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Community Documentation Workshop

Philadelphia Folklore Project
Palestinian needlework (tatreez) artists Wafai Dias, Maisaloon Dias, Alia Sheikh-Yousef, and Nehad Khader look at work. Tatreez patterns from women’s home villages, now occupied or destroyed, are assertions of Palestinian history. From the exhibition Tatreez: Needlework of Palestinian women from Philadelphia, curated by Nehad Khader. Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Folklore Project.
Palestinian needlework (tatreez) artists Wafai Dias, Maisaloon Dias, Alia Sheikh-Yousef, and Nehad Khader look at work. Tatreez patterns from women’s home villages, now occupied or destroyed, are assertions of Palestinian history. From the exhibition Tatreez: Needlework of Palestinian women from Philadelphia, curated by Nehad Khader. Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Folklore Project.

The Philadelphia Folklore Project (PFP) worked with a small group of community participants from diverse immigrant groups in Philadelphia for an intensive eight-month training program in documenting community history and folklore called the Community Documentation Workshop. The training helped participants to develop the necessary skills to document a variety of cultural experiences in their own communities and provided them with opportunities to develop exhibitions based on their research and findings. PFP used this pilot project to develop ongoing workshops and a new, community-driven approach to exhibitions.

Recipient
Philadelphia Folklore Project

Philadelphia Folklore Project

Since its founding in 1987, Philadelphia Folklore Project has documented, supported, and presented Philadelphia-area folk arts and culture to sustain living cultural heritage in communities. Annually, the Folklore Project offers exhibitions, concerts, and workshops to artists and communities. The organization conducts ongoing field research into community-based local arts, history, and culture, and preserves a record of Philadelphia's folklife in its archive.

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