Focus & Background

McKissick's Folklife Resource Center was created in 1985 as a repository for fieldnotes, photographs, slides, audio tapes, video tapes, albums, publications, and other information of value to Southern folklife scholars and interested members of the general public. Since that time, the Museum has conducted several major studies of the region's folklife with assistance from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts , and the South Carolina Humanities Council. The traditions documented include sweetgrass and split oak basketry; bluegrass and gospel music; quilt-making; alkaline-glazed, Catawba, and Jugtown pottery; African-American celebrations; net-making; and iron-working. The Center is also a repository for materials generated by independent researchers, and maintains vertical files on South Carolina folk artists, as well as on folk arts related organizations in and outside the state. All of the materials housed in the Folklife Resource Center are available for research and for educational purposes. For information on the reproduction and rental costs of materials in the Folklife Resource Center, please go to our Schedule of Fees . The Resource Center is open to the public by appointment.

Folklife Documentary Video Program

Since 1998, The Resource Center has been involved with The Woodward Studio, Ltd. in the production of folklife video documentaries dealing with traditional culture and foodways. Completed projects include The Sheep Stew of Dundas (2001) and Carolina Hash: A Taste of South Carolina (2001). In addition, several years of fieldwork resulted in the exhibit Southern Stews (2000) and the subsequent film Southern Stews: A Taste of the South (2002). Current projects include documentaries on Kentucky Burgoo and South Carolina camp meetings. For more information about Woodward Studios go to www.stanwoodward.com.

Jugtown Pottery
Working with the Folklife Section of the North Carolina Arts Council, McKissick studied the impact of the Jugtown Pottery on traditional pottery in Moore County, North Carolina. From this research emerged the exhibit and catalog New Ways for Old Jugs: Traditions and Innovations of the Jugtown Pottery (1994).

The Dave Project Descriptions, measurements, color slides and black and white photos of approximately 160 pots attributed to Dave, an enslaved African-American potter from South Carolina were made  in preparation for a traveling exhibit and catalog titled "I Made This Jar..."  The Life and Works of the Enslaved African-American Potter, Dave (1998).

Conference on Fifty Years of Folklore Research in South Carolina
On October 3, 1986, McKissick Museum, the USC Department of Anthropology, and the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress brought together folklorists and cultural resource promoters to learn about past folk arts research in the state and to discuss future research opportunities. Tapes of the proceedings are available.

Crossroads of Clay: The Southern Alkaline-Glazed Tradition (1990)
In 1983, McKissick Museum initiated a study of the development and diffusion of the southern alkaline-glazed stoneware pottery tradition. These research materials constitute the largest consolidated collection of information on southern ceramics in the United States. Based on this research, the museum mounted an exhibit with a catalog entitled Crossroads of Clay , and published Great & Noble Jar: Traditional Stoneware of South Carolina (1993).

African-American Celebrations  in South Carolina, 1863- 1960 In 1993, McKissick Museum mounted an  exhibit accompanied by a catalog entitled Jubilation! African-American Celebrations  in the Southeast that explored the origin, scope, and meanings of African American celebratory events staged in the southeastern United States during the period between emancipation and the Civil Rights movement.

Port Royal Project
This project documented Port Royal area folklife, including maritime work traditions, sweetgrass basket makers, animal story tellers, river baptisms, praise houses, and the Penn Center Heritage Festival. A permanent outdoor exhibit developed from fieldnotes, black and white photos, color slides, and audiotapes was installed at the waterfront park in Beaufort in 1988.

Stout Hearts: Traditional Oak  Basket Makers of the South Carolina Upcountry (1986) A traveling exhibit and catalog, the Stout  Hearts project investigated the traditional and contemporary practices of split oak basketmakers in the upper part of the state.

John Derrick, Lexington County basketmaker