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Duties and Responsibilities

The Folklife program is a member of the New Jersey Folklife Network Program (NJFN), an initiative created by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts (NJSCA) over 30 years ago in collaboration with cultural specialists, folk artists, nonprofits, and leaders from diverse communities throughout the state. The regional folklife programs are supported by a NJSCA Cosponsored grant program that advances the NJSCA’s goals through the implementation of five key activities (recently identified as the “Five Pillars”). The implementation of the “Pillars” is relative to regional focus, cultural landscape, organizational mission, and local needs of each host organization. Informing the core work of the Folklife Program Manager, the “Pillars” currently include:

1. Ethnographic Fieldwork, including (but not limited to) site visits, formal and informal interviews with and documentation of artists in their working environments; photo/video logs, field notes, etc.
2. Artist-led “Arts Where You Are” programs providing folk arts-based experiences for individuals unable to travel or otherwise unable to easily access public programming.
3. Folk Arts in Education programs (FAIE), bringing folk artists into K-12 schools to undertake curriculum-
aligned residencies and assembly programs.
4. Free Public Events such as exhibitions, presentations, performances, and workshops with compensated folk and traditional arts/artists and cultural practitioners
5. Artist Services: support to, and collaboration with, folk artists and cultural practitioners, including
networking, professional development, providing space, opportunities, and technical assistance.

Project Deliverables

The Project Manager is responsible for delivering the following outcomes within the project term:
• Completion of ethnographic fieldwork using American Folklife Center Standards, including time-coded
observation, photography, digitization of artifacts, field recordings, interviews, oral histories, and demographic
documentation
• Development and delivery of folklife-centered educational programming in collaboration with the Education
Director, Education Manager, and Conservatory Manager
• Establishment and cultivation of partnerships with cultural communities, grassroots organizations, houses of
worship, academic institutions, and individual folk artists across the service area
• Creation of platforms and programming that amplify community voice and elevate awareness of folk arts
traditions
• Development of revenue-generating programs to support folklife sustainability beyond the current project term
• Archival documentation and preservation of collected folklife materials
• Integration of folklife content into existing Perkins programming streams (Conservatory, Exhibitions, FAIE)
• Support for grant writing, reporting, and development activities as they relate to the project
• Quarterly project status reports and monthly updates to the Board of Trustees

Key Responsibilities

Project Management & Administration
• Manage project timeline, milestones, and deliverables within budget constraints
• Work with Executive Director and Financial Consultant to manage the project budget in alignment with the cosponsorship agreement and Perkins Center strategic plan
• Provide oversight and guidance to the Folklife Coordinator as applicable
• Provide quarterly project status reports to Executive Director and monthly project updates to the Board of
Trustees, and participate in monthly staff and interdepartmental meetings and Board meetings as required.

Research & Documentation
• Conduct ethnographic research on living traditions, folkways, folkarts, and practitioners who sustain cultural
heritage
• Apply American Folklife Center Standards across all research methodologies
• Maintain archive documentation in accordance with professional standards

Community Engagement & Partnerships
• Build and deepen relationships with individual artists, arts organizations, community scholars, and academic
scholars
• Connect with grassroots organizations, houses of worship, and community entities to broaden cultural input
• Build statewide partnership and consistency between Folklife Centers
• Act as liaison between regional, state, and national agencies and organizations
• Support organizational DEIA strategies with focus on inclusion of historically excluded communities

Programming & Visibility
• Collaborate with program managers to identify new opportunities for folklife programming integration
• Collaborate with Exhibitions department on folklife-centric exhibitions within project budget
• Collaborate with Education Director on Folk Artists in Education (FAIE) programming
• Provide content to Education Manager and Marketing for messaging and social media campaigns
• Contribute to publications, media, and Perkins-generated content (blog, podcast, etc.)
• Participate in national folklife meetings, including the American Folklife Society and The Living Traditions
Network