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Posted by: Meg Nicholas
In an attempt to inspire herself and others to finish handmade gifts for the holidays, Folklife Specialist Meg Nicholas takes readers on a quick tour of hand-crafted items documented in the Center’s field survey collections.
Posted in: Collection Highlight, Crafts, Folk Art, Material Culture, Quilts, Textile arts
Posted by: Nicole Saylor
The digital records collection of the AIDS Memorial Quilt--the largest folk arts project in history commemorating those lost to HIV/AIDS--was published on the Library of Congress' website on December 1 (World AIDS Day 2024). This milestone marks over ten years of collaboration between the American Folklife Center, the National AIDS Memorial (NAM), and the NAMES Project Foundation to preserve and steward the AIDS Memorial Quilt Records Collection. In this post, Nicole Saylor, Director of the American Folklife Center, recounts the history of this collaboration and the years of work that led to the online publication.
Posted in: AFC Events, AFC History, AIDS Memorial Quilt, Civil Rights, Folk Art, LGBTQ, Quilts, U.S. Congress
Posted by: Douglas D. Peach
The American Folklife Center recently acquired the collection of Tom Pich—an acclaimed photographer of traditional artists. Pich is best known for his photographs of recipients of the National Heritage Fellowship—the nation's highest honor in the traditional arts presented annually by the National Endowment for the Arts. In this celebratory post, AFC Folklife Specialist Nancy Groce highlights the importance of this acquisition, contextualizes Tom Pich's work, and details the beauty of his photographs.
Posted in: Acquisitions, Folk Art, NEA National Heritage Fellowship, Photographs
Posted by: Douglas D. Peach
In this post, Nancy Groce (Senior Folklife Specialist, American Folklife Center) highlights a new exhibition organized by Los Herederos -- a 2023 recipient of a Community Collections Grant (CCG) from the American Folklife Center -- that celebrates the cultural diversity of Queens, New York.
Posted in: Community Collections Grants, Cultural Heritage, Exhibits, Folk Art, Oral History, Uncategorized
Posted by: Nicole Saylor
In June 2024, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi had a special viewing of the AIDS Memorial Quilt Records stewarded by the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. This post details Pelosi's visit to the Library, her previous work to advocate for the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, and the work American Folklife Center staff to steward these valuable collections.
Posted in: AIDS Memorial Quilt, Folk Art, LGBTQ, Quilts, U.S. Congress, Uncategorized