katy-clune-bio.png

Connecting cultures & communities through storytelling, strategy & documentary work.

I call my work “cultural communications.”

Storyteller & strategist

Raised in the Foreign Service and now based in Charlottesville, VA, I have worked in communications in the cultural sector for over thirteen years, both full time and freelance. As director of the Virginia Folklife Program at Virginia Humanities, I manage programs, media, and community resources to sustain cultural traditions across the state. My documentary work has been supported by the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, the North Carolina State Arts Council, the Southern Foodways Alliance at the University of Mississippi, and the Center for the Study of the American South at UNC Chapel Hill.

Featured Projects

Featured
What Folklorists Do
What Folklorists Do

“A comprehensive guide to the range of good work carried out by today's folklorists, What Folklorists Do is essential reading for folklore students and professionals and those in positions to hire them.”

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Duke Arts Weekly
Duke Arts Weekly

A weekly editorial email designed to give readers one-stop access to the best stories and happenings in the arts across Duke.

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Art & Artists Are Essential
Art & Artists Are Essential

Campaign to give a platform and voice to Duke artists during COVID-19 and to proudly claim the “human need for art” (April–August 2020).

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Capturing & reflecting on my work @culturalcommunications

I’ve been quietly planting seeds and cultivating relationships I hope will bloom these first five months as Virginia state folklorist. Finding my footing and my voice, which means I’ll be sharing more here. Thinking much about pacing myse
Draws of (type) treasures & a treadle-operated 1890 printing press at @vabookcenter, a fellow program @va_humanities— stuff of printing dreams! #printmaking #letterpress
Come sit with me awhile. Let’s share this heavy feeling and talk a bit. We won’t rush. And we will be investing in the crucial work of ~civic repair~ as we hold time for our relationships and be vulnerable in making new ones.
24 hours in Ferrum and Floyd in SW Virginia with @patjarrett in the company of legends: Roddy Moore, the @blueridgeinstitute, Friday night jamboree with the Twin Creeks Stringband @thefloydcountrystore, a limber jack dancing doll (named Forest, decor
Hot dog business trip! Joey Mirabile Sr serves hot dogs in Richmond just as his dad did in the 1930s in Norfolk: chili, onions, mustard. Virginia Folklife and @cultural_vibrancy are co-programming part of the Richmond Folk Festival this October, we v
These are two of my favorite audio moments from my work in Morganton, NC, and Laos (Luang Prabang)—I dug them up for my interview for this week's episode of With Good Reason, a syndicated radio show & podcast produced by @va_humanities. The
Two house finches made a nest inside Matt's hanging lantern almost as soon as we hung it on our back deck in Charlottesville. Earlier this week, they hatched! 5 chicks are now growing very quickly, getting louder during mealtimes. So much has changed

Skills

 

Strategic Planning

Communications Strategy

Ethical Engagement

Storytelling

Public History & Exhibition Design

Project Management

Evaluation

Writing & Editing

Design

Care & Intention