South Florida Folklife Center. Jewish Folk Arts - 1988-1989

This series consists of materials generated by a field research project to document local Jewish traditions conducted by the Historical Association of Southern Florida (now HistoryMiami Museum) during 1988 and 1989. South Florida is home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the United States. The 1985 Miami-Dade Folklife Survey by the Bureau of Florida Folklife Programs uncovered a number of Jewish folk artists in the Miami region. With funding support from the Florida Endowment for the Humanities (through the Florida Arts Council), the Association contracted Jan Rosenberg to more fully explore and document the Jewish traditions being practiced in South Florida. Folk artists engaged by the project included Uri Goldsmith, a scribe who produces ketubahs (Jewish marriage contracts). In 1989, Goldsmith was also featured in “Folk Arts in the Schools” program (HMF9005) and the Florida Folk Festival (see HMF9003). On July 30, 1989, the Museum hosted “A Collection of Jewish Traditional Arts,” a showcase for practicing folk artists identified by the project. Additionally, the Jewish folk arts identified through this project became an integral part of the “Tropical Traditions: The Folk Life of South Florida” exhibit in February 1990 (HMF9009). Materials include: grant applications, budgets, and reports; information sheets, research articles, and notes; audiocassette tape recordings and logs; photographic prints, as well as 35mm slides, and contact sheets; and audiocassette tape recordings of interviews, music and comedy performances, and recitations. Rosenberg also produced a summary report and an essay on Jewish folk culture in Dade and Broward counties which is included in the series.

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 three series by format.

Digital materials available on Folklife Archive external drive.

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

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