UPCOMING PROGRAMS (Fall 2008):

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE WORKSHOPS
Hands-on workshops for grassroots artists and cultural heritage workers, aiming to get resources into our communities, build skills, and encourage mutual support. Always FREE but limited space. Always held at PFP office, 735 S. 50th Street, 10 AM - Noon. RSVPS required: 215.726.1106

October 11
FOLK ARTS GRANT-WRITING 101
Intro to folk arts-friendly funding opportunities in the Philadelphia area. Where can you go for funds to support your heritage arts efforts? Review upcoming deadlines and see what works for you. Leave with a plan!

November 8
FOLK ARTS GRANTS: ARTIST STATEMENTS
Focus on basic elements of applications, with hands-on practice. How do you explain what you do (to people who have no idea where you come from!)

December 13
FOLK ARTS NARRATIVES AND BUDGETS (Pt. 1)
Hands-on coaching at basic elements of grant-writing. How do you plan and undertake a folk arts / heritage project and describe it in a narrative? How do you build a budget that enables you to do what you need to do?

January 10
FOLK ARTS NARRATIVES AND BUDGETS (pt. 2)
Review of your drafts for spring deadlines. Then, hands-on coaching at these basic elements, with special reference to people working in folk and traditional arts. Take the next steps at moving a project or grant application forward. Get feedback on your efforts.

SALONS AND SCREENINGS
Perspectives on what it takes to sustain alternative cultural traditions, or to push through barriers. FREE (donations always welcomed) and at PFP unless otherwise noted.

October 4 , November 1, December 3
OPEN HOUSE/ SCREENINGS:
WEST AFRICA, THANK YOU FROM ZAYE TETE
10 AM - 1 PM
Stop by and check out our newest 5-minute video postcard on Liberian singer Zaye Tete (soon to be broadcast on WYBE), visit our exhibitions, and stop in to chat  during these Saturday open houses.

December 5
TAP DANCERS' STORY CIRCLE
6 - 8 PM
An extended family reunion: share recollections and your own stories. We invite Philadelphia tap dancers (and those who love Philadelphia tap dancers) to join us in a gathering. Come by and share some stories: remember the great artists who have passed, consider their legacies, and fill out an even wider picture of tap dance past, present and future.

EXHIBITIONS
Our galleries showcase local folk and traditional arts - vernacular and alternative expression. We are open September - June on first Saturdays from 10 AM - 1 PM and by appointment. FREE. Tours also available by appointment (donations encouraged): 215.726.1106

STORIED OBJECTS
Taking a stand against injustice, making a huge sacrifice for future generations, coming together with others in celebration and struggle: everyday, people are engaged in epic sagas, building best hopes into satisfying lives. Folk arts are among the means we use to pursue real and varied freedom dreams. Significant experiences are on view this fall, in a small exhibition of telling objects: paintings, sculpture, and musical instruments made by people with important stories to hear. Current issues - from immigration to gentrification to this fall's election debate over what (and who) the American Dream truly includes, and what change truly means - encourage another look at diverse peoples' everyday experiences preserved in these storied objects. We invite you to add your thoughts about the artists' work and experiences, and to share your own reflections. . .

RETHINKING PLENTY OF GOOD WOMEN DANCERS
"You could hear a different time step on every corner, on South Street," tap dancer LaVaughn Robinson used to say, rooting Philadelphia rhythms in time and place. What memories endure in a neighborhood that was once a center of African American cultural life? We look back on sixty years of tap history, remembering and honoring great dancers now passed: Hortense Allen Jordan, Libby Spencer, Edith "Baby Edwards" Hunt, Dee and Dave McHarris, Isabelle Fambro, LaVaughn Robinson, Henry Meadows, Michelle Roberts Webster, Patricia Perkins. And we recall the fate of places once central to community history. Share your memories.

CONTINUING
IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK: WILLIAM AND MIRIAM CRAWFORD'S DINING ROOM.
Bill and Miriam Crawford's actual dining room are four walls collaged with 40 years of social change memorabilia. Like other folk arts, these lovingly tended walls of memory and struggle trace community and convey folk history. An artistic creation in its own right, this assemblage evokes the homes and workplaces of many activists. The dining room walls chronicle four decades of a family's political life, recording the Crawfords' involvement in the Communist party, the civil rights, Black Power, and anti-war movements, the "Stop Rizzo" campaign, and Bill's own campaign for city controller. Like an elaborate, oversized scrapbook, the walls seamlessly mix radical political memorabilia with favorite images of African American literary and musical figures, popular culture, cartoons, and photographs of old friends. Each piece has a story. Come join us and add your story to the mix. . . . (Read more)

OTHER ON-GOING PFP PROGRAMS

ART HAPPENS HERE
These public programs are collaborations with folk and traditional artists and grassroots community groups aim to sustain alternative and significant vernacular traditions. Artists introduce work in progress, or developed during residencies. If you are a Philadelphia-area community-based folk or traditional artist, let us know about your project by writing a letter (or e-mail pfp@folkloreproject.org), or attend a workshop, above.

TRAVELING EXHIBITIONS
We loan traveling photo exhibitions on local folk art. Rental rates are modest (and free to sites serving low-income communities.) Call us for info or visit sample exhibitions here.

FOLK ARTS EDUCATION
Folk Arts and Multicultural Education (FAME) is our arts education program, currently including on-going residencies in which traditional artists work with young people in public schools and community sites. Residency artists currently include masters of African, African American, Chinese, Cambodian, and Lebanese dance and music. Since opening our Folk Arts Cultural Treasures Charter School in collaboration with Asian Americans United, we are focusing on developing folk arts education curricula and programs there. For more information about our FAME program, or to inquire about being a FAME site or artist, click here.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE PROJECT
PFP is documenting folk arts relating to displacement: including arts and stories of gentrification and loss of home right here, as well as war and immigration from a previous homeland. Part of our new project on local knowledge, work will result in a series of programs.We are interested in talking to people about places that are significant in your current neighborhood, or in your memory.

MEDIA & PUBLICATIONS
Walking on solid ground is PFP's latest PFP children's book, with three traditional artists sharing their perspectives on their art, the ethics and values and their community. Two documentary videos/DVDS (Plenty of Good Women Dancers and I choose to stay here) are also among our titles. And we're working on a new mini-documentary with klezmer musicians Elaine Hoffman Watts and Susan Watts. Purchase of our publications helps support PFP efforts. To learn more.

Read about past PFP programs.