Louisiana Folklife Month

LOUISIANA FOLKLIFE MONTH

Louisiana Folklife Month

Louisiana Folklife Month is a project of the Louisiana Folklife Commission in partnership with the Louisiana Folklore Society that annually recognizes up to six Louisiana Tradition Bearers for their role in preserving and promoting the state's distinctive folk cultures. In 2014, the Commission recognized June 4 as Louisiana Folklife Day. Since 2015, the commission has celebrated October as Folklife Month.

Tradition Bearers are honored at a variety of public events during the month of October, receiving both a certificate of recognition and a modest honorarium. Honorees hail from across Louisiana's three major cultural regions—New Orleans, South Louisiana, and North Louisiana—and represent the diverse cultural groups therein.

Tradition Bearers Recognized Since 2015

Eligibility

Tradition Bearers are those individuals and groups of individuals who perpetuate Louisiana's folklife. The Louisiana Folklife Program defines folklife as living traditions practiced and passed on informally within groups by word of mouth, imitation, and observation over time and space. Groups may be based on a shared ethnicity, social class, occupation, religion, region, or ancestry, among others.

Tradition bearers nominated for recognition during Folklife Month must directly maintain a folklife tradition. Those who draw upon Louisiana traditions to inspire or inform their artwork are not eligible. Nominees should be worthy of statewide recognition and have a demonstrated record of continuing accomplishment.

Additionally, honorees must be current residents of Louisiana; posthumous and/or interstate recognitions are not eligible. Those who have been previously honored as a Louisiana Folklife Month Tradition Bearer will not be considered.

Nomination Process

Nominations come directly from current members of the Louisiana Folklife Commission. In the event that the number of potential honorees falls short of the desired number, Louisiana Folklore Society members are asked to submit nominations during their annual spring meeting. Emeritus commissioners interested in making nominations should consult with the commission chair.

Members of the general public cannot directly submit nominations and instead need to consult a Folklife Commissioner whose geographic location and/or professional experience would facilitate a possible partnership. Commissioners are not obligated to advance such public recommendations, and all nominations are subject to review by the Louisiana Folklife Commission's Executive Committee.

Nominators, subsequently identified as Folklife Ambassadors, are expected to proactively manage their respective Tradition Bearer recognition events. This includes, but is not limited to, selecting a date, time, and location; identifying possible community partners for bolstering program reach; collecting honorees' biographical information and photographs for Folklife Month marketing materials; and acknowledging funding from the Louisiana Division of the Arts and any other funders in promotional pieces. Further, when the Tradition Bearer is an ensemble or other multi-person entity, the Ambassador must in advance identify the individual to whom the check will be made. The director of the Folklife Program within the Division of the Arts serves as the project administrator and will establish deadlines that Folklife Ambassadors are expected to meet.