Concession building for the Sandwich, Illinois Fair, ca. 1903. Photo courtesy Barbara Hoffman collection. Part of the documentation in Illinois's Local Legacies projects.

Illinois

The American Folklife Center contains rich and varied materials from Illinois that document the diversity of the state's folk traditions. Among its unique recordings are blues, dance, and Lithuanian music from Southern Illinois. In 1977, the Center conducted the Chicago Ethnic Arts Project, a field survey of ethnic artistic expression in the Chicago area. The material created from this project, including recorded music and interviews, transcriptions, and still photographs, has been incorporated into the collections of the Folklife Center.

Collections

Finding Aid: To view a complete list of our Illinois collections contact the Folklife Reading Room.

Local Legacies Collection: This project provides a "snapshot" of local culture as it was expressed in the year 2000. View a list of Illinois's Local Legacies projects.

Chicago Ethnic Arts Project: Cultural documentation project conducted in 1977. [view catalog record] [view finding aid]

Concert

Liz Carroll with John Doyle: Irish American fiddling from Illinois. Recorded April 21, 2005. [view event flyer]

Additional Resources

Educational Resources: View a list of educational materials about Illinois from A Teacher's Guide to Folklife Resources.

Folklife Resources: Find state folklife-related agencies, societies, archives, higher education programs, and more, in Folklife Sourcebook: A Directory of Folklife Resources in the United States.

Exhibitions:
"Inside Our Homes, Outside Our Windows:" Illinois Historical Society Museum and Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (1979).

"Ethnic Recordings in America:" Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (1977).

Publications:
A Report on the Chicago Ethnic Arts Project. Unpublished report, contact the Folklife Reading Room.

"The Sajewski Story: Eighty Years of Polish Music in Chicago," Ethnic Recordings in America: A Neglected Heritage. [view catalog record]

A Brief List of Works Dealing with Illinois Folk Music (bibliography from ca. 1970). [view full text]