The Alabama Folklife Association is a statewide non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote knowledge and appreciation of Alabama folklife through activities such as festivals, conferences, fieldwork, videos, recordings and publications and its occasional journal, Tributaries.

Since its founding in 1980, the AFA has been an active presenter of the folklife of Alabama. Folklife is comprised of those traditional expressions of culture that have grown through time among the state’s many communities (groups that share the same historical experience, ethnic heritage, language, occupation, religion, or geographic area).
The unique folk expressions of Alabama identify and symbolize those communities that have originated them and nurtured them, enlivening and giving meaning to the lives of Alabamians.
Gospel jubilee singing, graveyard decoration days, American Indian basketry, Anglo-American folk pottery, Sand Mountain saddleries, west-Alabama blues, shape-note singing, coastal fishing lore, religious holidays, Cambodian fish-traps, midwifery, labor songs, barbecue and gumbo-all are examples of Alabama folklife. Handed down across generations, the folklife of Alabama has taken root in the social life, history, and experiences of the people of this state, and informs our fundamental notions of who we are, what we value and how we relate to the world.

The logo of the Alabama Folklife Association is the gourd martin house, an American Indian tradition adopted by new settlers to the state. This symbol, selected for the first Alabama Folklife Festival in 1989, represents harmony with the natural environment and cultural exchange between different peoples.

Projects of the AFA are supported by grants from the Alabama State Council on the Arts, the Alabama Humanities Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts and proceeds from the "Support the Arts" car tag.