Rooted in Tradition
Interview with Nat Ivy, Folklife Specialist at the Regional Folklife Center at the Arts Institute of Middlesex County, and former Oregon Folklife Network graduate employee. Interviewed by Oliver Hillenkamp, current UO Folklore and Public Culture masters student. OH: Please talk a bit about your time at the University of Oregon Folklore program and working… Continue reading Oregon Folklife Network Training Helps Grad Land Job
We are delighted to welcome two new members to the 2026 Culture Bearers Advisory Board! The Oregon Folklife Network’s advisory board is composed of culture bearers who actively participate in OFN programming, such as the Culture Keepers Roster and the Culture Keepers Gathering. The board drives OFN’s programming decisions and guides OFN’s strategic planning. This… Continue reading New Board Members Announced
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
by Emily Hartlerode After many conversations with our supporters about the relative health of your communities and traditional practices, and learning your needs for cultural arts advocacy, I want to clarify some key elements that confuse many of us today. Regarding the government shutdown, while relatively rare, they are not new. As Americans for the… Continue reading From the Director: Our Current Moment
by OFN director, Emily Hartlerode I recently gave an update on our multi-state research for which I serve as Principal Investigator. This NEA-funded Research Lab seeks to answer the question “Do Traditional Arts Apprenticeships sustain cultural practice in ways that are meaningful to communities?” I delivered this presentation via webinar to peer folk arts managers… Continue reading Do Traditional Arts Apprenticeships sustain cultural practice in ways that are meaningful to communities?
Please enjoy this summary of OFN’s current research and leave us a comment to share your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions! OFN’s Research Lab, like the Apprenticeship programs it studies, originates with National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) funds, awarded to folk arts managers, with the intention to benefit traditional arts. NEA (and state arts agency)… Continue reading Cultural Sustainability Impact of Apprenticeships
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