Notable Folklorists of Color Exhibition
Large-scale project management
Multiple iterations of in-person and online exhibition involving dozens of contributors and institutions provides crucial educational resources for folklore studies
Challenges
- Lack of awareness of scholars of color in the history of the field of folklore studies
- Very few accessible teaching resources or biographies
- No existing structure for sharing concise information
The Catalyst
Celebration of 25 years of the AFS Cultural Diversity Committee
…and one tenacious curator
[This exhibit] recognizes the scholarly contributions of approximately 135 African American, Indigenous, Latino and Hispano, Asian American and Native Hawaiian ancestors scholars… as significant producers of scholarly knowledge about the communities and traditions they studied…
The team:
Curators
2 in 2019, grew to 3 in 2021–22
all with experience at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Contributing Writers
9 in 2019, grew to 50+ in 2021–22
including scholars from multiple disciplines and institutions
Bibliographers & Photographic Researchers
2 in 2019, grew to 6 in 2021–22
Indiana University Graduate students overseen by curators and AFS staffÂ
My Roles
- Liaison between exhibit curators and AFS staff
- Designer for in-person and online exhibitions
- Project manager: determining needs, collecting finished assets, overseeing work of photographic researchers, and facilitating the addition of online materials
- User experience research, design for ongoing online exhibit & resource improvements
Achievements
- 2019
In-person exhibition recognizing 25 scholars - 2020
New website built, exhibit materials transferred online - 2021
Extensive bibliographic resources added online - 2022Â
Online exhibition extended to include biographies of 130+ scholars with full bibliographies for each. Coordinating print materials produced, and slideshow for in-person display createdÂ