A guitar player with a friendly smile, wearing a festive hat and a traditional serape shawl.
Oregon Culture Keepers Roster
About the Oregon Culture Keepers Roster

Search the online Oregon Culture Keepers Roster—an ever-expanding, juried selection of folk and traditional artists—and connect with cultural experts documented through our regional surveys and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program.

Rostered artists and culture keepers can provide educational presentations, hands-on demonstrations, or performances to a variety of audiences. We recommend a fee of at least $250 plus travel expenses unless otherwise noted, for such appearances. We do not serve as a booking agent, so please contact the artists directly.

Search the roster by county or keyword to find

  • highly skilled traditional artists for your classroom,
  • storytellers for your library event,
  • cultural experts for your humanities program,
  • performers for your festival stage, or
  • craft artists for demonstrations.

Check back often—we regularly add new folk and traditional artists!

Apply

Interested in applying to be on the roster?

First, review OFN’s definition of a Culture Keeper:

  • A Culture Keeper is a folk or traditional artist, who actively practices, passes on, and preserves the living cultural traditions of the cultural community to which they belong and is recognized by that community. Folk and traditional arts do not include folk-inspired art, which is produced by individuals and groups who are not part of the cultural community that originally produced/created/developed the art form, even if the quality of the art is excellent.

Second, fill out and send in the application form and all required work samples.

Or contact us at 541-346-3820 | ofn@uoregon.edu for assistance.

Found 35 profiles.
Andy Wong stands in his Portland restaurant and poses with an orange fruit dish with sauce. He wears a white chef's uniform.
Andy Wong
Chinese Foodways
Andy Wong (Portland) is an internationally-recognized master Chinese chef. As a child, Wong developed a love for cooking standing at his mother’s side in the kitchen. He and his son now cook together in his Portland restaurant where he has trophy cases full of awards attesting to his culinary genius.
Ang Diki Sherpa stands in a kitchen and presents a paper tray of Nepalese momo dumplings covered with a yellow sauce. She wears a pink sweater, gray leggings, and a gray scarf with black cats on it.
Ang Diki Sherpa
Nepalese Foodways
Ang Diki Sherpa (Portland) is a Nepalese traditional cook and restaurateur. She makes traditional momos, a dumpling that many consider to be Nepal’s national food. Sherpa was born in Nepal and grew up cooking with her mother and grandmother.
Anne-Marie Urukundo stands and poses against a white wall. She wears a blue floral collared shirt.
Anne-Marie Urukundo
Rwandan Embroidery
Anne-Marie Urukundo (Portland) practices traditional Rwandan embroidery, a craft she learned as a child from the grandmother who raised her, Asinati Mukarwera. Although finding time for embroidery can be a challenge in her busy life as a working mother, Urukundo relishes the time for the craft that she does have.
Baba Wagué Diakité sits in front of a mint green wall with two framed pictures. He wears a cream shirt with colorful embroidery.
Baba Wagué Diakité
Malian Storytelling
Baba Wagué Diakité (Portland) is a traditional storyteller and mud cloth maker who grew up in Mali with his grandparents. They recounted fantastical tales of animals and nature that instilled in him a deep love for the oral tradition. Diakité’s mother was also a storyteller and taught her son to make traditional mud-cloth, a Malian practice of dying cotton with fermented mud.
Basira Sadiqi stands holding a blue embroidered dress. She wearing a gray hijab and a black sweater.
Basira Sadiqi
Afgani Embroidery and Carpet Weaving
Basira Sadiqi (Portland) practices traditional Afghani embroidery and carpet weaving. Sadiqi learned to embroider from her mother; her husband’s female relatives taught her carpet weaving, which she in turn taught her own children during their time in a Pakistani refugee camp.
Brian O'hAirt sitting outside on a rock holding an accordion. The picture is in black and white.
Brian Ó hAirt
Traditional singing in Irish Gaelic
Brian Ó hAirt (Portland) is a master musician, singer, and dancer from the Irish tradition. He is deeply involved in the preservation of Irish cultural practices and especially the Irish Gaelic language. He attended university and was mentored by tradition bearers in Ireland before moving to Oregon to work as a community educator and organizer around cultural practice and language. Since 2006 he has facilitated workshops throughout North America at various cultural gatherings, festivals, summer schools, and weekend Irish Gaelic language intensives.
Daniela Mahoney poses against a white background. She wears a white shirt, black jacket, and a multicolored pearl necklace.
Daniela Mahoney
Traditional Egg Decorating
Daniela Mahoney (Portland) is a traditional Czech and Slovakian egg decorator and a Master Artist who participated in the Oregon Folklife Network’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program in 2012. Czech and Slovak egg decorating is associated with celebrations of Spring and new life. Mahoney, who learned from her grandmother, teaches Czech and Slovakian egg decorating to school aged kids all over the country.
Kenya Márquez a smiles, wearing flowers in her hair.
Dr. Kenya Márquez
Mexican Folk Dance
Dr. Kenya Márquez (Portland) is a Mexican Folk dancer. She first danced at home with her mother and went on to study traditional dance internationally. Her dance troupe, Ballet Papalotl, embodies the rich and diverse cultural heritage that Mexican folk dance represents.
Ed Edmo sits in front of green metal shelves. He wears a dark blue long sleeve shirt, a patterned vest, two shell necklaces, a medicine bag, and glasses.
Ed Edmo
Native American Storytelling
Ed Edmo (Portland) is a storyteller from the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. As a boy growing up in Celilo Falls, an ancient Native American site along the Columbia River, he heard stories from his parents and grandparents. Edmo brings his rich repertoire alive for audiences near and far.
Eleeziaa, a woman with dark skin and dark shoulder length hair, smiles for a profile picture
Eleeziaa Howard
Moccasin Crafting
Eleeziaa Howard (Portland, OR) makes moccasins that reflect the cultural heritage of her ancestral community, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. Her moccasins are a “round top” style; she makes each one from a single piece of leather and then beads them in red, black, and turquoise, colors that she says are typical of northwest tribes. Howard learned this artform from her cousin, and has begun to share her skills with others, both online as well as in person and at Siletz culture camps.
A photo of Inna Kovtun in a traditional costume
Inna Kovtun
Ukrainian Folklorist, Singer, and Dancer
Inna Kovtun (Portland) is a traditional Ukrainian ethno-singer, dancer, teacher and folklorist from Kyiv (Ukraine). Kovtun performs and teaches workshops on Ukrainian folk song and dance, researches Ukrainian folklore, and actively participates in initiatives that support Ukraine and promote Ukrainian culture in Portland and elsewhere.
Jayanthi Raman stands in an expressive dance pose against a white background. She wears a red, green, and gold silk sari and beaded ornamental headwear.
Jayanthi Raman
Bharatha Natyam Classical Indian Dance
Jayanthi Raman (Portland) has been a practitioner, teacher and choreographer of the classical Indian Bharatha Natyam dance for more than 4 decades. Bharatha Natyam has its roots in the 2nd century and is the most revered of classical dance styles in India. A 2015 Oregon Folklife Network Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program Master Artist, Raman’s passion lies in teaching dance and continuing the traditions for future generations.
Johnny B. Connolly sits and plays a button box accordion in front of a microphone. He wears a dark blue t-shirt and blue jeans.
Johnny B. Connolly
Irish Music
Johnny B. Connolly (Portland) is an internationally recognized master of the Irish button box accordion. Connolly hails from Dublin, but now lives in Portland, where he often plays in pubs with other local Irish musicians.
José Martinez stands in his workshop wearing a plaid shirt and an apron containing various tools.
José Martinez
Leatherworking
José Martinez (Portland) is a third-generation (leather craftsman) who works with his wife and three sons to create traditional Oaxacan sandals and other fashionable leather goods. He was born in Oaxaca, Mexico where his father and grandfather worked in the craft.
Josue Mendoza riding a horse and performing rope skills. He is wearing a white cowboy hat, blue shirt, and tan leather chaps.
Josue Noel Napoles Mendoza
Charrería
Josue Noel Napoles Mendoza (Portland) was born and raised in Portland, OR, but his family is also from the state of Michoaca'n in Mexico where he first started learning the art of charrería. His grandfather, Jose, would take Josue to Mexico every year and he would teach Josue how to ride horses and gather and work with livestock. Josue's grandfather has done charrería, and slowly over the years, he started teaching Josue into the lifestyle. Josue has since gained a passion for the sport and cultural tradition of charrería and over the years Josue has honed his skills.
Judy Zhou holds a red and white papercut art piece. She wears a pink long sleeve shirt under a blue corduroy apron.
Judy Zhou
Chinese Dough Sculpting, Paper Cutting, and Fan Dance
Judy Zhou (Portland) creates dough sculpture and papercuts, which she learned how to make from her grandmother in China. Zhou’s grandmother also taught her the intricate art of Chinese paper cutting. Zhou continues to practice these traditional arts to honor the memories of her mother and grandmother.
Kelsey Furuta stands on a stage and energetically plays two large taiko drums. She wears a blue wrap shirt and dark pants.
Kelsey Furuta
Taiko Drumming
Kelsey Furuta (Beaverton) is a taiko drummer and a member of Portland Taiko. A fourth-generation Japanese-American, Futura began playing at age ten. Since then, Furuta has toured the country with the Los Angeles-based TaikoProject, studied with taiko master Kenny Endo, and become a core member of Portland Taiko.
LaRhonda Steele in a black and white photo standing slightly to the side and looking at the camera.
LaRhonda Steele
Gospel Music, Rhythm and Blues
LaRhonda Steele (Portland) is a gospel singer recognized as one the region’s best rhythm and blues vocalists. Recent achievements include an invitation to sing in Porretta Italy (2018) with the Pistoia gospel choir as well as a 7-city tour of South America (2017) for teaching the history of blues and gospel as a part of Colombia’ Blues and Folk Festival.
Marimba Primaveral de Guatemala pose wearing traditional white outfits and black vests.
Marimba Primaveral de Guatemala
Marimba Music
Marimba Primaveral de Guatemala (Portland) is an eight-piece ensemble of Guatemalan musicians under the leadership of its founder and manager, Domingo Martinez. The group plays locally for private parties and public events and travels nationally and internationally.
Michael "Mic" Crenshaw stands in front of a blurred purple and blue background. He wears a denim jacket, a black t-shirt, and a gray hat.
Michael "Mic" Crenshaw
Hip Hop Artist and Emcee
Mic Crenshaw (Portland) is a world-class MC, a poetry slam champion, and a respected hip-hop artist around the northwest. A former member of the Portland-based group Hungry Mob, Crenshaw currently acts as Political Director for the Hip Hop Congress and the Lead U.S. Organizer for the Afrikan Hip Hop Caravan.

Back to Top