During the Summer of 2020, I served as the Folklife Intern at the North Carolina Arts Council (NCAC), supervised by Director of Folk and Traditional Arts Zoe Van Buren. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I worked remotely along with the rest of the NCAC staff.
My role as Folklife Intern was centered around two main tasks:
1. Writing and editing five new profiles for the Millennial Traditional Artist Directory, an ongoing NCAC project connecting and supporting emerging cultural practitioners. To inform the profiles, I conducted and transcribed virtual interviews with artists and consulted with them on which photos and work samples to include in the directory;
2. Compiling and organizing folklife/traditional arts resources for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s Teaching NC Arts tool, a virtual resource that encourages teachers in the state to incorporate the arts into their classrooms across all subjects.
Throughout the summer, I also crafted posts for the @ncartsfolklife Instagram, updated web resources for artists, assisted with outreach about grant opportunities for artists’ pandemic recovery, and participated in staff-wide planning meetings.
Image above: Zoe Van Buren and I interview foodways expert Gabrielle E. W. Carter
Georgia Ellie Dassler 