Mr. Edward Y. Millar

Biography

Edward Y. Millar first joined the Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University as Curator of Folk Arts in 2015, and is trained in fieldwork, exhibition development, videography, digital content creation, and program development. In his current role Millar focuses on the cultural heritage and communities of the Buffalo-Niagara region.

In addition to his work for the museum, Millar serves on the board of New York Folklore, a statewide organization dedicated to supporting the cultural heritage of diverse communities across New York State, and on the board of the Lewiston Council on the Arts, a local arts organization that nurtures a thriving environment for arts and culture activities in Lewiston, NY.

Millar previously served as co-organizer of the 2017 Annual New York Folklore Conference (Niagara University, NY) and the 2018 American Folklore Society Conference (Buffalo, NY), and as a member of the Cultural Diversity Committee for the American Folklore Society.

Areas of Interest

Millar teaches courses in fieldwork and exhibition development, and on folk culture in the United States at Niagara University as an adjunct professor. Millar’s scholarly interests include foodways, folk art, folk music (especially ballads), folk narrative, and occupational folklife.

Recent Research (2020-present)

2023, Co-curator of Knowing Land, a mixed media exhibition that focuses on the culture-environment connection through Tuscarora Nation community based artists, oral history excerpts, and historic photographs.

2021-2, Producer and Videographer for Survive, Remember, Thrive: Armenian Traditions in Western New York, a documentary series focused on Armenian cultural heritage in the Buffalo-Niagara region, available on Youtube, the NYHeritage archive, and Consider the Source, an initiative of the New York State Archives for educators in the state.

2021, Co-facilitator and Presenter for “Folklore, Heritage and the Public Sphere: Mutual Engagement, Co-creation, and Yielding Authority for Representation”, a set of professional development workshops and forums led by folklorists and heritage practitioners, organized by the American Folklore Society Public Programs Section and the American Folklore Society Fellows.

2021, Featured Lecturer for “Fieldwork in the Post-Pandemic World: Adaptation, Innovation and the Future”, a presentation focused on ethnographic fieldwork adaptations during the pandemic, organized by the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

2020, Archie Green Fellowship awarded by the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, to conduct fieldwork on the dirt track racing culture of the Ransomville Speedway—accessioned in 2022 as an official collection of the Library of Congress.

Conference Presentations

• “Traditions in Turmoil: Documenting Occupational Culture in a Time of Occupational Upheaval”. 2021 American Folklore Society Conference (Harrisburg), chair and presenter.
• “Experiments in Exhibition: In-Reach—New Directions in Museum-Community Partnerships”. 2018 American Folklore Society Conference (Buffalo), workshop presenter and co-organizer.
• “Rust Belt, Grass Root: Forum on Cross-Community Activism and Initiatives in the City of Buffalo”. 2018 American Folklore Society Conference (Buffalo), presenter.
• “Fostering Empathy Beyond the Echo Chamber”. 2017 American Folklore Society Conference (Minneapolis), presenter.
• “Micro Enterprise: Organizations and Initiatives”. 2017 New York Folklore Society Conference (Niagara University), presenter.
• “Show and Tell: Parallel Conversations in Documenting and Exhibiting Folk Art”. 2016 American Folklore Society Conference (Miami), presenter.

Publications

Millar, Edward ed. and Paw Hsee Gay. “Kaw Naw: Karen Fish Noodle Soup”. Voices: A Journal of New York Folklore, 46:3-4, 2020.

Millar, Edward, “A Telling Image: Bridging Folk and Fine Art Visitor Repertoires in Exhibit Design through Contemporary Murals in Folk Arts Contexts”. Voices: A Journal of New York Folklore, 44:1-4, 2018.

Millar, Edward. “Stocking the Home: Community, Identity, and Occupational Folklife at Taste East Inc.” Digest: A Journal of Foodways and Culture. 3:2, 2014.

Millar, Edward, Kristin Catherwood, and Erin Whitney. “John Ducey’s Store” and “John Ducey’s House” in Living Spaces: The Architecture of the Family Fishery in Keels, Newfoundland, edited by Pocius, Gerald L., pp8-15. St. John’s: Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador; Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Publications, 2013.

Currently Teaches

• AHM 261 – Folklore in America
• AHM 357 – Exhibiting Culture.