Top of page

Archive: 2017 (5 Posts)

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Folklife at the International Level: Issues in Protecting Traditional Cultural Expressions

Posted by: Michelle Stefano

In the last “Folklife at the International Level” post, Wend Wendland, Director of WIPO’s Traditional Knowledge Division, recounted that the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) was formed by WIPO member states in 2000. The aim was to discuss issues relating to the protection of TCEs (called at …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Reel Folk: Interview with Filmmaker Amy Nicholson

Posted by: Michelle Stefano

As the upcoming AFC film and discussion event, Reel Folk: Cultural Explorations on Film, nears, I interviewed filmmaker Amy Nicholson to whet the appetites of fellow ethnographic film enthusiasts out there! Amy’s 2005 film, Muskrat Lovely, will screen on September 30 2017, the second day of the Reel Folk event. View the full schedule here. What …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Reel Folk: The Making of Let’s Get the Rhythm

Posted by: Michelle Stefano

The following is a guest post by Irene Chagall, the co-producer of the film Let’s Get the Rhythm, which will be screening on September 30 as part of the AFC’s “Reel Folk: Cultural Explorations on Film” event (September 29-30) in the Library’s Pickford Theater. Co-producers Irene Chagall and Steve Zeitlin, the director of City Lore, …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Reel Folk: Cultural Explorations on Film Screening and Discussion Event

Posted by: Michelle Stefano

On September 29th and 30th, 2017, the Library of Congress is hosting “Reel Folk: Cultural Explorations on Film,” a series of free film screenings and discussions organized by the American Folklife Center. The films feature fascinating explorations of traditional culture in the U.S., focused particularly on cultural communities, traditional artists and their cultural practices in …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Folklife at the International Level: Traditional Cultural Expressions as Intellectual Property

Posted by: Michelle Stefano

In the first of the “Folklife at the International Level” series, I ended with a glimpse into the complex issues that arise when intellectual property (IP) protection is sought for “traditional cultural expressions,” or “TCEs,” the terminology used by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). On its website, WIPO describes such expressions as including “music, …