PFP works to sustain vital and diverse living cultural heritage in communities in our region through collaborative projects, research, documentation, and education, prioritizing folk and traditional arts in service of social change. Our Work -
The Philadelphia Folklore Project (PFP) identifies local folk artists and supports their artistic growth; produces public programs advancing folk artists and traditions significant to Philadelphia communities; develops education programs benefiting children and adults; and documents outstanding practitioners and practices. Our community-generated collaborative projects, reinvest in community infrastructure and make local folklife practitioners more visible and viable in the communities in which they live/work. We are known for articulating a progressive public interest folklife practice grounded in values of radical pluralism and anti-subordination politics, part of a movement for significant sustainable cultural diversity. Our core mission of advancing libratory folklife (everyday traditions) significant to Philadelphians simultaneously addresses social needs identified by project participants. These include: lack of intergenerational connections; intercultural misunderstanding; and absence of vital community-building resources through which people can see themselves reflected, claim space, and feel that they are heard. BRIEF HISTORY -
Since 1987, the Philadelphia Folklore Project has collaborated with local artists and community groups to address pressing social issues through engagement with valued folk and traditional arts. We develop programs from a base of solid ethnographic and oral history research and consistently share the documentation of our initiatives widely in a variety of media. PFP’s award-winning documentaries, books, and 80,000+ item archives, consistently challenge and widen the record and are of increasing interest to new generations of activists/artists seeking ways to sustain more equitable and responsible lives. In keeping with our core belief that the vitality of urban life in our city is directly reflective of the diversity and persistence of vernacular folk cultures, for over 33 years the Philadelphia Folklore Project (PFP) has worked to sustain and strengthen folklife - community by community - citywide. Although we work with all folk groups who can benefit from our services, we prioritize refugee, immigrant, and low-income marginalized communities of color. PFP services include free technical assistance and workshops aimed to change the odds for under-resourced communities. Over 33 years, we have supported 400+ local folk artists and grassroots organizations in raising 5 million+ dollars for their own work. In many cases, these were the first outside dollars to be invested in low-income communities of color for folk arts preservation and performance. PFP has:
- Produced community projects 290+ public events, 125+ artist residencies, and 25 ethnographic exhibitions)
- Founded, in partnership with Asian Americans United, the Folk Arts - Cultural Treasures Charter School (FACTS), an innovative public K-8 school with folk arts and cultural heritage at its core and a multicultural anti-racist vision, in Philadelphia's Chinatown North neighborhood, where we continue to support folk artists in their arts education programs
- Offered services (advocacy, free grant writing, and program planning workshops) for folk artists and grassroots cultural organizations
- Developed award-winning documentary resources on local folk arts (17 films, 44 magazine issues, a podcast series, and 30+ media publications
