Alabama Folklife Association | Birmingham, AL 35210

Welcome to the Alabama Folklife Association (AFA)

What is folklife?

Folklife includes expressions of traditional culture such as foodways, music, lore, games, festivals, annual events, and material items including pottery, quilts, baskets, clothing, fish traps, and brooms. These cultural expressions demonstrate knowledge and skills passed down from one generation to the next through family, community, group, or region. 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.

What is the AFA?

The AFA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created in 1980 to document, preserve, and promote the folkways of Alabama through research, education, and programs. A partner program of the Alabama State Council on the Arts, the AFA fulfills the mission by funding scholarly research and the Archive of Alabama Folk Culture; presenting and disseminating folk and traditional arts through CDs, publications, programs, exhibits, and web sites; and providing scholars, authors, artists, and educators with the resources, skills, and tools to enhance their contributions and carry out projects consistent with the mission of the AFA. Our web sites and social media provide a platform to promote traditional artists, events, festivals, folkways, and local organizations and institutions dedicated to the field.

What does the AFA do?

UPCOMING EVENTS

2019-Link to Calendar

Alabama Community Scholars Institute:

Sounds of Appalachia

June 19-22, 2019

Thursday, April 25, 2019

7:00 p.m.

The Mane Room

Florence, Alabama

Featuring Jack Pearson

Details are in the Event calendar -see tab above and go to April.