Rooted in Tradition
We’re over halfway! Thanks to our early donors, we are well on our way towards raising our giving campaign goal of $10,000 by December 19th. This week, we need your help to unlock $2,000 A generous anonymous donor will match up to $2,000 raised between now and Sunday, December 14th. Support Oregon Folklife Network by giving… Continue reading We’re over halfway to our goal… Help us unlock $2,000!
This giving season, Oregon Folklife Network invites you to support Oregon’s traditional artists – culture bearers who dedicate their time and skill towards the transmission of local traditions. Oregon Folklife Network is committed to a future where our communities can freely express culturally vibrant arts that ground us in shared human values. We need your… Continue reading This Giving Season, Support Cultural Arts
As part of a new programming initiative, Oregon Folklife Network has begun hosting casual meet & greet gatherings. The goal of these small, in-person meetups is to deepen relationship and connections between culture bearers who live in a similar geographic area. The idea to bring culture bearers together on a more regular basis came from… Continue reading Culture Bearers Connect for Conversation and Coffee
Oregon Culture Nights is BACK! After a hiatus in 2024, we are happy to announce that Thursday evenings in July, you and your family are welcome to visit the Museum of Natural and Cultural History to see live demonstrations of Oregon’s cultural traditions. Culture bearers from a wide variety of backgrounds will provide insider knowledge… Continue reading Oregon Culture Nights is BACK!
Oregon Folklife Network is deep into our second year of a research grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to study the impacts of traditional art apprenticeship programs on past awardees and their communities. In partnership with Texas Folklife, and the Center for Traditional Music and Dance (New York City), folklorists are providing… Continue reading Update on NEA Research Project
OFN recently hosted an end-of-year photo contest! Oregon culture keepers were encouraged to submit up to three photos taken during the 2024 calendar year that exhibit the theme: Future of Tradition. Interpretation of the theme was entirely up to each participant, and photos were scored by staff at the UO Museum of Natural and Cultural… Continue reading “Future of Tradition” Photo Contest
This year, OFN deepened the impact of the Museum of Natural and Cultural History’s Indigenous Artist in Residency program by liaising cross-campus relationships with Grand Ronde Indigenous Place Keeping Artist (IPKA) fellow, Steph Littlebird. By accepting the 2023-24 Artist in Residency, Littlebird co-curated her own work in the Contemporary Native Artist case within the Museum’s… Continue reading Steph Littlebird’s Indigenous Artist in Residency: A Tremendous Success
As the year comes to a close, OFN is grateful for the participation of this year’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (TAAP) apprenticeship teams: Beth’Ann Gipson with Sarah Thompson Moore (Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians Basket Weaving) Tetyana Horner with Tetyana Zelyanovska (Ukranian Weaving) Gayle Oram with Patti Jo Meshnik (Norwegian Rosemåling) Jayanthi… Continue reading 2024 Apprenticeships Result in Stronger Communities, Thriving Traditions
In April of 2024, Oregon Folklife Network hosted a “Culture Keeper Gathering” at Bend’s High Desert Museum. Twenty-five traditional artists with profiles on OFN’s Oregon Culture Keepers Roster convened for a weekend to build community, share traditions, and discuss values and concerns affecting culture keepers today. Arguably, this group’s greatest strength is found in their… Continue reading Gathering in Community, Oregon’s Culture Keepers Imagine the Future of Tradition
In 2024, OFN was happy to add three traditional artists to the Oregon Culture Keepers Roster. Please join us in welcoming: Eddie Melendrez (Ontario) is a Chicano painter. He uses acrylics to paint on canvases and wooden boards, his work is described as bold and decisive. Melendrez paints members of his community, stating “I… Continue reading Welcome to the Oregon Culture Keepers Roster!