Partnership Power: Elegba Folklore Society & Virginia Folklife

The Virginia Folklife Program has an expansive mission — to support cultural traditions — and we try to increase our impact with the tools we have on hand by embracing innovation and collaboration. While annual funding may limit the number of Apprenticeship Program awards we can offer, there is one tactic with near-boundless potential: partnerships.

Each year, we are invited to present part of the Richmond Folk Festival, a beloved and free event that welcomes over 200,000 visitors across three days. The festival takes place on and near Brown’s Island, just blocks from the Elegba Folklore Society. I remember first noticing the cultural arts center’s bold red, black, and white storefront on Broad Street before I moved to Virginia to begin work as state folklorist in March 2022. Every person is host to their own mix of traditions and folklife, but the hard truth is that there are few organizations dedicated to its wellbeing — and fewer still with downtown presences!

It was Elegba Folklore Society that I thought of when considering what program to offer at the 2024 festival, its twentieth anniversary. I hoped we could honor its neighbor, this well-respected and award-winning 34-year-old folklore institution. I invited Omilade Janine Bell, founder and artistic director of Elegba Folklore Society, and her daughter Imani Bell, production assistant, to consider taking the lead in envisioning a program for the Virginia Folklife Area.

“Textiles are something people use in various ways everyday. Now, when they look at cloth, they can begin to ask: ‘What is your story?’”

Unicia Buster, textile artist

The result? “Textile Origin Stories,” a festival village made possible through a mutual willingness to explore the potential for partnership. (Read more in our Textile Origin Stories feature by Paulina Guerrero.) Our area featured exhibits by four textile artists and Dena Jennings’ Story Gourd Workshop with her Virginia Folklife Apprentice Samaria Marley, and a Folklife Workshop stage with music, dance, and conversation (schedule).

By connecting visitors to the African roots of traditions in design, textiles, and music, this program was restorative. We hope the educational moments it offered will have lasting impact.

In working together to produce this program, I was moved witnessing some shared values come to life. There is a service ethic in committing oneself to connecting people through culture — even more so when the act restores what was stolen. Through “Textile Origin Stories,” I caught a glimpse of what drives Janine.

And it was fun to dream up the details! The attention to detail and care each team member, artist, and volunteer brought made it possible.

Thanks to design and tech support from Barb Gillespie and Whitney Brown, our corner of the festival felt like a warm, welcoming village, inviting all ages to explore. Our festival volunteers, lead by Diane Muska since 2004 (!), helped bring our vision to life, as did Nina Wilder (photos and graphic design), Jennie Taylor (artist contracts and more), and Pat Jarrett (photos and video). Our Virginia Folklife Area partner, the Center for Cultural Vibrancy (founded by former Virginia state folklorist Jon Lohman), presented a rocking and joyous two-days of music. (Watch sets from RFF 2024 on our YouTube.)

Thank you to every person involved — and especially to Janine and Imani for their willingness to create together.

Partnership Power! If you are interested in discussing partnership opportunities with Virginia Folklife at the Richmond Folk Festival and more, be in touch at folklife@virginiahumanities.org.

“I am so grateful to have shared my art with three talented artists. Together our art blended well to tell textile stories. We created a cultural environment exhibiting art that inspired viewers with positivity.”

Martha Jones-Carter, textile artist

Watch RFF 2024 Performance Videos

Enjoy these performances from the Virginia Folklife Area at the festival — from both the Folklife Workshop Stage and the Center for Cultural Vibrancy Stage.

Cheick Hamala Diabate & the Elegba Folklore Society Drum Ensemble

Johnny Williams, the Crooked Road Revival & Sherman Holmes

Sacred Sounds Workshop

The Legendary Ingramettes

Justin Golden

RFF 2024 Photos