Joseph Sciorra

Joseph is a Brooklyn-born folklorist who has documented and published on religious practices, material culture, and popular music, among other topics concerning vernacular expressivity. He is deeply committed to presenting and promoting artistic works by everyday people, especially those artforms that are community-based and site-specific, and/or not easily or usually displayed in gallery or museum settings.

Joseph is the Director of Academic and Cultural Programs at the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute, a City University of New York-wide research institute. As the self-proclaimed lovechild of Giufà, the Sicilian folk hero-fool, Joseph is also a cultural worker active in creating an “italianità alternativa.”

At Woodward, he will be working on two projects: a 2025 exhibit about the creative works of Italian prisoners of war held in the United States during World War II and an article about online narratives and digital visuality concerning pro- and anti-Columbus activism among Italian Americans.