For Each Other and the Tradition: Weaving, Pipemaking and New Thinking on Audience and Performance in Folklore 

This work seeks to expand performance theory and its use in material culture through research into artforms where the final 'performance' stands at a remove, with audience and artist separated by time, space and/or tradition. As case studies, I will explore bellows-blown bagpipe makers in Scotland and Ireland and tapestry weavers in Scotland and France. In both traditions, the maker is often absent from the performance event where their work is displayed, raising important questions. Theoretically, how does performance theory apply within material culture? How do these artists conceive of their audiences and how does that understanding of what they do impact how and why they pursue their artform? Pragmatically, by better understanding how traditional artists understand their work and their audiences and clients, this work will be useful in helping funding and support agencies better address artists’ needs and promote the sustainability of similar traditional artforms.