Public Folk Arts and Folklife Projects in the Upper Midwest
The Public Folk Arts and Folklife Projects of the Upper Midwest series of project collection guides highlights public folklore field documentation undertaken since the 1970s in every Wisconsin county and portions of adjacent states. This online UW-Digital Collections "Archival Resources in Wisconsin" database catalogs the ethnographic results of publicly-funded project partnerships among nonprofit arts/humanities organizations, folklorists, and diverse cultural groups throughout the region. Archival holdings detail documentation of traditional sayings, stories, music and songs, dances, customs, foodways, handwork, landscapes, and more, of participants in the region's varied ethnic, occupational, and recreational communities, old and new.
Outcomes
The online collection guide database so far identifies project participants, funders, history, and contents for 23 public folklore project collections, and counting—including item-level information on more than 10,000 sound recordings, images, and reports regarding more than 400 practitioners of folk cultural traditions in Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest. It also shows the many productions and events that have resulted from this work, yielding economic and social benefits for organizations, professionals, artists, communities—especially the underrepresented—and state tourism. This wealth in turn now attracts researchers, students, teachers, respective communities and family members of artists represented, and more productions.
Focus Areas
Project Leader
Janet Gilmore
Professor, emeritus
- Department/Unit
- Folklore Program; Planning & Landscape Architecture
- School or College
- College of Letters & Science