the diverse history of the South since the Civil War, with a focus on Charlotte and the surrounding Carolina Piedmont. Through the Museum we collect, preserve, and interpret the materials, sights, sounds, and ideas that illumine and enliven this history. The Museum presents opportunities for life-long learning about this history for the benefit, enjoyment and education of children and adults, and provides historical context for contemporary issues and a community forum for thoughtful discussion.

WISCONSIN

  • Folklore Village - Folklore Village is a nationally recognized folk arts and culture center dedicated to enriching lives through time-honored traditions. Since 1968, thousands of people of all ages have come to Folklore Village to gather with friends, meet new people, to eat, dance, sing and play.

ORGANIZATIONS OUTSIDE U.S.

CANADA

  • Simon Fraser University - CENTRE FOR DIALOGUE
  • Culture & Tradition Journal - Culture & Tradition is published by graduate students in the Department of Folklore, Memorial University of Newfoundland. It is Canada's longest running, bilingual folklore journal. The journal was founded in 1976 by graduate students in the Department of Folklore, Memorial University of Newfoundland and in Arts et Traditions Populaires at Université Laval, Quebec, with the aim of increasing communication among students of folklore in Canada. The journal is published annually. The title was chosen because, when the ampersand is used to join the words ‘Culture’ and ‘Tradition’, it is perfectly bilingual.
  • Folklore Studies Association of Canada - - The Folklore Studies Association of Canada (FSAC) is an educational, non-profit association founded in June 1976 for the purpose of increasing education and research in the field of folklore studies in all its aspects. Multidisciplinary, scientific, and educational, the Folklore Studies Association of Canada is composed of over 200 members including folklorists, researchers, students, educators, retired adults, and people interested in folklore. The Association is bilingual; English and French are its official languages.

BAHRAIN

  • Folk Culture (Cultre Populaire) – A quarterly specialized journal – “The message of folklore from Bahrian to the World”

CYPRUS

  • Cyprus Food & Nutrition Museum - - Our mission is to record, study, preservation and presentation of the culinary heritage of our country, Cyprus, as well as the dissemination of scientific, educational and recreational purposes. We work on history and culture of: food, nutrition, diet, utensils, tools and places for food production and preservation. Food is approached via various perspectives: folklore, history, museology, food science and nutrition. The ultimate aim is recording, preservation, promotion and dissemination of cultural heritage of traditional foods.

HUNGARY