A nonprofit organization dedicated to showcasing the folk culture and living traditions of New York's North Country. Explore this site to discover the diverse customs and traditions--like storytelling, music, crafts, foodways, and folk art--that make life special in our region, from the St. Lawrence River to the Adirondack Mountains.
TAUNY is the North Country's only non-profit organization dedicated to identifying, recording, and preserving the rich, living cultural heritage of our region. For over 30 years, community members like you have been contributing their time, money, and talent to help us accomplish our mission.
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Friends! Come join us! TAUNY’s Board of Directors has recently adopted a new strategic plan for TAUNY. We are inviting YOU to help us make it happen! There are opportunities on the governing board, advisory board, and volunteer corps. The new plan emphasizes goals for greater diversity and inclusion through new program initiatives and strategies for audience development, expanded use of technology, facility improvements, and new fundraising initiatives.
We are looking to the future and we want to bring together as many voices, skills, and perspectives as we can to be sure that TAUNY continues to be relevant and effective. The TAUNY team is collegial and hard-working. We think you’ll find getting more involved a great experience! To see a summary of the new strategic plan, visit here. For more information or to discuss participating, contact us at info@tauny.org.
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Seed-Saving Walk and Talk with Dan Kelleher and Rachael Jones at littleGrasse Community Farm (Canton, NY)
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In this final garden visit of the 2021 Grow and Tell Project series, the community is invited to participate in a walk and discussion at littleGrasse Community Farm (Canton, NY) focused on ideas and practices of seed-saving. Saving seed that’s been reproduced is essential for continued eating as well as for preserving varieties of food that have special meaning to individuals, communities, and the region. Hear from littleGrasse farmers Bob Washo and Flip Filippi and others about what they do with saving seed, how, and why, and join in a conversation about this vital topic while having a chance to see some examples of what the process looks like on a working farm.
Special guests will include Dan Kelleher, a North Country homesteader of over 40 years who has long been breeding his own corn and soy varieties for his subsistence diet and sharing knowledge about it with students and others, and Rachael Jones, a ceramics and mixed media artist, St. Lawrence University Art professor, and founder of The Seed Bank Project, creating and planting unique seed banks to preserve not only important seeds but a record of local ecologies and the stories that go with them. The event will also include planting of one of these seed banks containing seeds contributed by the day’s presenters.
For this event, there is a “pay as you will” suggested donation of $0-25 to support TAUNY’s ongoing programs and projects, including the Grow and Tell Project. Please register for this event here.
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At the peak of the summer time, while everything is so green and lush, we paid a visit to herbalist, native plant conservationist, and TAUNY North Country Living Traditions Award recipient Jane Desotellle in Plattsburgh, NY for our Grow and Tell video project. Watch this video here, see how Jane grows her wild edible and medicinal garden, and listen to the stories that she shares about family, friends, traditions, and plants.
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Photo captions: Left to right, Eagle & stars; Four Flower Baskets; Mama & Baby Bear
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In association with TAUNY's 35th year anniversary, Board Member Ruth McWilliams designed, painted and donated three barn quilts to raffle in support of TAUNY's programs and operations. The designs were all inspired by objects in our current exhibition Folk Arts All Around Us. Tickets are $35 each, 5 tickets maximum per person. ONLY 35 TICKETS WILL BE SOLD FOR EACH BARN QUILT.
The retail value of each barn quilt is $350. The drawing will take place once all 35 tickets are sold or on October 25, 2021 after the Folk Arts All Around Us exhibit closes (whichever comes first). Winner need not be present to win. To purchase tickets, please visit the Folkstore, mail payment to TAUNY, 53 Main St., Canton, NY 13617. You can see the barn quilts on display in The TAUNY Center. They are very impressive in person!
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TAUNY turns 35 this year! In honor of this occasion, we’ll bring you our 35@35 series, featuring highlights from TAUNY’s history.
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Folk Arts All Around Us
New Exhibit Showcases Folk Art from Glens Falls Collection
Bald Eagle woodcarving by Alan Hill (Gansevoort, Saratoga County, NY).
The current exhibition at The TAUNY Center is featuring over 120 items from the folk art collection of the Folklife Center at the Crandall Public Library in Glens Falls, NY. Folk Arts All Around Us is open at The TAUNY Center. Curated by Folklife Center Director Todd DeGarmo, who has had primary vision and responsibility for building the collection during his long tenure at the Center, the exhibition is a colorful and varied display that demonstrates DeGarmo's eclectic approach to collecting. Ranging from exquisitely fine wood carvings to bright Papier-mâché festival masks, the selections include items that reflect the rural context in which DeGarmo works, such as a turkey call and hand-knit mittens. Baskets have been a focus of the collection; visitors to the exhibition will see stunning examples. Dolls have also been a focus, and examples representing different cultural backgrounds are included in the exhibition. Folk Arts All Around Us will be on display through October 23. Due to the pandemic, there will not be an opening reception on February 13, but there are plans to schedule a reception with DeGarmo later in the year.
If
you are not able to visit us in person just yet, watch the videos below
to enjoy the exhibition and the stories behind some of the pieces.
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A Walk through the Folk Arts All Around Us Exhibition
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Folk Arts All Around Us Exhibition Virtual Event: A Discussion with Curator Todd DeGarmo
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A “Grow and Tell Project” Call: Share Your Story!
Will you be growing anything this year that is connected to your personal, family, community, or cultural food traditions?
As part of our collaboration with littleGrasse Foodworks Community Farm on the 2021 “Grow and Tell Project”, we’re looking to learn about how the food we grow reflects and helps sustain our food traditions. From a single potted plant to small kitchen gardens to homestead plots and everything in between—we’d love to hear your stories of the food you grow, the meaningful meals you make with it, and more! Drop us a line at camilla@tauny.org or 315-386-4289.
Photo Captions: Starting top left, moving clockwise: First fresh greens of the season in the littleGrasse Foodworks Community Farm greenhouse, March 2021. Growing and preserving food are important North Country traditions. Over the years, Dawn Atkinson of Pierrepont, NY (TAUNY North Country Heritage Award recipient) has regularly preserved hundreds of jars of vegetables, meat, jams, pickles, and more in a season, all from her farm and garden. Rosemary growing in the TAUNY Center classroom window.
TAUNY's Open Call for Personal Collections
Do you or does someone you know have a collection related to folk art and/or traditional life in the North Country? We’d like to hear about it! In 2021, we’ll showcase collections from around our region in a revival of our popular Personal Collections Series. Contact TAUNY Executive Director Jill Breit, jill@tauny.org, 315-386-4289.
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