The Florida Folklife Collection includes approximately 150 cubic feet of paper records (including field notes and administrative files) and thousands of audio and video recordings, which date from the 1930s through 2001.

Created by Florida folklorists, the Collection consists of 88 individual series that document the performances by, interviews with, and fieldwork surveys of folk musicians, artisans, storytellers, folklife interpreters, and other Florida peoples and their traditions. Read more.

Search the Folklife Database

Search this database for descriptions of photographs and audio recordings from the Florida Folklife Collection available at the State Archives of Florida. Approximately 46,000 photographic images and approximately 5,000 audio recordings are cataloged. Contact the Archives to order images and recordings.

Audio

Music and more Three CDs, podcasts, and additional audio selections from the Florida Folklife Collection.

Search approximately 12,000 color and black-and-white images selected from the Folklife Collection in the Florida Photographic Collection.

• Zora Neale Hurston, the WPA in Florida, and the Cross City Turpentine Camp
• Netmaking and Net Fishing in Florida
• Lucreaty Clark, White Oak Basket Maker
• Seminole Doll Making
• Sacred Harp

Links to Folklife programs and collections in Florida and around the country. Read more.

WHERE DO THE RECORDS COME FROM?
	The largest part of the Florida Folklife Collection consists of records, notes, images, and recordings generated by professional folklorists working in the Florida Folklife Program during its first twenty years (1976-1995). The Florida Folklife Program documents and presents the folklife, folklore, and folk arts of the state. Its full-time staff of professional folklorists, based in the Florida Bureau of Historic Preservation, coordinates a wide range of activities and projects designed to increase awareness about Florida's traditional culture. For further information, see the Florida Folklife Program Web site.

Florida Folklorists of Past and Present

Since the Florida Folklife Program began in 1976, many prominent folklorists began their careers in the Sunshine State. Not only did they contribute to Florida’s folk studies, but they also honed the skills they would use in other programs and folk areas. Read more.

About the Florida Folk Festival

Begun in 1953, the Florida Folk Festival is an annual festival of music, food, and traditional arts that highlights and celebrates Florida's many folk cultures and traditions. The Florida Folklife Collection includes images and recordings of the festival from 1954 through 2004. Read more.