ABOUT
The Society hosts an annual conference, usually held in September each year in a different part of Britain and Ireland. Each conference has a theme or themes which relate to the area in which it is held. The conference includes papers presented by local specialists as well as members from the Society for Folklife Studies. There are also a range of excursions relevant to the conference themes and the place of the conference.
The conference is a great opportunity to catch up with fellow Society members, and share discussion on key aspects of folk life. We also visit some really awesome places where the folk have been at the heart of their creation and continued use, usually over a number of centuries.
FORTHCOMING CONFERENCE – CAERNARFON, NORTH-WEST WALES, 13-16 SEPTEMBER 2024
Conference themes: ‘Exceptional cultural landscapes’ : ‘World Heritage designation‘
We have been working on the programme for the 2024 conference. A draft is attached. Further updates will be provided as it is firmed up.
A booking form is now available. Bookings are available until the end of July.
CONFERENCE ARCHIVES
2023
Douglas, Isle of Man
Theme: Managing change in a heritage environment
2021
Galway, Republic of Ireland
Theme: music, dance, song, story, and related artefacts; vernacular buildings and interiors
2020
Not held as a result of covid-19 pandemic
2019
Carlisle, Cumbria
Theme: Cumbrian folklife, agriculture and industry
2018
St Fagans, Cardiff, Wales
St Fagans at seventy; heritage, culture, sport and national identity
2017
Ayr
Theme: identity and place in literature; cross-cultural connections in material culture
2016
Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Theme: memorialisation and identity
2013
Llandrindod Wells, Wales
Theme: water; borderlands; vernacular architecture
2010
West Dean, Sussex, England
Themes: interpreting agriculture and rural life
2007
Swansea, Wales
Themes: humanising industrial history; international trade and local identity
2003
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Themes: ethnicity and identity
2015
Dudley, West Midlands
Theme: enjoying the graft; autenticity and utility; The Black Country – landscape and identity
2012
Manchester, England
Themes: the city: its industry, its ethnic groups and its culture
2009
Isle of Man
Themes: selling the folk – tourism and marketing of folk culture over 200 years
2005
Melrose, Scotland
2014
Killarney, Republic of Ireland
Theme: 50 years of Muckross House; the Irish kitchen; landscape interpretation
2011
Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Themes: links: geographical, economic, social and cultural
2008
Killarney, Republic of Ireland
Themes: lakeland culture; recording change
2004
Mellac, Brittany, France
Themes: shaping the future: constructive interpretations of heritage
The Society for Folklife Studies 