ICON12

Folk Art values tradition, simplicity and honesty as a reflection of ‘shared cultural aesthetics and social issues’ (Museum of International Folk Art) forming models of cultural heritage. Often associated with settler communities, Folk Art has historically enabled much-needed identification and generated a sense of belonging for migrant peoples displaced from their original homelands, sometimes through choice, but often through necessity of seeking asylum or claiming refugee status as a result of political estrangement or persecuted for minority religious or gender beliefs. These transitory peoples and communities often recognise Folk Art as providing a welcome and comforting sense of relief from persecution, by establishing and nurturing communities who share memories and tales of their collective pasts and promote hopes for their new lives and futures. This paper explores what the term ‘Folk Illustration’ might mean through a negotiated relationship between contemporary interpretations of folklore text and images.