Martin Koenig receives an award from the president of Bulgaria

Martin Koenig was founder/director of the Balkan Arts Center in New York City which later became the Ethnic Folk Arts Center and today is the Center for Traditional Music and Dance. Still an active member of this non-profit’s Board of Directors, he remains a dedicated advocate for community-based traditional artists, especially those active in urban immigrant ethnic enclaves throughout the United States.

His interests extend to all facets of ethnic music and musicians: he has produced recordings, films and videos, and curated concerts and festivals. His ethnographic photographs have been widely published in periodicals, newspapers, magazines, and professional journals. Between 1966 and 1994, he conducted fieldwork that included audio recording, film and photography in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, the United States, and Canada. Some of his photographic work is on display here.