Folklife Resource Center

McKissick Museum’s Folklife Resource Center (FRC) was created in 1985 as a repository for field notes, images, audio, video, and other documentary materials of value to Southern folklife researchers and the general public. Today, we actively conduct major research.

Our Work

South Carolina is remarkably diverse, both culturally and geographically. From the Appalachian Mountains to the Sea Islands, dynamic examples of folklife can be found. Rooted in family and community activities, folklife can involve song, speech, and dance; belief, ritual, and custom; music, craft, and cookery and expressive art forms learned informally by observation or active apprenticeships. Traditions we have documented include

sweetgrass and split-oak basketry
bluegrass and gospel music
quilting
alkaline-glazed, Catawba and Jugtown pottery
African-American celebrations
occupational folklife
traditional foodways

This transmission of artistic skill can occur in many different settings – the family room, workplace, church social, school recess yard, hunt club, quilting bee, beside the barbecue pit – the possibilities are endless. The traditional aspects of culture are far from static and "old timey." Folklife is dynamic by nature, a part of a community's history that continues to develop every day, with every generation. We honor those people who are keeping these traditions alive with the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award.

Digital Traditions

The Digital Traditions web site was developed to provide unprecedented access to the Folklife Resource Center through an extensive online collection of audio, video, and image-based media. Never before has the material housed in the FRC been available to such a wide audience. Funded through a major federal grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Digital Traditions is a living site, content is be added on a regular basis, so be sure to check back often as the site continues to grow!

South Carolina Arts Commission

McKissick Museum works in partnership with the South Carolina Arts Commission to enrich South Carolina's thriving arts environment with McKissick's public programming and ongoing field research into the state's deep folk roots. For more information on many of the Arts Commission's programs and advocacy, visit the South Carolina Arts Commission website.

Ordering Information

The center is open to the public by appointment. For additional information, including reproduction material costs or research appointments, please email our staff or give us a call at 803-777-7251.

McKissick Museum