The Virginia Folklife Program is the state center for the documentation, presentation, support, and celebration of Virginia’s rich cultural heritage.
Whether sung or told, hand-crafted or performed, Virginia’s rich folklife refers to those “arts of everyday life” that reflect a sense of traditional knowledge and connection to community. Virginia’s folkways are rich with traditions that have been rooted in the Commonwealth for centuries, as well as those that more recently have been carried here and nourished by Virginia’s diverse immigrant communities.
The Virginia Folklife Program was established in 1989 as part of Virginia Humanities, the state humanities council, with funding support from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts Folk Arts Program. The Virginia Folklore Society, one of the oldest state folklore societies in the country, was instrumental in the establishment of the Virginia Folklife Program.
What We Do
Our work is focused in five areas: Apprenticeships, Education & Outreach, Performances & Public Presentations, Documentation & Fieldwork, and Cultural Exchange.
Our Team
Sponsors
The Virginia Folklife Program is the state center for the documentation, presentation, support, and celebration of Virginia’s rich cultural traditions. We invite you to invest in our state by sponsoring our programming. As a sponsor of the Virginia Folklife Program, you are investing in the people of the state who practice the “arts of everyday life.”
