Texas Community Folklife Fellowship 2022 Application Overview

Application deadline (extended!): 11:59 PM CT February 13, 2022.

*This is not the application. This is only a guide*

You will not be able to save your progress on the online application form once you have started. We recommend you review the questions and materials required for applying to the 2022 Community Folklife Fellowship below before you apply and record your answers in a separate document to prepare your application materials.

Application Overview

I. Contact Info & Location

• Full Name
• Email Address
• Phone Number
• Would you like to be added to Texas Folklife's email list?
• Zip Code
• Region
  • Please see this map and select the region where your project will be based. You must reside in the same region.

II. Essay Questions

• Program Interest - Why are you interested in doing this project? What makes you uniquely positioned to complete this project? (150 words / 1000 characters)
• Project Description - Describe the community folklife project you would like to complete during this fellowship. Include the place and community you'll be working with, the topic you are interested in, and a brief description of what you think your podcast might be about. (200 words / 1300 characters)
• Relevance - Why now? Why does your project/community need to be documented and/or preserved in this moment? (150 words / 1000 characters)
• Goals - What do you hope to get out of this fellowship? How will this fellowship help you achieve long-term goals related to documenting community folklife, traditions, or stories? (200 words)
• Experience - What kind of experience do you have with documenting your community? (100 words)

III. Samples of Experience Documenting Community Folklife

This section is intended to help ustand your experience with documenting community folklife, cultural practices, histories, and traditions. Please provide a few examples demonstrating your experience and interest.

Examples might include: photo series, blog posts, articles, dedicated social media accounts, performances, audio stories, archives, mapping projects, digital storytelling, or other documentation types not mentioned here. Written/audio samples may be in any language.

*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.*

• 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.
• Google Drive or Dropbox Link - Make sure that sharing settings allow anyone with the link to access.
  • Max: 10 photos, 5 minutes of audio or video, 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.
• Additional notes - Please add any additional comments or notes regarding your materials here.

IV. Oral History / Research Experience

• Please describe any experience you have with oral history, field research, ethnography, archiving, or other community research.
  • This experience might be formal or informal, collaborative or independent, and can include experience both inside and outside of your own community. Formal experience might include your work as part of a class, community organization, volunteer/internship work. Informal experience might include independent projects, collaborative work with other community members, or even family archives and genealogy projects.
• Which of these topics, areas of knowledge, or research methods ate you most interested in?
  • Oral history
  • Folklore
  • Field Research
  • Archives
  • Other: ___________

V. Audio Storytelling Experience

Please answer the following questions to help us learn more about your experience with audio storytelling.

*No podcast or audio production experience is necessary to participate in this program.*

• Do you have experience with audio storytelling?
  • Yes, I have produced an audio story or podcast episode on my own
  • Yes, I collaborated with or assisted someone else in producing a podcast episode/audio story
  • No, I have no experience with this but I am excited to learn
• Please describe any digital storytelling experience, including audio
  • Digital storytelling might involve audio, podcasts, photographs, artwork, video, animation, story maps, or other media
• Which of these aspects of audio storytelling or podcasting are you familiar with?
  • Scriptwriting
  • Research
  • Interviewing
  • Recording
  • Storytelling
  • Narration
  • Transcription
  • Audio Editing
  • Distribution
  • Other
• Which of these skills are you most interested in learning or improving?
  • Scriptwriting
  • Research
  • Interviewing
  • Recording
  • Storytelling
  • Narration
  • Transcription
  • Audio Editing
  • Distribution
  • Other

VI. Recommendations

Two recommendations/letters of support are required.

These recommendations should come from a community organization, folklorist, artist, tradition bearer, cultural institution, local institution, or someone else in the community who can speak to the applicant's interests in documenting community folklife.

We recommend giving your recommenders at least two weeks lead time to submit their recommendations.

** Please direct your recommenders to this page to submit their recommendations.**

Below, please provide contact info for your two recommenders.

• Recommender 1: Name
• Recommender 1: Email
• Recommender 2: Name
• Recommender 2: Email

VII. Demographics & Language

• What is your age?
• Ethnicity / Race
• Do you identify with any of the following groups?
• Gender
• What languages will be part of your project?

Please only submit your application using the online application form! We will be holding an information session on January 26th at 6:30 PM Central Time via Zoom to provide more information on the program and application process and answer any questions you may have. Learn more and register to attend here!

For questions regarding the Texas Community Folklife Fellowship Program, don't hesitate to contact stories@texasfolklife.org.