The Ackland Art Museum
In 1978 the Curriculum began a long and fruitful collaboration with the Ackland, the University art museum. That year two graduate students researched, organized, and wrote the catalogue for an exhibition of "North Carolina Country Quilts." The success of this exhibition led to the formation of a collection of North Carolina folk art—pottery, decoys, carvings, paintings. Two more ambitious undertakings soon followed: "The Traditional Pottery of North Carolina" (1981) and "Five North Carolina Folk Artists" (1986). Both included extensive catalogues, and the former attracted a record number of visitors. The Ackland also hosts traveling exhibits (such as "Who’d A Thought It," featuring African American quilts from the Oakland area), and folklorists assist in programming in the form of workshops, lectures, and performances.

The Center for the Study of the American South
Founded in 1992, the CSAS continues the University’s long tradition of leadership in the study of Southern history, literature, and culture. Through a variety of programs and publications, the CSAS sponsors a broad dialogue on challenges to life in the South. Recent conferences include "Heritage Tourism for North Carolina and the South: Community Preservation, Promotion, and Progress" and the North Carolina Literary Festival. The Center publishes a journal entitled Southern Cultures and a research series entitled the Southern Research Report.

The American Religious Tunebook Collection
At the core are the Annabel Morris Buchanan Collection and the Don Yoder Collection, two major collections of Southern, German-American, and other American songbooks. The Library has continued to make additional purchases of books and microfilms to enlarge this important resource for American religious folk music. Located in the Rare Book Collection, Wilson Library.

The Southern Historical Collection
With more than sixteen million manuscripts and photographs, the SHC contains numerous materials of folkloric interest: the papers of Annabel Morris Buchanan, John C. and Olive Dame Campbell, Paul Green, Richard Jente, Howard Odum, the Penn School, the Southern Oral History Program, and others.

The Southern Folklife Collection
Built around the John Edwards Memorial Collection, the SFC contains over 60,000 sound recordings (78s, 45s, LPs, cassettes, CDs, and field recordings) as well as photographs, song folios, periodicals, and discographical materials. Many prominent scholars have enlarged the holdings, among them Roger Abrahams, Guy and Candie Carawan, Tom Carter, Tom Davenport, Alice Gerrard, Archie Green, D.K. Wilgus, Eleanor Long-Wilgus, Peter Lowry, Ben Gray Lumpkin, Bascom Lamar Lunsford, Judith McCulloh, Alton Morris, Artus Moser, Philip Nussbaum, Blanton Owen, Theodore Rosengarten, Mike Seeger, Jeff Titon, and many faculty and students at the University. The SFC also contains the John M. Rivers, Jr. Preservation Studio and the Ben Jones Studio used for recording and dubbing. It is one of the finest collections of traditional music in the U.S., and its holdings are regularly used by musicians, scholars, journalists, historians, radio and television producers, and many others.

 

Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University
The Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University teaches, engages in, and presents documentary work grounded in collaborative partnerships and extended fieldwork that uses photography, film/video, audio, and narrative writing to capture and convey contemporary memory, life, and culture. CDS values documentary work that balances community goals with individual artistic expression. CDS promotes documentary work that cultivates progressive change by amplifying voices, advancing human dignity, engendering respect among individuals, breaking down barriers to understanding, and illuminating social injustices. CDS conducts its work for local, regional, national, and international audiences.

Folklife Section, North Carolina Arts Council, Raleigh
Since its inception in 1977, the Folklife Section has worked closely with faculty and students in the Curriculum to research, preserve, and promote the folklife of the state. The Folklife Section provides grants for folklife documentation and projects; offers internships for graduate students; sponsors the North Carolina Folk Heritage Awards; and undertakes a variety of special projects across the state. Recent activities include the North Carolina Coastal Folklife Survey and the Blue Ridge Music Trail, both of which were carried out by graduate students in the Curriculum.

Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, Winston-Salem
Located on the southern edge of Old Salem, MESDA is the only museum dedicated to exhibiting and researching the regional decorative arts of the early South. With more than twenty period rooms, six galleries, splendid research facilities, internships, a variety of publications, and a Summer Institute for graduate students, MESDA offers numerous opportunities for students of material culture.

North Carolina Folklore Society
Through its annual meeting, programs, awards, and publications, the North Carolina Folklore Society encourages the study and preservation of local folklife and provides a state folklife information center and resources center. The Society also publishes a resource listing and calendar, both in its newsletter and as part of this website. Membership is open to the public.

The North Carolina Museum of History, Raleigh
With its move into expanded quarters in 1994, the Museum added a Folklife Gallery and appointed its first Folklife Curator, Dr. Sally Peterson. Today Sally shares this position with Curriculum graduate Lisa Yarger. The Museum offers a variety of folklife programs and concerts, and most recently opened a major exhibition on "Health and Healing in North Carolina." Numerous graduate students have assisted in research and programming at the Museum.

The North Carolina Pottery Center, Seagrove
The first state pottery center in the nation, the Center opened on November 7, 1998 in the village of Seagrove, home to 90 family-run pottery shops. Its mission is to promote awareness of pottery making in North Carolina through exhibitions and educational programs, collection and preservation, research and documentation, and other public services. This institution will offer many opportunities for public folklore programming and heritage tourism over the coming years.

Davenport Films, Delaplane, VA
For over a quarter of a century, the Curriculum has maintained an informal relationship with filmmaker Tom Davenport. Under the leadership of Tom and Dan Patterson, faculty and students have contributed to a series of award-winning documentary films, including "The Shakers" (1972), "Born for Hard Luck" (1976), "Being a Joines: A Life in the Brushy Mountains" (1980), "A Singing Stream: A Black Family Chronicle" (1986), and most recently, "The Ballad of Frankie Silver."