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The Philadelphia Folklore Project
The Philadelphia Folklore Project is a 24-year-old independent folklife agency that is committed to educating the public about Philadelphia folk arts and culture in order to promote diversity and awareness of the different cultures in Philadelphia. It also seeks to support local Philadelphia artists. It offers annual exhibitions, concerts and workshops that are open to the public. It also works closely with schools to give arts education to children and teens. Its office is located at 735 South 50th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19143. It is important because of its efforts to educate the public about folklore and folk arts, its efforts to promote diversity and tolerance, and its support of local grassroots artists.

Background
The Philadelphia Folklore Project (PFP) was created in January 1987, after a group of folklorists met at the Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial. This group of folklorists had already been doing fieldwork around the Delaware Valley, with a special focus on local art, culture, and folk artists. They were moved to start the PFP after the 100th anniversary of the American Folklore Society (AFS). The AFS is a national organization made up of scholars and practitioners working in the field of American folklore. The Project has been recognized with awards and has produced over 200 community projects. (http://www.phillytrib.com/lifestylesarticles/item/816-folklore-project-keeps-culture-alive.html). According to Jerrilyn McGregory, a researcher with the PFP and a doctoral candidate in the University of Pennsylvania's folklore and folklife department, says folklore is "the everyday tradition of people, usually artistically expressed." http://articles.philly.com/1989-09-29/entertainment/26102819_1_folklife-computer-hackers-ethnic-groups ). "The Philadelphia Folklore Project affirms the human right to cultural expression, and works to protect the rights of people to know and practice traditional and community-based arts. The PFP offers public education in the folk arts, develops community projects and documentary resources, and organizes around issues of concern in the field of folk and traditional arts," (http://www.crossroadsconcerts.org/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi?flavor=archive;list=xrdsannounce;id=20071203171055).

Programs and Exhibitions
The Philadelphia Folklore Project offers programs that are geared toward educating the public about folklife and folk arts, as well as providing entertainment. Past programs have included "Dance Happens Here" at the Painted Bride Arts Center in Philadelphia on December 3rd, 2007. "Dance Happens Here" featured tap dancers Germaine Ingram and Ensemble and Flamenco del Encuentro, two percussive dance groups. Both dance groups display the relationship between dance and live accompaniment. This program was funded by grants from various organizations including Dance Advance, a program that is part of The Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage, which is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by the University of the Arts, as well as the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and PFP members. (http://www.crossroadsconcerts.org/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi?flavor=archive;list=xrdsannounce;id=20071203171055). On November 5, 2010, the PFP had the program "Making Home Place," which was funded by the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage through a 2009 grant from the Heritage Philadelphia Program. This explored "how local people use folk arts to build and sustain livable communities." (http://www.pcah.us/the-center/blog/labels/tag/philadelphia-folklore-project/). More recent programs have included "Cultural Exchange," in September 2011, which featured an exhibit of four Philadelphian artists with roots in the African Diaspora. The works featured in the exhibit included paintings that "capture the spirit of Haiti and Philadelphia," (http://articles.philly.com/2011-09-16/entertainment/30183349_1_american-national-tree-jane-lynch-glee). The Philadelphia Folklore Project has exhibitions with galleries that pay tribute to local folk and traditional arts. They are free to attend.

Work with Schools
In 2005, the Philadelphia Folklore Project founded Philadelphia's Folk Arts-Cultural Charter School (FACTS), along with Asian Americans United. FACTS is a tuition free public school that serves over 450 students in the Philadelphia area. The school offers a core curriculum as well as folk arts. (http://animatingdemocracy.org/sites/default/files/BPeterson%20Trend%20Paper.pdf). Debora Kodish, the PFP's executive director at the time, believes that folk arts are “a great way to help kids think critically about where information comes from because you wont find information about these disciplines in textbooks.” (http://www.nea.gov/about/NEARTS/story.php?id=p06-fact&issue=2009_v3 ). The school body consists mostly of Asian nationalities including Chinese, Vietnamese, and Indonesian, but there are also African Americans, Latinos, and whites. The cultures of each of these nationalities is studied at the school. The curriculum includes folk and traditional arts, which helps a wider range of children to succeed academically. (http://www.nea.gov/about/NEARTS/story.php?id=p06-fact&issue=2009_v3 )

Publications and Media
On December 4, 2010, the PFP premiered a documentary they produced titled "Eatala: A Life in Klezmer." The documentary is a “loving portrait of Elaine Hoffman Watts, a renowned klezmer percussionist, who grew up in West Philadelphia.” It draws on “performance footage, family movies, historic photographs, and iterviews.” Elaine Hoffman Watts is the winner of the “prestigious 2007 National Heritage Award from the National Endowment of the Arts—the nation’s highest honor in folk and traditional arts. Watts is one of only eight artists from Pennsylvania, and one of only six Jewish artists from the entire country, to be so honored over the last 28 years,” (http://ucreview.com/elaine-hoffman-watts-breaking-barriers-as-a-klezmer-drummer-in-philadelphi-p2470-1.htm ).

Recognition from Other Organizations
In 2009 the PFP was awarded the Américo Paredes Prize for its work in "integrating scholarship and engagement with the people and communities one studies." (http://www.afsnet.org/?page=Paredes). In 2002, the PFP was awarded the George Bartol Arts Education Award. This award is given to notable arts education programs by non-profit cultural organizations, (http://bartol.org/about-our-grantees/bartol-awards/). In 2011 the Philadelphia Folklore Project received a $30,000 planning grant from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. This is to aid the program as it faces the planned departure of its founder and long-standing director, (http://www.pcah.us/the-center/grants-awarded/philadelphia-cultural-management-initiative-2011-grantee-folklore-project/). They also received $48,000 from The Pew Charitable Trusts through Pew's Philadelphia Cultural Leadership Program (PCLP) in 2011. The PCLP gives grants to "high-performing organizations through a competitive review process using experts from outside the region. The program aims to stimulate leadership and encourage best practices in the cultural community so groups can provide high quality programs on a sustained basis." (http://www.pewtrusts.org/news_room_detail.aspx?id=85899361021).

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