What’s Inspiring the American Folklife Center Staff During the Virus Crisis

Hosts John Fenn and Stephen Winick are joined by staff members Theadocia Austen and Jennifer Cutting to discuss two initiatives of the American Folklife Center during the COVID-19 pandemic. For the At-Home Archive Challenge, AFC has been encouraging people to learn or be inspired by material from the American Folklife Center archive at the Library of Congress and to share the results on social media with a tag. For the 2020 Homegrown Concert Series, the Center has moved to an online format with artists recording videos of themselves either at home or on location. The concerts also have an Archive Challenge aspect, as most of the artists have learned material from the AFC archive. The hosts and guests discuss both programs and play musical examples from the challenges and the Homegrown concerts, providing a beautiful cross-section of the music recorded by this year’s artists.