Pic of the Week: #MyTradition

In celebration of its 40th anniversary, the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress (AFC) has launched year-long campaign asking Americans to share photos of their folk traditions. The campaign kicks off a year of events that will commemorate AFC’s four decades as the institution of record for American folk traditions and ensure that it remains the country’s most vibrant folklife archive and research center well into the future.

The Balkan singing group Slaveya performing at a National Folk Organization event. The group includes several Library of Congress employees, including AFC’s Theadocia Austen. For them, Balkan singing and costume are “MyTradition.” L-r: Anne Harrison, Katie Kathryn, Tzvety Weiner, Theadocia Austen, Betsy Smith Platt, Karen Chittenden and Helen Fedor. Courtesy of Theadocia Austen.

The photo campaign asks participants to share the photos to Flickr with the tag “MyTradition” and a Creative Commons license. Photos should highlight a folk tradition in which they themselves participate, creating a collective snapshot of folklife in 2016.

“Do you prepare a family recipe that goes back for generations? Do you sing, dance, tell stories, sew, quilt, craft, or make things by hand as part of a family, ethnic, regional, or occupational tradition? If so, we’d love your photos! We’re looking specifically for photos of a folklife tradition in which you participate yourself. The photo doesn’t necessarily have to include you, but that would be nice—and selfies are welcome,” said the AFC.

You can read more about folklife traditions and the #MyTradition initiative in this blog post from Folklife Today. Help the folklife center celebrate its 40th, and start sharing your photos!

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