ALABAMA FOLKLIFE ASSOCIATION INC

What makes Alabama unique? Is it the people, the food, the buildings, the rivers, the wildlife, the soil, the mountains, the languages, the music, the clothes, the baskets, the quilts, or the ghost stories? One thing is for sure, Alabama is home to many diverse cultures and ways of life that symbolize our geographical regions, beliefs, values, aspirations, and artistic traditions.

For over 30 years, the Alabama Folklife Association (AFA) has been serving the state of Alabama with education programs, workshops, lectures, panel discussions, demonstrations, and concerts that preserve and present the folk and traditional arts of the state. The AFA has reached many milestones including the establishment of the part-time Executive Director position. Joyce Cauthen served in that capacity for 10 years before retiring in 2010. She directed the Sampler Stage at City Stages for many years, continued the Archive of Alabama Folk Culture, and organized the Alabama Community Scholars Institute, a training program held in 2004, 2006, and 2008. The reunion in 2010 brought these scholars together with new folklorists and folk artists from all over the state.

The AFA is a partner program of the Alabama State Council on the Arts and works in collaboration with the Alabama Center for Traditional Culture (ACTC) to produce many products for sale at the online bookstore and sold to buyers from all over the world. Steve Grauberger of the ACTC recently completed the 5th CD of a series dedicated to Alabama's traditional music and he is now working on the production of a new CD, featuring African American spirituals. Other ACTC staff members, Joey Brackner, Deborah Boykin, and Anne Kimzey, compile essays and serve as editors for Tributaries, the journal of the AFA. The recent issue, #13, is dedicated to Alabama's food traditions.

Today, the Alabama Folklife Association has a full-time Executive Director, Mary Allison Haynie. We also have new members who serve on the AFA Board of Directors. The AFA is at a crossroads. The economic times and challenges are providing new opportunities to serve new constituencies, reach out to new markets, and establish a new permanent headquarters with the potential to have centeralized locations for galleries, performance venues, office spaces, classrooms, and exhibit areas. We are excited to have Alabama Gives Day as an opportunity to showcase the AFA and raise much needed funds to continue operating. The AFA also wants to open the doors to provide you with ways to support our projects and vision. Please view our projects page to learn how you can contribute to special fundraising initiatives.