2022 North Texas Engagement Series

Texas Folklife is looking to reconnect with the North Texas creative community and its supporters and learn how we can help to foster, support, and sustain the diverse cultural expressions of the North Texas Region. 

The first stage of our outreach efforts in North Texas will be our “Talk-O Tuesday” North Texas Community Event Series. We invite artists, musicians, community members, businesses, educators, frontline workers, and other supporters interested in getting involved with our work to meet our team, learn more about our mission, and talk about what support the folk & traditional arts communities of North Texas are in need of, and where Texas Folklife can fit in!

North Texas Engagement Event Series Schedule

Session 1: Talk-o Tuesdays - Music & Cultural Heritage - October 25, 2022 from 5-7 PM (Deep Ellum Brewery)

Session 2: Talk-o Tuesdays - Education & Exploration - Date and Location TBA

Session 3: Talk-o Tuesdays - Health & Folk Arts - Date and Location TBA

Our Work in North Texas

With 38 years of program history across the state, Texas Folklife has a storied connection to the North Texas Region. Since 2007, over 20 young accordionists from the North Texas Region have competed in our Big Squeeze Youth Accordion Competition, with 6 North Texas Winners in the traditional music genres of Polka, Conjunto, and Zydeco.

Since relaunching our Apprenticeships in the Folk and Traditional Arts Program in 2016, we have supported over 23 North Texas artists with $3,000 grants to support the continuance of art, cultural, or heritage practices. From visual art forms such as Cowboy metal and Mexican Cartonería, to musical expressions such as Chinese Erhu Performance and Ghanaian traditional Drumming, the Apprenticeship Program has spotlighted the wide cultural and geographic diversity of the North Texas Region.

In Spring 2021, we partnered with ethnomusicology students at two Texas Universities, including the University of North Texas, to conduct ethnographic research on Texas Music traditions through the perspectives of contemporary Texas musicians. The project that resulted from this is the Texas Folklife Music Map, featuring profiles on 31 Texas Musicians and organizations representing the vast cultural and musical diversity of artists across the state.

In its inaugural program year, the Community Folklife Fellowship has offered intensive training to fellows from across the state in order for them to learn essential skills to document community traditions in their own cities and towns. This year, we are proud to support two fellows from the North Texas Region! Yvette Blair (Dallas) is chronicling stories from Indigenous, Latinx, and Black women on their foodway systems, and Kelsey Lee (Dallas) is working with Ukrainian Vaselka Singers in the Dallas area.

Take a look at some of our other initiatives such as our work with school districts through our Stories from Deep in the Heart Program, our Hechos, No Miedo | Facts, Not Fear initiatives exploring health & folk arts, and more on our website and social media!

Help Us Grow

We can’t lie, North Texas…it’s been a minute! The last time we were in your neck of the woods for in-person programming was in 2020, when we hosted a Big Squeeze Audition and Showcase at Dallas’ Top Ten Records. We know a lot has changed in the past few years, and we want to reconnect with the North Texas creative community and its supporters and learn how we can help to foster, support, and sustain the diverse cultural expressions of the North Texas Region. 

The first stage of our outreach efforts in North Texas will be our “Talk-O Tuesday” North Texas Community Event Series. We invite artists, musicians, community members, businesses, educators, frontline workers, and other supporters interested in getting involved with our work to meet our team, learn more about our mission, talk about what support the folk & traditional arts communities of North Texas are in need of, and where Texas Folklife can fit in! Our first event is planned to take place on October 25th from 5-7 PM at the Deep Ellum Taproom and will focus on Music & Cultural Heritage initiatives. Learn more here!

 

Program Areas

Music & Cultural Heritage

Accordion Kings & Queens is an annual concert that draws thousands to Houston's Miller Outdoor Theatre. The event celebrates the cultural diversity of Texas by bringing communities together for an evening of dancing and roots music played on the accordion. It also introduces rising stars, such as the champions of our annual Big Squeeze Youth Accordion Program, encouraging the development of young musicians as the next generation of tradition-bearers through mentorships and opportunities to play for large crowds, including as featured artists on the Texas Commission on the Arts Touring Roster. Texas Folklife also collaborates with others to highlight the diverse music of our state through programs like the Festival of Texas Fiddling and Polkapocalypse, and serves as a fiscal sponsor for several projects of grassroots organizations and artists.

 

Education and Exploration

Stories from Deep in the Heart is our award-winning folklife and audio storytelling training program for students, teachers, and community members. Since 2020, we have adapted the Stories curriculum for asynchronous learning environments with AISD and Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

By refining artist mentors' approaches to their crafts, broadening apprentices' skills, and encouraging the transmission of knowledge within and between cultural communities, the Apprenticeships Program fosters the continuity of the folk and traditional arts in Texas.

Our Archival Preservation Project seeks to organize and share our rich collection of archival materials dating from 1984, while our Gallery Exhibits feature the work of artists and curators from across the country who portray the depth and breadth of Texas Culture.

 

Folk Arts and Health

Hechos, No Miedo | Facts, Not Fear is one of our newest program seeking to engage community members in conversations that respect community knowledge, embrace lived experience, and help overcome the complex barriers affecting equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Stories for Creative Forces is a Military Veterans Program. Workshops are designed to help current and prior service members and other families express themselves through story crafting and audio production training.

Get Involved

1. Join Us at an Event!

Our first event will be held on October 25th at the Deep Ellum Brewing Taproom and will focus on Music & Cultural Heritage Programming. Learn more and RSVP here!

 

2. Support Our Engagement Series

Support this event and future North Texas Folk & Traditional Arts Programming and Initiatives by making a contribution to our North Texas Giving Day campaign! North Texas Giving Day is a virtual day of charitable giving for North Texas communities taking place through September 22nd.

Become a member or renew your membership today to join our community in preserving and presenting the folk & traditional arts of Texas!

For Businesses and Sponsorship/In-Kind Donation Requests, please reach out to memberships@texasfolklife.org

 

3. Join our Outreach Committee

Join our volunteer planning committee and help us strategize outreach in the North Texas Region! Email clockwood@texasfolklife.org to get involved. We meet every Tuesday at 4:30 PM Central via Google Meet and would love for you to share your input!

 

4. Amplify Our Efforts

The more folks the merrier! Share our engagement series and fundraising efforts with North Texas Community Members who you think would like to get involved with Texas Folklife!

Support Our Work in North Texas

Donate

Support this event and future North Texas Folk & Traditional Arts Programming and Initiatives by making a contribution online or by sending a check to Texas Folklife, 724 Eberhart Ln #500, Austin, TX 78745. We appreciate your support!

Support Our NTX Folk & Traditional Arts Initiatives  

 

North Texas Giving Day (Until September 22nd)

NTX Giving Day is the Annual Campaign in North Texas to inspire generosity and support non-profit organizations' efforts across the region! This NTX Giving Day we invite our backers in North Texas and beyond to help us fundraise to produce our outreach and expansion efforts in the North Texas Region. This Fall, Texas Folklife plans to hold a series of events to re-engage supporters and artists in the North Texas Region we have had the opportunity to work with over the past 30+ years and connect with new folk & traditional arts community members. We expect each event to cost approximately $3,000 to produce (including venue rental, a paid artist/presenter, supplies, food and drink costs, team travel costs, etc.), and we are asking for the help of the community to support some of these expenses.

Support Our 2022 NTX Giving Day Campaign