Home to a wealth of folk traditions, South Carolina is culturally and geographically diverse. From the Appalachian Mountains to the Sea Islands and from rural crossroads to urban centers, the state boasts rich sources of traditional culture and folklore. Rooted in family and community activities, folklife involves expressive forms of many kinds that are communicated verbally and by observation or imitation. Folk artists can learn through apprenticeships, but most often are taught informally by family members or close friends. This sharing of information can occur in many different group settings - familial, occupational, religious, social, and educational. Folklife is dynamic by nature, a part of a community's history that continues to develop every day, with every generation.
Digital Traditions was developed to provide access to the Folklife Resource Center (FRC) at McKissick Museum. For thirty years, deeply rooted traditions like quilting, pottery, basketry, communal foodways, and folk music have been documented through audio, video, and photography. For further information about any of the artists featured on Digital Traditions, send your questions and comments to hallagan@mailbox.sc.edu.
Photo
R. Stanley “Stan” Woodward has two passions – documentary film making and the folk cultures he captures with his camera. For more than 40 years, Woodward has advocated for the traditional arts and...
Photo
Queen Quet (Marquetta L. Goodwine) is a published author, computer scientist, lecturer, mathematician, historian, columnist, preservationist, and "The Art-ivist." She has not only provided histo...
Photo
An ambassador for the textile industry in and around Piedmont, Donald Roper was also the area historian. A self-described “linthead” for his upbringing on Cotton Mill Hill, Roper spoke fondly of his...
Photo
Ted Brackett was from Inman, South Carolina. His father, a farmer by trade, played an old time claw hammer banjo and Ted’s uncle played the fiddle. Growing up in a musical family, he soon showed...
Photo
T.C. Foster learned the ways of the fiddle at a very young age, often listening to his father play on the front porch for hours at a time. Sneaking around with his father’s fiddle at first, by the age...
Audio
Billy Hammond and his wife Mary offer some biographical information.
Audio
Hammond recalls how he began making smaller baskets after retiring
Audio
Hammond recalls how he began making smaller baskets after retiring.
Photo
Grover "Billy" Hammond, a native of Clarks Hill in McCormick County, exemplified the important craft of split-oak basketmaking in South Carolina. The thin strips – or splits – that can be riven from...
Photo
Roger Bellow is a scholar, teacher and award-winning performer who has been a lifelong proponent of early country music traditions. He first learned about country music in Uptown, an area of Chicago...
