South Florida Folklife Center. Folk Arts of the Florida Keys - 1990

This series documents field research on folk and traditional arts in the Florida Keys conducted during 1990 by Brent Cantrell and Robert Stone for the South Florida Folklife Program of the Historical Association of Southern Florida (now HistoryMiami Museum). The Keys’ geographical isolation and cultural mix of Anglo, Bahamian, and Cuban settlers combined to produce unique folkways, the oldest and most developed of which are often associated with maritime industries and occupations. Since the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Writer’s Project survey in the 1930s (see HMF9010 and HMF9000), only limited and sporadic efforts have been made to document Keys folklife. The project documented a wide variety of traditions, including: fishing, boat-building, quilt-making, sculpture, woodcarving, doll-making, and music. Materials include: field notes, surveys, and ephemera; reports and publications; photographic contact sheets, 35mm slides and negatives; audiocassette tape recordings of interviews, musical performances, and church services; and a videocassette tape of funeral bands in Key West.

Additional digital formats of audio and image files available: Records were digitized 2015 – 2016. Users must contact staff ahead of visit for access.

Arranged into four series by format.

Digital materials available on Folklife Archive external drive.

• English

Finding Aid Authors: Katherine L. Fleming, David Font, Vanessa Navarro, and Katharine Labuda 2014-2016.

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