Folklorists at State Arts Agencies: Cultural Disconnects and ?Fairness?

Abstract

Over the past twenty years, academically trained folklorists have found employment in government-funded state arts agencies, where, in addition to grants management work, they have been able to carry out a number of ethnography-based projects of lasting value, such as school curricula, radio programming, and contributions to knowledge. However, value gaps between state arts agencies and folklorists cause irritation on both sides. Nusbaum reflects on a number of the reasons why relationships between state arts agencies and folklorists in their employ are not always harmonious and why public folk programs fail to serve the ideals of the folklore field. The essay concludes with recommendations for types of projects that could be funded through arts agencies and that would benefit grassroots folk cultures and professional folk artists.