New Jersey Folklife at Perkins Center

Launched in 2009 in partnership with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, NJ Folklife at Perkins has evolved into a vibrant community resource bringing to life South Jersey’s rich and vibrant folklife traditions through fieldwork, research and programming at our two locations in Collingswood and Moorestown and throughout South Jersey.

What is Folklife?

Folklife, sometimes referred to as folklore, folkways or folk arts, encompasses the everyday things we do and make that express cultural identity. They are shaped out of shared experiences, being rooted in communities and groups like family, religion, tribe, ethnicity, and occupational and recreational groups. We learn folkways by interacting with other people, especially those who pass down their traditions through generations.

In New Jersey, some of the more common traditional art forms are: powwow songs and dances, basket making, quilting, Afro-Puerto Rican bomba y plena, beekeeping, Chinese brush painting, blueberry cultivation, mandala making, and more.

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Who We Are and What We Do

Our mission is to provide vibrant, inclusive spaces where cultural artisans and tradition bearers of all backgrounds and abilities can thrive, collaborate and innovate. By fostering tradition and embracing diversity, we are committed to shaping more vibrant and interconnected communities, where everyone can find their voice and contribute to the rich tapestry of our collective experience in the Southern Jersey and Delaware Valley region.

History

Founded in 2009, NJ Folklife at Perkins is one of five NJSCA partners who share the guiding mission to document, present, support, and celebrate the Garden State’s rich cultural heritage.

The Perkins Center for the Arts is headquartered in the historic Strawbridge Mansion on a five-acre arboretum in Moorestown, New Jersey. We offer year-round programming and events at our Collingswood location, as well as a variety of off-site partner venues. We reach an ever-expanding region of Southern New Jersey, from Camden to the Pinelands, including the counties of Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester.

Read the most recent Folklife newsletter:

Squeeze This! For a Change: Here are My Reasons for Learning Accordion – What Are Yours?

Read the most recent Folklife blog post:

Folklife Events

World Stage

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Since 2020, Perkins Folklife has hosted festive summer music and dance concerts on the lawn in Moorestown. Through World Stage, we celebrate the rich cultural traditions represented in our communities, from Bollywood to belly dance to ballroom.

House Concerts

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From Hawaiian jazz to bluegrass to folk music from all over Latin America, Perkins House Concerts brings celebrated folk, jazz, and world music artists from near and far to South Jersey. For over 30 years, this series has taken place in Perkins’ cozy “Living Room” space, an ideal venue for live acoustic music.

Perkins House Concerts usually runs on the second Friday of each month from September through April. Selected events feature a pre-concert Community Discussion, an opportunity to meet some amazing artists and discover types of music you might never have heard before.

Folklife Zone at the Collingswood Crafts & Fine Art Festival

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Since 2022, over 20 folk artists have participated in the Folklife Zone Irvin Ave. to showcase NJ Folklife’s fieldwork, programming and educational programs, earning a spot on the official Collingswood Crafts & Fine Art Festival map. In past summers, thousands of people have viewed or participated in hands on demonstrations of vibrant Garden State traditions like duck decoy carving, South Indian mandala making, and Jersey Shore basket weaving.

Folk Art Meets Fine Art: Biennial Exhibitions at Perkins

Folk art embraces many new and old forms of expression. The vision and talents of our exceptional folk and traditional artists have elevated things like weaving, basketmaking, quilting and paper cutting into the realm of what we consider “high art.” Every two years, we celebrate those connections through specially themed exhibits and programming showcasing the work of traditional folk artists and fine artists inspired by their own heritage and traditions.

Folk Art Exhibitions

Exhibition Card of Threaded Exhibtions - A photo of a doll styled in a contemporary reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood, highlighting the intersection of traditional fiber arts and modern fashion. Text below reads "Threaded: Contemporary Expressions of Traditional Fiber Arts.2024: A multi-artist fiber arts experience that explored contemporary expressions of traditional arts and crafts. Viewers examined how artists use and reinterpret traditional techniques such as weaving, embroidery, quilting, and crocheting for different purposes, or simply to create beautiful art.

Coming Summer 2026

Photo of Artist and audience looking at her work

Folklife Fieldwork and Special Projects

Photo from South Jersey Artscapes Tour

On hidden streets, alleys, backyards, and shorelines, we explore the incredible art and creativity that makes South Jersey unique as a destination for roadside and outsider art. To identify these sites and learn more about the self-taught artists who created them, we developed the South Jersey Artscapes StoryMap, a digital map of South Jersey’s quirkiest and most ambitious outsider art sites, in partnership with the South Jersey Cultural Alliance. Use this map to plan your own unique adventure or join us on an upcoming Artscapes bus tour.

This project explores the role and histories of five Black barbers and barbershops in southern New Jersey. We document Black hair care practice and styles over time and highlight changing textured hair and beard styles. As the barbershop is a vibrant space for small talk and informal advice, we examine the role of Black barbers in healing and empowering their communities through mental health and wellness support and grassroots organizing.

Collecting stories is an important undertaking for the Perkins Folklife Center, as storytelling is a conduit for folklife and our most recognizably American oral tradition.

StoryPad is a mobile hub for sharing and collecting the rich stories that make South Jersey a vibrant region. StoryPad contains a recording setup and a mini-portrait studio designed to gather audiovisual stories from people who live and work and live in the area, as well as people whose heritage ties them to South Jersey. Staff and volunteers set up StoryPad at events such as Juneteenth, Pride celebrations, and more in the future. The project doubles as a multimedia lab to share storytelling skills with local residents and as a listening space for a variety of oral history projects.

Folklife Where You Are

Through the School of Folk, many students have had the opportunity to discover a new instrument or enjoy that special human connection you can get only by making music in a group.

From time to time, the Folklife Center offers classes in folk instruments such as accordion and ukulele. We offer opportunities for music-making in social, informal environments such as an Acoustic Jam Circle or an Irish Session.

Follow our socials or check the class schedule for detailed information on specific offerings.

Perkins facilitates its Folk and Traditional Arts at Home program through our partnership with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. The program fosters connections between homebound individuals, New Jersey folk and traditional artists, and the local cultural community by offering a series of in-home performance, demonstrations, or one-on-one instruction. Our hope is that the program will help deepen a participant's understanding of traditional folk arts as well as to actively participate in the local arts and culture community.

We are currently partnering with The Tender, Inc., an adult daycare facility in Mount Laurel, where we are offering yoga, Chinese brush painting, origami, and morre. To arrange a visit for a homebound individual in your community, or yourself, contact folklife@perkinscenter.org.

For Tradition Bearers and Folk Artists

Support for Cultural Artisans

Perkins Folklife Center wants to help you advance in your discipline! Whether you’re looking to apply for a grant, or a new platform to share your skills, we can help you advance in your discipline and assist you with networking opportunities.

Cultural artisans from all over South Jersey come together at Perkins to create, perform, display, and share their work. Cultural artisans don’t always go to art school or win prestigious prizes. Their work is important and meaningful because it is produced by and for members of the community.

Perkins Center wants to amplify the creative work of cultural artisans, expose them to new audiences, and connect them with opportunities for professional development. To apply to join our Folklife Center’s Artist Roster, please complete the following:

Folk Arts in Education

Through Folk Arts in Education (FAIE), we develop students’ imaginations and skills through traditional arts practices. Through these activities students are taught to envision, believe in and grow from alternative ways of learning. Through these activities students understand themselves, and their place, in their communities and the larger world. Funds may be available to bring experienced cultural artisans who are skilled in leading workshops and residencies for various ages, populations, and learning styles.

Perform at Perkins

Perform with Perkins Graphic

For more information about Support for Cultural Artisans, Folk Arts Apprenticeships, or Folk Arts in Education
 and to find out if you are eligible, contact us at (856) 235-6488 ext. 316 or folklife@perkinscenter.org.

NJ Folklife at Perkins is a project of Perkins Center for the Arts and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.