Sights & SoundsGary Horton and Tommy Horton
Gary Horton learned traditional logsmithing and historic home restoration from the late Don Chapman, widely considered the trade’s greatest master in Southwest Virginia. During his lifetime, Don disassembled, restored, and …
Sights & SoundsJulia Garcia and Gloria Encinas
In Northern Virginia, a large Bolivian community from the Valle Alto (High Valley) of Cochabamba is maintaining the spirit and customs of their native Quechua culture and language. Through the …
Sights & SoundsEvelyn Lahman and Dr. T. Michael Gilley
Sadly, Evelyn Lahman passed away on June 13, 2017, shortly after receiving her apprenticeship. A craft originally born of necessity, the fiber arts continue to thrive throughout southern Appalachia. In …
Sights & SoundsGreg Galbreath and Peter Keller
Just as old-time mountain music has risen in popularity across America and the world, so has the art of banjo making. Unlike the three-finger-picking style for bluegrass banjo popularized by …
News2016 Apprenticeship Showcase Schedule Announced
The Virginia Folklife Program at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities announces the schedule for the 2016 Apprenticeship Showcase on Sunday, May 15 from 12:00 to 5:00pm at James Monroe’s …
Sights & SoundsMary “Mama-Girl” Onley and David Rogers
Pastor Mary Onley, known as Mama-Girl, is a self-taught artist who was born and raised in Painter, on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, where she still lives. Her lyrical sculptures are similar …
Sights & SoundsRichard Pippin and Melissa Jones and Zoe Bearinger
By one estimate, humans took more than 900 billion photographs in 2015 and shared more than 200,000 images per minute on Facebook. This flood of digital images is unprecedented, but …
Sights & SoundsSochietah Ung and Matthew Regan and Lena Ouk
In the years between 1975 and 1979, the Maoist-inspired radical group, the Khmer Rouge, committed horrific acts of genocide in Cambodia, attempting to collectivize Khmer socioeconomic operations, destroy the traditional …
NewsBolivian Traditions to Come Alive at the Richmond Folk Festival
Virginia is home to the largest Bolivian-born population in the country. In celebration of Bolivian cultural vitality in the Commonwealth, the Virginia Folklife Program will spotlight the traditions that connect …
Sights & SoundsRemembering Norman Amos: Master Carver
The Virginia Folklife Program was saddened to hear of the passing of Norman Amos, of Callands, Virginia, just shy of his ninetieth birthday. We first got acquainted with Norman through …
Sights & SoundsJim Bordwine and Baron Bordwine
Nestled in the southern Appalachian Mountains, Saltville is named for its unusually high number of salt marshes, or, as locals call them, salt licks. Saltville’s natural salt deposits have influenced …
Sights & SoundsRick Green and Jon Butler
Blacksmithing was among the first craft trades Europeans brought to the New World; in fact, a blacksmith was among the original group of 104 settlers that the Virginia Company of …
