just sent this out on the Oz folk Listings, but it may as well go in here too!


"open letter to the National Folk Festival - and State Federations :"

At the risk of possibly getting some backs up, I feel I have to comment upon this issue of the (lack of) recording of our own Australian Folk Movement History.

Now I only ever received the one pre-National Folk Festival e-news ( NFF e-news 15 Mar 2006.html ) and it contained this exciting proposal :

" We are turning 40!

The National Folk Festival turns 40 this year and we are asking you to help us put together a 40 year retrospective exhibition. The National means different things to different people and we often hear from folk telling us about the role it has played in their lives. Send us your stories, copies of your pics from past festivals so we can create an exhibition of YOUR festival. Send COPIES (not originals) of your pics, stories to PO BOX 156, CIVIC SQUARE, marked 40 year Retrospective. We'll put them on display at the Festival. "

so I immediately forwarded that message to some Folkie mates, with the comment :

"Now's our chance to finally get some "pre-Canberra history" into their "National" consciousness!!!"

Hell, I even added it to the National Festival thread on the Mudcat Folk&Blues Cafe : added link ...(but no response!)
and then, I set about looking through my own, rather paltry, photo albums!

I found the photos and workshop programmes that were relevant to some of the various Nationals that I had attended; tried to teach myself the basics of Photoshop(!) and using a printer that has definitely seen better days, produced some copies for the exhibition. I was a bit embarrassed about their quality, but I sent a cover note apologising for that, hoping that there would be plenty of other material for the NFF to choose from.

HA! What a joke.

Upon arrival at The National I received my programme, which devoted a whole page to this 40th Birthday Retrospective project (never mind that it was rather late notice for attendees and never mind that it gave the venue as "The Currong" instead of The Coorong). Once I had worked out the probable location of the exhibition boards and threaded my way through the dancers' belongings to view the display, I was SHOCKED to discover that apart from the odd festival poster from throughout the 40 years' history (and a child's T-shirt), there were only MY sad offerings!!!!

Now I would have expected, that for the years that The National has been contained in Canberra (since 92), there would AT LEAST be a full range of posters - and programmes and photos - from Our National Body ... surely an organisation that is devoted to the recognition of and upholding of, Our Folk Culture and Heritage, would have some sort of archival and library policy in place by now - after 40 years - well, at least after the last 15 years - SURELY???!!!!!!

Most people I spoke to about this embarrassing exhibition had not heard about it until they received their programme - i.e. upon arrival. Surely if an exhibition had been pre-planned, then at the very least, a NFF Project Officer would have been appointed, who would have contacted each of the State Federations and the known folkie photographers/collectors, for assistance with the exhibition - SURELY???!!!

SO WHAT HAPPENED???

Please, I'd really like to know.

C'mon mates, if you wait another 10 years for a 50th Birthday Retrospective, a good proportion of our Folk Doyen/Doyennes and their memories & memorabilia will have died - think how many have already passed from us!!! Thank goodness that at least Malcolm Turnbull is attempting to write up and publish nationally, some of the history of the Australian Folk Movement (see the Trad & Now magazines) ... But let's ALL do our bit for the recording of our own Folk histories – not just The National, not just the State Federations, not just the Folk Clubs, but all of us – PLEASE??!!!

RJB
Queensland