Folk and Traditional Arts

Supporting North Carolina's living traditions, old and new

民俗 celebrates the unique character of North Carolina and the arts, 实践, and lifeways that emerge from within a community. Traditional arts are often deeply rooted in a geographic location and its religious, ethnic and occupational groups, or they are carried with immigrant and migrant communities as they establish themselves in new homes. 民俗 and Traditional Arts are the arts and 实践 of the people.

Zoe van Buren, 民俗 Director​
(919) 814-6518
佐伊.vanburen@ncdcr.政府

什么是民间生活?

民俗 is the expressive arts, 实践, and lifeways that emerge from within a community. 民俗 that is passed through generations grows into the traditional arts of that community. Traditional arts are often deeply rooted in a geographic location and its religious, ethnic and occupational groups, or they are carried with immigrant and migrant communities as they establish themselves in new homes. 民俗 and Traditional Arts are typically taught through one-on-one interaction in a community setting.

Every region in North Carolina is home to its own distinct and living traditions of craft, 音乐, 宗教活动, 艾治, and occupational folklife. From the centuries-old pottery tradition of the Seagrove region, 口语, 恐慌, and jazz in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain, 从前的, 蓝草音乐, and ballad singing in the mountains, 状态wide gospel traditions of African American, 阿巴拉契亚, and indigenous communities, 钓鱼, boatbuilding and duck decoy carving on the coast, to the traditional arts of the eight 状态-recognized native tribes of North Carolina.

民俗 is an essential and enduring part of how communities form their identity, 从他们的过去中学习, and decide their futures. 民俗 is a living and dynamic experience expressed through art, 音乐, 跳舞, 庆祝活动, 工作, 故事, 衣服, 地方感, 和信仰. No community is without it, and we are all its carriers.

About the folklife program

Since 1977, the 民俗 program of the N.C. Arts Council has promoted North Carolina folklife and traditional arts through ongoing documentation of living traditions, folklife apprenticeships, grants and special projects, 全州计划, and an archive of folklife materials. Signature projects include Traditional Arts Programs for Students，和 North Carolina Heritage Awards.

Supporting and exploring local folklife has immense value for both the cultural and economic health of a region. Maintaining folk traditions enables communities across the socio-economic spectrum to nurture cohesiveness, support artists and 音乐ians, 促进区域旅游, and improve educational achievement.

三个月 民俗实习 is offered every year to applicants who have completed at least one year of graduate study in folklife or related fields (ethno音乐ology, 人类学, 历史, 等.) or have experience with traditional arts and culture.

想成为一名民俗学家?

North Carolina universities offer programs for advance degrees in folklife and related studies:

Center for 阿巴拉契亚 Studies at 阿巴拉契亚 State University offers the nation’s only Master of Arts degree in 阿巴拉契亚 Studies and encourages research and collaborative projects concerned with the region’s past, 现在, 和未来的.

Center for Documentary Studies, an interdisciplinary educational organization affiliated with Duke University, carries out documentary projects at local, 状态, 国家, and inter国家 levels. 成立于1989年, CDS connects the arts and humanities to field工作, drawing upon photography, 电影制作, 口述历史, 民间传说, and writing as catalysts for education.

Curriculum in Folklore at UNC-Chapel Hill was established in 1940 and was one of the first graduate programs in 民间传说 in the country. The curriculum is a master’s level program that has been instrumental in establishing a place for 民间传说 studies in higher education, in training many folklorists now 工作ing in the 状态, and developing the Southern 民俗 Collection.