SEARCH

FOLKLIFE
MAIN PAGE
About the Center
About the Staff
Folklife Program
Folklife News
Heritage Awards
Folkways Articles
Waterways
In the Garden
Newsletters
Folkways Radio
Musics CD vol.1
Musics CD vol.2
Musics CD vol.3
Musics CD vol.4
Alabama Arts Radio
Spirit of Steel Workshop
 Pottery Symposium

FOLKLIFE ASSOCIATION
AFA Products

 

 

Alabama Folklife Association

The Alabama Folklife Association is a statewide non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote knowledge and appreciation of Alabama folklife through activities such as festivals, conferences, fieldwork, videos, recordings and publications.

Since its founding in 1980, the AFA has been an active presenter of the folklife of Alabama. Folklife is comprised of those traditional expressions of culture that have grown through time among the state’s many communities (groups that share the same historical experience, ethnic heritage, language, occupation, religion, or geographic area).

The unique folk expressions of Alabama identify and symbolize those communities that have originated them and nurtured them, enlivening and giving meaning to the lives of Alabamians.

Gospel jubilee singing, graveyard decoration days, American Indian basketry, Ango-American folk pottery, Sand Mountain saddleries, west-Alabama blues, shape-note singing, coastal fishing lore, religious holidays, Cambodian fish-traps, midwifery, labor songs, barbecue and gumbo-all are examples of Alabama folklife. Handed down across generations, the folklife of Alabama has taken root in the social life, history, and experiences of the people of this state, and informs our fundamental notions of who we are, what we value and how we relate to the world.

The logo of the Alabama Folklife Association is the gourd martin house, an American Indian tradition adopted by new settlers to the state. This symbol, selected for the first Alabama Folklife Festival in 1989, represents harmony with the natural environment and cultural exchange between different peoples.

You can support the efforts of the AFA to preserve and promote Alabama’s folklife by becoming a member. Please send a check (Students $10, Regular $20, Patron, $50, Sustaining $100) payable to AFA to the Alabama Center for Traditional Culture, 410 North Hull Street, Montgomery, AL 36104. Members will receive the latest issue of Tributaries and notice of the Annual Meeting. Contributions to the AFA are tax-deductible.

AFA PRODUCTS PAGE 1 OR PAGE 2
FOLKLIFE MAIN PAGE
ALABAMA CENTER FOR TRADITIONAL CULTURE PAGE