Apprenticeships
Apprenticeships ensure that cherished cultural traditions are passed along to future generations. Each year, the Virginia Folklife Program pairs experienced master artists with eager apprentices for one-on-one nine-month learning experiences in all forms of Virginia’s traditional, expressive culture. Begun in 2002, more than 120 master and apprentice teams–in art forms as wide ranging as decoy carving, fiddle making, boat building, country ham curing, African American gospel singing, Mexican folk dancing, just to name a few–help ensure that Virginia’s treasured folkways continue to receive new life and vibrancy, engage new learners, and reinvigorate master practitioners.
Education and Outreach
The Virginia Folklife Program presents hands-on workshops, residencies, and performances by master artists in public schools across Virginia, engaging students of all ages in the unique traditions of our state and sharing the stories they represent. We develop classroom resources to help teachers educate their students about the diverse cultural traditions around them.
Performances and Public Presentations
Live public performances and demonstrations produced by the Virginia Folklife Program provide opportunities for public expression, draw attention to lesser-known art forms, and create environments where Virginians can learn about traditional artists residing with the Commonwealth. The Virginia Folklife Program reaches thousands of people each year through high-quality live performances and demonstrations at festivals and concerts across the state.
Documentation and Fieldwork
The Virginia Folklife Program visits communities large and small across the Commonwealth, documenting diverse cultural traditions through audio recordings, photography, and videography. This cultural documentation allows for the sharing of cherished traditional folkways with the public now and for generations to come. Virginia Folklife documentary materials and field recordings are made to be widely accessible in high-quality, searchable formats though this website, our YouTube, SoundCloud, and Flickr channels, and on Facebook. We also produce professional recordings and documentary films.
Cultural Exchange
Cross-cultural sharing of folk traditions is one of the most powerful tools of cultural diplomacy. Within the Commonwealth, across the nation, and abroad, the Virginia Folklife Program brings Virginia artists together with practitioners from around the world. Exchanges between traditional artists build bridges between seemingly disparate communities and traditions, and help artists and audiences to better understand and articulate the important influences of other cultures on our own Virginia traditions.
