UPCOMING PROGRAMS (Winter / Spring 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

February 9
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!

March 8
DOCUMENTING YOUR WORK: WORK SAMPLES
Many grant programs require work samples: a few minutes of carefully selected video, audio, or photos of your work. How do you do a good job of both creating and selecting evidences that represent you and your work? Tips and resources for improving your ongoing documentation.

April 12
TELLING YOUR STORY IN WORDS & NUMBERS
Hands-on coaching at basic elements of grant-writing. How do you plan, undertake and describe a folk arts / heritage project in a project narrative? How do you build a workable budget?

May 10
FOLK ARTS GRANTS: SMALL PROJECTS
Outline a draft for an upcoming deadline. Take the next steps at moving a project or grant application forward. A working session.

June 14
FOLK ARTS FELLOWSHIPS & APPRENTICESHIPS
An overview of upcoming grant opportunities for individual artists working in folk and traditional arts with attention to the various required elements.

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.

February 6
SCREENING:
PLENTY OF GOOD WOMEN DANCERS & WOMEN PLAY KLEZMER
7 PM /  Bryn Mawr Film Institute
824 West Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr
$9.25  / Info@Brynmawrfilm.org
Soreenings of two of our documentary videos (on local African tap dancers and klezmer musicians), followed by a discussion with some of the artists and documentary-makers.

February 29
LECTURE / DEMONSTRATION
A.J. RACY: IMPROVISATION & EMOTION IN MIDDLE EASTERN MUSIC
7 PM
Dr. Racy is an internationally recognized scholar, performer, and composer specializing in the music of the Middle East. He will perform and discuss  Lebanese music and the contexts in which it is played in Lebanon and here. (In conjunction with our exhibition, All that we do.) Spaces limited. Reservations: 215.726.1106

March 1, April 5, May 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.

SPECIAL PROJECTS: MUSICIANS IN RESIDENCE
mother's day klezmer concert
May 11: 6 PM
World Cafe Live / 3025 Walnut St.
Tickets $20 general admission / $16 PFP members (in advance - by 5/9/08: purchase here!)

Drummer Elaine Hoffman Watts and her daughter, trumpeter and vocalist Susan Watts, headline a concert presenting the distinctive Ukrainian-Jewish klezmer repertoire of the Hoffman family. The amazing Watts women will be joined by guest musicians, among them, descendants of three of the most prominent Philadelphia klezmer families, playing arrangements from folios of music scored by Joseph Hoffman (c. 1910) and newly arranged by Susan Watts. Discussion with artists after the show.

Tickets: $20 available through World Cafe Live www.worldcafelive.com, 215.222.1400, or box office at the address above. (Note: World Cafe charges a $5 processing fee for each ticket purchased with credit card. Save $4 in fees by purchasing with cash at the WCL box office in advance of the show; such purchases incur a $1 fee.) Also note that PFP members may purchase tickets at our secure site, in advance (by 5/98/08) sfrom the link above.

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

CONTINUING
OPENING CELEBRATION: ALL THAT WE DO: CONTEMPORARY WOMEN, TRADITIONAL ARTS. This exhibition of photographs by James Wasserman documents aspects of the experiences and artistry of nine women practicing diverse folk and traditional arts in Philadelphia now. Each of the featured women artists is groundbreaking in her own way, juggling a push at conventions while respecting canons, or balancing a life-long dedication to learning a cultural practice while isolated from other such practitioners, or insisting on constructive, positive self-imagery in the face of racism and other oppressions. Featured are Antonia Arias and Anna Rubio (flamenco), Fatu Gayflo r (Liberian song), Vera Nakonechny (Ukrainian needlework), Ayesha Rahim (crochetwork), Yvette Smalls (hair sculpture), Michelle Tayoun (Middle Eastern dance), Elaine and Susan Watts (klezmer).

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.