top of page

Whole South Heritage Works

IMG_3721.JPG

​​​​ Whole South Heritage Works, founded in 2025, is a cultural organization that partners with communities, individuals, and institutions on projects that document, illuminate, and share the community history and folk traditions of the American South and all its people.

IMG_2866.JPG

Our areas of expertise include

​​​​​

  • Oral history

  • Documenting and promoting folklife

  • Family history and preservation of family photos and archives

  • Research on craft and decorative arts, both current and historic

  • Research on traditional music, both present and past, and historic and archival recordings

  • Digitization of private and public archival collections

​
 

WSHW enjoys a wide network of colleagues in heritage fields. This allows us to work in collaboration and consultation with experts in a range of specialties, and to connect people and institutions to the resources they need to preserve and share their stories, traditions, and archival collections.

About our name

​

Whole South Heritage Works believes that the cultural heritage of the American South belongs to all people in and from the South. In the spirit of “Y’all means all,” we operate with an expansive vision of the region, and an appreciation for all of its people, traditions, and communities – the whole South.

Too often the word “heritage” has been misappropriated, to disguise and deny historical truths. We want to help reclaim it for everyone, in the fullness of its meaning.

 

Like a traditional pottery works or ironworks, WSHW is a cooperative effort driven by dedication and collaboration.

Images:

Marshes at Charlesfort-Santa Elena Historic Site, Parris, Island, SC. Photo by Sarah Bryan.
 

'Seine fishing along South Carolina's coast," circa-1965 postcard image by Ernest Ferguson, published by Photo Arts, Winnsboro, SC.

Sarah Mary Taylor, photo by Liz Lindsey, circa 1995.

 

Old-Time Herald, Vol. 15, No. 3 cover, photograph of Buna Vista Hicks by Thomas Burton.
 

Craftsman Nathan Bush splitting rivercane for baskets in Cherokee, North Carolina. Photo by Sarah Bryan.
 

bottom of page