Past Work (Archive)

Ethnographies

Thrive in the ’05

In Spring 2022 the City of Tucson’s Mayor and City Council adopted the Thrive in the ’05 Transformation Plan, the culmination of a three-year effort to engage a 2.3-square mile subregion of the 85705 zip code in a place-based, community centered collaboration of businesses, community organizations, and residents. SFA was one of many partners charged with implementing the plan through  activities that mobilized the community, bringing together partners to accomplish tasks like planting trees, painting the streets, and hosting events in the Thrive area. SFA engaged communities through pop-up events and a six-week Community Folklorist Field School to foreground cultural heritage, creative placemaking, and folklife in a both a celebration and reimagining of the neighborhoods. Download or view Thriving Folklife: Tucson’s 85705 Past, Present, and Future, a report of our work and the stories gathered by community folklorists.

 

Plain View Fellowship

This pilot fellowship program (spring 2021) supported five documentarians and artist-researchers in documenting folklife, culture, and heritage in the Greater Southwest and Northwest Mexico. The program takes its name from folklorist Mary Hufford’s notion that the study of folklife reveals beauty “hidden in plain view” and aims to elevate and illuminate a slice of folklife, culture, or heritage in the region that may otherwise be misunderstood, overlooked, or forgotten.

SFA Documentary Cohort

From 2018 to 2020, we convened a cohort of documentary artists in Southern Arizona for learning exchanges in ethnographic methods, peer mentoring, and folklife immersion.

 

Folklife Education

VozFrontera

VozFrontera was a series of programs focusing on youth engagement, leadership, and local arts incubation in Nogales, Arizona. It provided documentary arts mentoring with youth, artist- and scholar-in-residence programs, and co-working lab space for young leaders and entrepreneurs, and represented an innovative partnership between the Southwest Folklife Alliance, the University of Arizona, and individuals and organizations in Nogales. It was funded by a 2017 National Creative Placemaking grant from ArtPlace America.

This Is Folklife Classes & Workshops

We offer a periodic series of classes & workshops called “This Is Folklife,” which includes cultural immersion experiences (Up Close), focused explorations of culture in action (Unpacked), and skill-based trainings in folklife and ethnography (How To). See past offerings here.

Ethnographic Field Schools

Our Ethnographic Field Schools offer a combination of cultural immersion and training in the basic skills of cultural analysis and documentation. These multi-day programs are specifically geared for non-academic adult learners interested in cultural documentation and enhancing “sense of place.” Our field schools happen throughout the border region, and are developed collaboratively with host communities to mutually benefit local producers, artisans, and educators, and participants. See past field schools with links to student work here.