2026 Community Folklife Fellowship Application Form

2026 Community Folklife Fellowship

Application Form

Definitions
Before beginning your application, please review the definitions below

Texas Folklife Community Folklife Fellowship - Glossary

Culture Bearer

Culture bearers and folk arts practitioners are deeply rooted in the practice and preservation of cultural traditions through craft, storytelling, dance, performance, visual arts, language preservation, foodways, and more. Cultural identities may include geographic communities, occupational groups, or family traditions. Folk arts and culture bearer practices are often connected to cultural communities and prioritize sharing knowledge with the next generation. Some of the titles they may use are culture bearer, folk artist, taproot artist, traditional artist, elder artist, and ancestral knowledge bearer. Source: Arts Midwest

Folk and Traditional Arts

The folk and traditional arts are rooted in and reflective of the cultural life of a community. Community members may share a common ethnic heritage, cultural mores, language, religion, occupation, or geographic region. These vital and constantly reinvigorated artistic traditions are shaped by values and standards of excellence that are passed from generation to generation, most often within family and community, through demonstration, conversation, and practice. Source: National Endowment for the Arts

Folklife

Folklife is the living traditions currently practiced and passed along by word of mouth, imitation, or observation over time and space within groups, such as family, ethnic, social class, regional, and others. Everyone and every group has folklore. Source: Louisiana Folklife

Folklore

Folklore is the study of human creativity within specific cultural and social contexts. Folklorists use ethnographic methods to study tradition. Folklorists study material culture, festivity, music, narratives, verbal art, rituals, foodways, and other expressive forms. Source: George Mason University

Folklorist

Folklorists focus on the study of human creativity within specific cultural and social contexts, including how such expressions (i.e. stories, music, material culture and festivals) are linked to various forms of group identity. Source: University of Illinois

Contact Information
Name

First NameLast Name
ZIP Code (where you live)
Your Region based on the map linked below
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1nozOkFj8bUvfhBrMJcvlxvuw6zhPLYo&ll=31.07133594226719%2C-100.0774156&z=6
Email
example@example.com
Phone Number
Please enter a valid phone number.
Where will your project take place?

Essay Questions
Program Interest: Why are you interested in this program? What makes you uniquely qualified for this fellowship? (250 words)

0/250
Project Description: Describe your proposed project for the fellowship. What folk and traditional art(s) or folklife practices will you be documenting? Where will this work take place? What community will you be working with? (500 words)

0/500
Goals: What do you hope to gain from this fellowship? How will it contribute to your long-term goals in documenting community folklife, traditions, or stories? (250 words)

0/250
Relevance: Why does this folk art or traditional practice need to be documented or preserved now? (250 words)

0/250

Experience
Describe any experience you have with oral history, field research, ethnography, archiving, or other community research. Include both formal and informal experience, such as classwork, community organization involvement, volunteer/internship work, independent projects, collaborative work, or family archives and genealogy projects.

0/250
Please describe any digital storytelling experience, including audio. Digital storytelling may involve audio, podcasts, photographs, artwork, video, animation, story maps, or other media.

0/250

Work Samples
This section is intended to help understand your experience with documenting folklife, folk and traditional arts, cultural practices, histories, and traditions.
Please provide a few examples demonstrating your experience and interest. You can include any of the following examples or other relevant documentation types not mentioned here, such as:
- Photo series
- Blog posts or Articles
- Dedicated social media accounts
- Performances
- Audio stories
- Archives
- Mapping projects
- Digital storytelling
Samples do not need to be from formal work or class settings. We encourage you to submit samples from independent and informal projects. You do not need to submit content for every category below. Please submit whatever items apply to your experience.
Maximums
- 1 website
- 1 social media account
- 5 minutes of audio or video (links only)
- 10 photos
- 3 articles/text
You do not need to include items from all categories. Please upload whatever applies to your work.

If you upload media to Google Drive or Dropbox, please provide a brief description of what is in the folder.

For Google Drive or Dropbox links: Make sure that sharing settings allow anyone with the link to access.
Website - If applicable, include a website or homepage that showcases your community documentation work
Social Media - If applicable, link to one social media account that showcases your community documentation work
YouTube/Soundcloud or other streaming media - If applicable, link to one streaming media example that showcases your community documentation work.
Link 1 (Dropbox or Google Drive)
Link 1 Description
Link 2 (Dropbox or Google Drive)
Link 2 Description
File Upload - IMAGES OR TEXT only - Please do not upload videos or audio

Cancelof
Recommendations (At least 1 is required)

Please share this link with up to 2 people who can speak to your experience, interest, and potential for documenting the folk and traditional arts
RECOMMENDER FORM LINK
Recommender 1 - Name
Recommender 1 - Contact info (Email or Phone)
Recommender 2 - Name
Recommender 2 - Contact info (Email or Phone)
Should be Empty:

2026 Community Folklife Fellowship

Recommendations (At least 1 is required)