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Outline
 Louisiana Folklife Homepage
This homepage provides an overview of the Louisiana Folklife Program, within the Division of the Arts. It demonstrates how the program identifies, documents, and strives to conserve, and present the folk cultural resources of Louisiana. A wealth of information is available on this site for anyone seeking to gain a clearer understanding and deeper appreciation for Louisiana's unique folk cultural experience.
Past & Current Folklife Projects
This section chronicles past and current projects the program has initiated, as well as lists collaborative efforts produced from partnerships with other organizations.
Louisiana Folklife Survey
Louisiana Regional Folklife Program
Louisiana Folk Regions
Louisiana Folklife Recording Series (LFRS)
Louisiana Storytelling Project
Audio Equipment Loan Program
Delta Folklife Project
Keeping It Alive
Louisiana Folklife: A Guide to the State
Louisiana Folklife Database (produced in collaboration with the Louisiana Folklife Center)
Folklife Artist Biographies (produced in collaboration with the Louisiana Folklife Center)
Natchitoches/NSU Folklife Festival (produced in collaboration with the Louisiana Folklife Center)
Florida Parishes Folklife Project (produced in collaboration with the center for Regional Studies at Southeastern Louisiana)
Defining Terms
If you have ever been unsure about what constitutes Folklore/Folklife, this section will dispel any misconceptions and give you an accurate depiction of what the discipline entails.
Folklore/Folklife Is
Folklore/Folklife Is Not
Cultural Continuum
Folklore and Everyday Life
Folklore Research
Who Is A Folk Artist: Criteria for Including Artists in the Louisiana Folklife Database
Planning & Funding Folklife Projects
Interested in producing or participating in a Louisiana Folklife project? Well, this section will steer you in the right direction. The Division of the Arts supports folklife through the following programs: Project Assistance, Arts in Education, Folklife Apprenticeships, Artist Fellowships, and Decentralized Funding. In addition, folk artists are featured in our Crafts Marketing Program, on the State Artist Roster, and included in the Southern Arts Exchange.
Planning Folklife Projects
In addition to these resources, Louisiana residents may contact the Folklife Program director, Maida Owens, or a Regional Folklorist for assistance.
Folklife Update
Keep abreast of current events relating to Louisiana Folklife through this quarterly report.
Regional Folklife Program
Louisiana's Regional Folklife Program is a cooperative endeavor between Louisiana universities and the Louisiana Folklife Program within the Division of the Arts. The primary goal of the program is to provide in-depth documentation of Louisiana's folk traditions and facilitate its appropriate use by the public and cultural tourism.
Regions:
- Region 1: The Upper Louisiana Delta and the North Central Hill Country (Funded)
- Region 2: Louisiana Red River Valley and the Neutral Strip. (Funded)
- Region 5: Greater New Orleans (Funded)
- Region 3: Western Acadiana
- Region 4: Louisiana's Florida Parishes, Mississippi River Road, and Eastern Acadiana
Resources
This section presents a wide array of resources centered on Louisiana Folklore and Folk Traditions.
- Streaming Video Clips- This collection of online clips provides a glimpse of Louisiana cultural traditions. (RealPlayer is required to view these videos. If you do not already have this software, you may download a free version at: http://www.real.com.
- Videotapes on Louisiana Traditional Cultures- This is a listing of videotapes available on loan at the State Library and various parish libraries.
- Division of the Arts Award Winners Lists- View the Division's past and current award winners, program participants, and grant recipients on this page.
- Louisiana Music Recordings: A Select List- Want to tap your feet to a different beat? View this page for a select listing of music unique to Louisiana. You'll find everything from zydeco, to Swamp Pop, to Cajun. Also get an overview of Louisiana music readily available on CD by tuning into Mike Luster's radio show, Creole Statement, heard via RealAudio, Saturdays from 7-9pm at: http://www.kedm.nlu.edu/.
- Louisiana Folklife Center- Established in 1976, as an agency of Northwestern State University of Louisiana, this research facility has been involved in folklife programs of public interest. It works in conjunction with the Louisiana Folklife Program housed in the Division of the Arts, and directed by Maida Owens.
- Louisiana Folklore Society- This organization was founded in 1956 and aims to encourage the study, documentation, and accurate representation of traditional cultures of Louisiana. Members include university professors, professional folklorists in the public sector, secondary school teachers, museum workers, graduate students, and other individuals interested in folklore.
- Cultural Vistas- A quarterly publication funded through the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, which brings Louisiana's best literature, photos, reviews, and features to readers everywhere.
- Louisiana Folklife Bibliography- If you are looking for further reading materials, videos, or audio to broaden your understanding of Louisiana folk culture, this online database is an excellent starting point.
- Recommended Reading- On this page you will find a list of publications and books on Louisiana Folklife that are more readily available. Refer to the Louisiana Folklife Bibliography for a more through list.
- Louisiana Folklife Theses & Dissertations- Get an academic perspective on Louisiana's diverse folk cultures through searching this database of theses and dissertations.
- Native American Organizations in Louisiana- This page provides a list of contact information on Native American organizations active in Louisiana.
- Swapping Stories: Folktales from Louisiana Online Resources- The Swapping Stories book, video, and website are products of the ten year Louisiana Storytelling Project, which documented Louisiana Storytellers. The project began as a collaborative effort with the Louisiana Office of Tourism's Open House 1990 Storytelling Program.
- Documenting Quiltmaking- This page provides a glimpse of Susan Roach's (Region 1 Folklorist) in depth research and documentation of the Quiltmaking process as exercised by North Louisiana women. Between 1979-1984 Dr. Roach interviewed 44 quilters in 10 parishes.
- Sample Fieldnotes: Teen Memories of Grade School Traditions- These fieldnotes and interview transcript are provided to teachers and students as an example of how one folklorist took a research idea and developed it.
- Atchafalaya Basin Annual Cycle- A Diagram of the annual cycle of folk activities in the Atchafalaya Basin. (Used with permission from Geoscience Publications, Department of Geography and Anthropology, Louisiana State University).
- Louisiana Folklife: A Guide to the State- Edited by folklorist, Nicholas R. Spitzer, this resourceful publication provides an array of essays and articles by university professors, academics, and folklorists pertaining to Louisiana folklife. Spitzer was the first Louisiana Folklife Program director from 1979-1985, and currently teaches at the University of New Orleans.
- The Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage- This center promotes the understanding and continuity of contemporary grassroots cultures in the United States and abroad, and is responsible for producing the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, exhibitions, documentary films and videos, symposia, and educational materials.
Louisiana Folklife Bibliography
This database includes all works cited in the Living Traditions section of the Folklife in Louisiana website and the Louisiana Voices Educator's Guide.
Recommended Reading
On this page you will find a listing of publications and books pertaining to Louisiana folklife that are more readily available. For a more thorough list, refer to the Louisiana Folklife Bibliography database.
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