About
Background
Kin/Folk/Lore (KFL) offers a grassroots, translocal approach to 21st storytelling. Residents forge unlikely connections while considering changing landscapes, core values, and hopes that define their lives—past and present. KFL is a project of COSACOSA art at large, Inc. Since 1990, COSACOSA has created new public art, humanities, and media projects by, for, and about Philadelphia communities. Through direct, long-term partnerships with schools, hospitals, and neighborhood coalitions, Philadelphians reclaim the time-honored role of the artist in sustaining the community’s well-being and building civic participation.
COSACOSA staff, partners, and participants joined us for a special end-of-the-year celebration in 2022!
Credits
Thank you so much to AJ Scruggs, Anthony Williams, Bri Sias, Carmen Falu, Carolyn Joyner, Chris Payne, Cyerria Fitch, Cynthia Barnes, Dorianne Joseph, Ernie Bristow, Gerald Macdonald, Hadeel Hassan, Jacqueline Taylor-Adams, Jordan Smith, Juno Rosenhaus, Kimberly Niemela, Lenise Miller, Maritza Guridy, Meeka Outlaw, Nadirah Jackson, Rashid Milledge, Robert Barnes, Roberta Fredericks, Ronesha Fisher, Shae Payne, Tatyana Woodard, Tom Sonnenberg, Trinitee Wilson, Vasi Samudra Devi, Veda Brown, William Hilton, Katherine S., Angela, Corye, Diana, Ja’Nae, Jadyn, Jean, Kiasha, Lonnie, Mheshi, Mikah, Patina, Rahshan, Ronnie-Michelle, Rosemary, Taylor, Tyler, Victor, and all of our anonymous participants!
Thank you also to GVGK Tang for developing and implementing this project, as well as serving as lead organizer!
FAQ
How did this project come together?
COSACOSA art at large, Inc. is a small, community-based organization that's been developing art and humanities programs by, for, and about marginalized communities for over 30 years! Kin/Folk/Lore is a new project of ours that started in 2022. Our format of interviewing, story swapping, and reading is inspired by Anna Deavere Smith's docu-play Fires in the Mirror.
Who are the participants?
This project is city-wide! So far, we have over 600 responses from 30+ neighborhoods. You can learn more here.
How can I get involved?
For Phase One, folks self-interview, using a series of short questions to tell their own stories. For Phase Two, folks are anonymously assigned fellow participants’ stories to read and record. For Phase Three, folks host pop-up events to meet, dialogue, reflect, and celebrate. Everything is compiled into a free, publicly accessible digital oral history exhibit, album series, and publication. You can learn more here.
Who provided funding?
Funding for Kin/Folk/Lore was generously provided by Spring Point Partners, PA Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Humanities as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Additional support was provided by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Philadelphia Cultural Fund, and Independence Foundation.
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