No, this isn't an "as...as" comparative structure. The first "as" is equivalent to "while", and the second "as" is equivalent to "in the role of"

I can see how this could puzzle an English learner. Native speakers do not confuse this with "as ... as." They instantly and intuitively sense the that the word "as" is being used in two different ways, and do not form an "as ... as" construction. We don't need to rewrite this for a native speaker. However, if we want to, we can rewrite it, in a way that keeps the same meaning, while avoiding the using the word "as" twice. This might make the meaning clearer to you: "Ms. Yu and others are working to keep the folk art alive, even while it evolves away from its roots, which was, originally, to be adornment for farmhouses."