Projects of the Folklife & Traditional Arts Program are built on research in communities throughout the city. In all our work we ask ourselves, "Who are the individuals who know the songs, the stories, the traditional skills that make this community special?" Armed with such questions, we begin the process of discovering local experts and traditional bearers. Documentation is an equally vital component of this research. Interviews with local artists, photographs, program publications and other forms of media will capture the city's diverse grassroots culture.