The Edwin Remsberg and Human Being Productions collections document Maryland folklife
What do stuffed ham, Brazilian cavaco music, and blacksmithing have in common? All are examples of living cultural traditions in Maryland that have been recognized in recent years by the Maryland Traditions program of the Maryland State Arts Council. Maryland Traditions hires photographers to document these and hundreds of other traditions in vivid detail every year.
You can now find digital photographs and recordings documenting Folklife Apprenticeships, Heritage Award winners, and other performances, people, places, and art works, from 2007 to the present in two new collections in the Maryland Traditions Archives: Collection 309: Edwin Remsberg collection and Collection 332: Human Being Productions collection.
Edwin Remsberg served as the official photographer of Maryland Traditions from 2007 to 2021. In addition to photographs and audio recordings, Remsberg produced “sound books” combining still images and audio for each Folklife Apprenticeship team. The following sound book showcases a 2017-2018 Cambodian pin peat music apprenticeship with Chum Ngek and Suteera Nagavajara.
Human Being Productions has served as the official photographer of Maryland Traditions since 2021. When the Waterfowl Festival in Easton, Maryland was named a Heritage Award winner in 2022, Human Being Productions photographers captured the festival’s competitions and demonstrations. You can see a selection of those images below. Contact us for information about viewing the full collection!
Post by Acadia Roher, Maryland Traditions Archivist