Occasionally they produce documentary films on aspects of traditional arts; Smithsonian folklorist Marjorie Hunt won an Academy Award for her 1984 short documentary film The Stone Carvers about the carvers at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Public folklore graduate students at Memorial University have worked on a variety of community projects including seniors and traditional games,[1] a museum exhibit based on a local neighbourhood,[2][3] a festival of historic boat engines,[4] lunch baskets used by paper mill workers,[5] and rugelach making.
[6] In the US, Archie Green is generally credited as the founder of the public folklore movement, although his work builds on that of Ben Botkin and Alan Lomax, going back as far as the 1930s.
King, Clifton Chenier, Earl Scruggs, Michael Flatley, Shirley Caesar, Albertina Walker, Janette Carter, Koko Taylor, Brownie McGhee, Sonny Terry, Jean Ritchie, Sunnyland Slim, Lydia Mendoza, Boozoo Chavis, Zakir Hussain, Helen Cordero, Margaret Tafoya, Santiago Jiménez, Jr., John Cephas, Bois Sec Ardoin, Mick Moloney, Clarence Fountain & the Blind Boys, Esther Martinez, and the Dixie Hummingbirds.
Other early attempts included the development of the Alberta Folk-Lore and Local History Project in 1944–45, and the establishment of the Canadian Folk Music Society in 1957, under the leadership of Marius Barbeau,[7] who has been described as Canada's first public sector folklorist.
[17] In 1976, under the direction of historian Jean Hamelin, Laval University created the Centre d'Etudes sur la Langue, les Arts et les Traditions Populaire des Francophones d'Amerique du Nord (CELAT) which produced a large number of ethnology graduates who went on to work in the domains of archeology, conservation, and historical research, or with numerous research institutes, museums, interpretation centres and various provincial and federal government departments.
Outside of Quebec, and notwithstanding the work of organizations such as the Canadian Museum of Civilization and individual folklorists, the fields of applied and public sector folklore grew slowly.
"[19] Leading up to and following the creation of UNESCO's 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, Canadian folklorists including Gerald Pocius at Memorial and Laurier Turgeon at Laval were instrumental in advancing public folklore projects in Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador as part of safeguarding measures for intangible cultural heritage, though Canada has not ratified the convention as of 2020.
She has engaged in various public folklore projects, including work on communities in periods of economic transition,[29][30][31] Prairie barns,[32][33] and farm life during COVID-19.