March Issue 2001
New South Carolina Organization Hosts Conference on Folklore and Folklife
On Mar. 10, the South Carolina Traditional Arts Network will host the first annual Conference on South Carolina Folklore, Folklife, and Traditional Arts at the South Carolina Archives and History Center in Columbia, SC. This state-wide conference will bring together folklorists, traditional artists, local and state arts and cultural agency representatives and others interested in the rich traditional cultures of our state. The conference will examine the history of South Carolina's folklore, folklife, and traditional arts and the study of these traditions; and it will present current research on South Carolina's cultural traditions. The conference will also offer a venue for traditional artists and provide a forum for discussions of folklife and traditional arts programming in South Carolina.
The South Carolina Traditional Arts Network (SCTAN) was formed in the Summer of 2000 with the mission of promoting the appreciation, study and preservation of our state's rich cultural heritages and traditions. SCTAN strives to encourage the continuation of local traditions, and their documentation and analysis through publications, an annual meeting, awards, and traditional arts advocacy and programming. SCTAN is committed to celebrating the diversity of our state's folk cultural heritages.
SCTAN's conference brings together individuals from state and local cultural agencies, academics, traditional artists, enthusiasts of South Carolina's traditional cultures, educators, and community scholars. The day-long conference will begin with a general discussion of the history and present state of folklore and folklife research, documentation, and presentation in South Carolina. Panelists will include past and present directors of the SC Arts Commission's and the McKissick Museum's Folklife Programs. This session will be followed by a panel discussion on South Carolina foodways. A panel of scholars, including filmmaker and foodways scholar, Stan Woodward; community scholar Ervena Faulkner; and South Carolina author, Dori Sanders, will discuss the significance of statewide and regional foodways to the identity of South Carolinians.
After talking about the many wonderful foods associated with our state, everyone will be hungry, so the organizers have planned a special lunch featuring traditional South Carolina barbecue! During lunch, historian and folklorist Charles Joyner will deliver the conference's keynote address.
Lunch will be followed by a series of concurrent workshops, including one on using folklore and folklife in the classroom, another on planning a folklore or folklife event, and one on traditional artists and their arts. After the workshops, conference participants will be invited to join an open forum on South Carolina's cultural traditions and the ways in which these traditions are represented both within the state and to the nation. The discussion will be led by a panel of folklore and folklife scholars and by representatives from several cultural groups in the state. The panel will include Elizabeth Bethel of Lander University, Marquetta Goodwine of the Gullah-Geechee Sea Island Coalition, and Jack Williams of Spartanburg Methodist College.
The conference will conclude with a concert at the Archives & History Center, featuring several examples of traditional music and dance. Performances will include African American sorority stepping, EuroAmerican bluegrass, Mexican American mariachi, South Asian Indian classical dance, and a variety of American Indian dance traditions.
The conference fee, which includes the conference, lunch, and the evening concert is $20.
SCTAN's conference and web site are made possible with funding from the South Carolina Humanities Council and the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. SCTAN would like to thank the South Carolina Presenters Network, the Pendleton District Historical, Recreational and Tourism Commission and Benedict College for their administrative support.
For more information contact SCTAN president Stephen Criswell at 803/ 253-5221 or via email at (SCTANgeneral@hotmail.com) or visit the SCTAN web site at (http://www.traditionalarts.org).
Mailing Address: Carolina Arts, P.O. Drawer
427, Bonneau, SC 29431
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