TAUNY Launches “Get the Folk Through It” Pandemic Documentation Project

Get the Folk Through It Pandemic Documentation Project

Traditional Arts in Upstate New York (TAUNY) invites the North Country community to share their stories of, and creative responses to, the Coronavirus Pandemic for the new “Get the Folk Through It” Pandemic Documentation Project!

Share your experiences of the past few months – how the pandemic has changed so much of our daily lives, while also reinforcing our sense of what’s most familiar and important to us.

Stories can include how the pandemic has affected you, your loved ones and community, your job, or any other major aspects of your life! Share how your regular traditions or routines may have changed, new traditions (or ways of carrying on traditions) you’ve created, hobbies or activities you’ve taken up while staying at home, and any other creative responses to how the pandemic is affecting life in our region.

“At TAUNY, we always aim to not only document and showcase, but to connect people around and through our region’s cultures, particularities, and daily ways of life,” says TAUNY Director of Research and Programs Camilla Ammirati. “In these strange and difficult times, people are working so hard and so creatively to get through, to maintain the things most important to us, and to find new possibilities in current circumstances. Sharing these stories and responses creates a vital record for the future. It helps highlight our region’s rich culture, character, and traditions as we go forward, and it helps us get through what’s hardest about – and celebrate what’s best in – our current moment. We hope you’ll share yours!”

To participate, email your stories, creative responses, photos, videos, and audio recordings to programs@tauny.org with the heading “Pandemic Documentation Project.” Be sure to include your name, contact information, hometown, and age. TAUNY will be compiling these submissions and plans to share them with the community.

Face Mask Call and Challenge

As part of this project, TAUNY is also inviting community members to take part in the Face Mask Call and Challenge by sharing photos of their face masks and the stories behind them! The masks you wear can show so many things about you – your personality, interests, connection to fiber arts traditions, heritage, and more.

Share a photo of your meaningful mask, and if you’d like to take it to the next level, make a mask that expresses something about you, your background, or personal experiences, and share with TAUNY for an upcoming exhibit feature (online and/or in person).

To share photos with TAUNY, email programs@tauny.org by July 31. Submissions should include your name, email and/or phone number, and any story or explanation about your mask that you’d like to share. You can also stop by The TAUNY Center at 53 Main Street, Canton, NY to take a mask selfie at the selfie station – the chalk board next to TAUNY‘s storefront windows! Post your selfie on social media and tag TAUNY on Facebook and Instagram.