Middlesex County NJ
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The Division of Folklife and Cultural Heritage
The Division of Folklife and Cultural Heritage, residing under the Arts Institute of Middlesex County, promotes, supports, and presents cultural traditions practiced by Middlesex County residents. Middlesex County is one the most diverse counties in the nation and proudly serves as a State-designated Regional Folklife Center, serving our County and Central New Jersey. In addition to programming, the Folklife Division conducts fieldwork to document regional folklife and maintains cultural archives.
Click here to learn more about the Division of Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
What is Folklife?
“Folklife” refers to the everyday things that we do and make that express
our identity. It is also referred to as folklore and encompasses the everyday knowledge, art, expressions, and ceremonies that form culturally specific traditions. Folklife is often expressed through music, dance, stories, food, customs, home remedies, or traditional crafts such as quilting, basketry, pottery, metal works and woodworking. We learn folklife through direct contact with other people, often passed down from generation to generation or through specific communities. It can be related to family, community, occupation, geographic region, ethnicity, language, religion, or any of the myriad ways people identify themselves. Folklife also constantly evolves as new groups arrive, social and political environments change, natural materials and customs are altered, and individual personalities leave their mark.
Each year, the Division of Folklife and Cultural Heritage celebrates cultural traditions through performances, storytelling, and workshops that present culturally specific narratives based in and reflective of traditional knowledge and connections to community. These programs provide a sense of values, community, place, work, and play.
Folklife and Cultural Heritage Programs are projects of the Arts Institute of Middlesex County and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Key programs include:
Share Your Foodways was founded at the start of the pandemic in partnership with REPLENISH, Middlesex County’s foodbank network, on the principle that everyone shares their identity and culture through food. Share Your Foodways celebrates the food traditions of Central New Jersey while providing access to recipes and ingredients. Featuring home cooks and culinary experts from throughout Central New Jersey, the series includes video tutorials, printable recipe cards, and folklife-focused content and guest chef profiles, all available in both English and Spanish.
Folk Arts in Education works with schools, after school programs and youth agencies to provide trained teaching artists for folk arts performances and workshops. This is intended to highlight local cultural practices and to serve as a community resource to the education system throughout the region.
Folk and Traditional Arts at Home, for Seniors and individuals with disabilities facilitates traditional arts programming in a wide range of institutions – including senior centers, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, youth shelters and veterans’ facilities.
Arts Institute-led folklife programs are open to the public and offered free of charge! All our facilities are accessible. Sign Language interpreters are available upon request.