Traditional Arts Spotlight: Pete Sutherland and Emmett Stowell - "The Old Boom Chuck"
Master artist Pete Sutherland is working with his 10-year-old apprentice Emmett Stowell to bestow the art of what Pete calls the “old boom chuck,” aka New England contra dance piano accompaniment. This Traditional Arts Spotlight features text and audio excerpts from two virtual “site visits” with Pete and Emmett recorded via Zoom last spring and this winter. A site visit offers a chance for artists and apprentices to reflect on and make a record of their work together as well as a chance to build and maintain a relationship with VFC staff (this has felt particularly important during the pandemic).
Traditional Arts Spotlight: Migmar Tsering, Teaching Music During Covid
We asked master artist and musician Migmar Tsering to tell us how he was staying connected to his students during the pandemic. Migmar has lived in Vermont since 2011. He was born in Tibet and was brought up in India. In Vermont he is active as a singer, songwriter, musician, composer, and traditional Tibetan dance instructor. In this post, Migmar describes his Covid era challenges and adaptations in his music class.
Maple Sweet Vermont
To mark the 2021 sugaring season we asked Vermont folk singer and apprentice in the current cohort of the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, Maeve Fairfax to share a rendition of the classic Vermont folk song, Maple Sweet.
Donated collection sees new life in VPR radio program
The Vermont Folklife Center archive holds over 6,000 audio recordings of interviews with Vermonters. Many have been conducted by VFC staff, but the Center also accepts materials donated by others who have conducted ethnographic and oral history research in Vermont and the surrounding region. This is the first in a series of posts that explores the archive through projects donated by outside researchers.
Announcing Turner Family Stories
Turner Family Stories is a forthcoming graphic history collection featuring comics adapted from oral history recordings with Daisy Turner of Grafton, VT held in the VFC archive. VFC founding director Jane Beck and Associate Director and Archivist Andy Kolovos worked with a group of New England cartoonists to illustrate a selection of stories from the epic saga of the Turner family.
Announcing the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program 2020/21 Cohort
The Vermont Folklife Center is pleased to announce the cohort of master artists and students comprising the 28th year of the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (VTAAP). Thirteen projects around the state will be supported this year.
Sound Education - "Listening in Place" in Schools
VFC Education staff is bringing Listening in Place into the classroom. Learn how educators at Hazen Union School in Hardwick, VT are drawing on the tools of audio production and community interviewing as they adapt to teaching and learning in 2020.
Virtual Gingerbread!
This year our Annual Gingerbread House Competition and Exhibit is going virtual! Open to any Vermont resident, bake and build an edible creation and submit photos online to participate in the contest. Prizes will be awarded in multiple categories and photos from each submission will be included in an online exhibit. Pre-registration is required. Register here!
Meet Sasha - VFC's New Director of Education!
The Board and Staff of the Vermont Folklife Center are thrilled to announce the appointment of Alexandra (Sasha) Antohin as the Center’s full-time Director of Education. “I cannot imagine a more qualified person to lead the Center’s education programming to new and exciting places” said Executive Director, Kate Haughey.
Applications Open - Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (VTAAP)
The Vermont Folklife Center is pleased to open applications for this year’s Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (VTAAP). Applications are due Aug. 24, 2020.
Vermont Traditional Artists - Staying Connected During Covid
As summer arrives the 2019-2020 cycle of the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (VTAAP) is winding down. We share some highlights from our pre- and post-Covid field visits with artists around the state.
Black Lives Matter
The Vermont Folklife Center is in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and the fight for racial justice. We urge Vermonters to reflect on the ways in which systemic racism and oppression operate in our society. Thank you for listening, learning and supporting anti-oppression efforts in our communities.
Education Reflections: Discovering Community in Brandon
We hear from another participant at the VFC’s 2019 Discovering Community Summer Institute for Educators, held in St. Johnsbury. Educator Dave Praamsma of Otter Valley Union High School in Brandon came away from the program inspired to launch a “Vermont Folklife Digital Storytelling Project” in his 8th grade classroom. Here Dave reflects on the importance of student voice in project-based learning.
Hogwarts comes to 88 3/4 Main Street!
Check out photos from the VFC’s 21st Annual Gingerbread House Competition and Exhibit! This year’s theme was “Christmas at Hogwarts Castle.”
Brattleboro Bonanza!
Attention southern Vermont friends! This fall and winter the Vermont Folklife Center is bringing events and workshops to ‘the one-and-only’ Brattleboro. We are YOUR Folklife Center and we’re committed to bringing our work closer to you by sharing exhibits and films with statewide partners, holding workshops and presentations, and connecting with you in your own home towns. Check out the event listings here!
Now Accepting Applications - Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program
The Vermont Folklife Center is now accepting applications for the 2019-2020 Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. For over twenty-five years this program has supported master artists in the teaching and passing along of their knowledge and artistry.
“VT Untapped” podcast taps into Vermont Folklife Center Archives, Fieldwork
Get excited! In early December the Folklife Center will launch VT Untapped™, its very own podcast. Host Mary Wesley is your guide as you explore Vermont’s people and cultures through the voices of its residents.