Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

Happy World Water Day! What kind of world do we want to create together? Today, we highlight the 2022 Smithsonian Folklife Festival program, “United Arab Emirates: Living Landscape | Living Memory.” Although the UAE is just over fifty years old, it boasts a deep and rich history that far predates the modern nation’s inception. It embodies two contrasting identities—a traditional desert village and a hypermodern global city—that coexist in the present day, simultaneously influencing and challenging one another. One remarkable aspect of the UAE’s cultural heritage is the “aflaj” irrigation systems. Skillfully crafted, these channels transport water from underground sources, such as springs, to the surface, ensuring vital irrigation and water supplies. In 2020, the Al Ain Aflaj system, partly located in the UAE, was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This historic system exemplifies the innovative practices shaped by generations of inherited knowledge and expertise. 📷: A falaj system re-created on the National Mall for the 2022 Festival. Photo by Ronald Villasante, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives #WorldWaterDay

“I think when you live in a language, you live with a different view of life, a different philosophy,” says Dakota-Hidatsa storyteller Mary Louise Defender Wilson. Born and raised on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, 1999 National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow Defender-Wilson grew up steeped in the Dakota language and the traditional stories of her people. A revered elder, she tells stories that vividly capture tribal ways of life, creation myths, and animal tricksters. Her tales speak powerfully to living in harmony with others and to deep connections to the land. Through teaching and telling the old stories, she endeavors to preserve the Dakota language for the young people of her tribe and to instill a sense of pride in their cultural heritage and identity. "The entire life I've come through so far with our stories has helped me relate to, communicate with, and respect other people because I relate to, communicate with, and respect my own culture." In addition to creating a radio program to teach the Siouan language, Defender-Wilson has shared the art of Dakotah storytelling through the North Dakota Council on the Arts Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, delivered lecture demonstrations across the region, and guided teachers in Dakotah-Hidatsa storytelling and cultural heritage. She has noted that the true fulfillment of her work lies not in public accolades but in understanding the importance of her stories and passing them on to others. #WomensHistoryMonth Photo by Tom Pich

The concept of the “teenager”—along with the ideas, misconceptions, concerns, and beliefs it evokes—was officially introduced to the American public in the 1920s. Since then, American culture has not been the same. This summer, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival brings students from the Museum of Contemporary American Teenagers to the National Mall. This local group will present performances, discussions, and demonstrations that explore topics as varied as “third spaces,” social media, fashion, slang, and coming of age. True to its values, MoCAT will also explore pressing topics such as school lockdowns and mental health, presenting them from the perspective of young advocates and activists. Learn more about MoCAT at the Festival, and save the dates for July 2–7: https://s.si.edu/3Dq1BvW

Who needs a filter when Holi does the job perfectly? Often called "The Festival of Colors," Holi is a vibrant Hindu festival celebrated predominantly in India and Nepal, though its radiant spirit has reached people worldwide. It marks the onset of spring, celebrates the Hindu god Krishna, and is associated with several Hindu legends. Holi celebrations take place over two days—today, Rangwali Holi, the second day, people will go into the streets to throw colorful powder and water with loved ones and communities. __ 📸: Courtesy of Poras Chaudhary. Image is part of the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Archives. #Holi #RangwaliHoli

We currently have two contract positions open for the 2025 Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage: ⌨️ The communications and digital media coordinator coordinates a team of communications and media professionals, interns, and volunteers. The work includes team coordination, strategic communications, documentation and content production, and facilitation of the Folklife Storytellers Workshop. Proposals are due Thursday, March 20. 📹 The livestream services contractor designs, set ups, implements, operates, and troubleshoots a coherent, reliable, fully functional, and high-quality livestreaming plan for the 2025 Festival, utilizing contractor’s own equipment or Festival-owned/rented equipment if available. Proposals are due Friday, March 21. Learn more and apply: https://lnkd.in/dUVce5y 📷: “Smithsonian Sun” created by tin artisan Jang Ludmir Araujo Ayala at the 2015 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Photo by Zvonimir Bebek, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives

Skilled craftspeople in the traditional building trades play a vital role in preserving our nation’s built environment and cultural heritage. This summer, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival will host some of the masters and apprentices who carry on this centuries-old traditional knowledge: stone carvers, decorative painters, preservation carpenters, stone masons, blacksmiths, ornamental plasterers, and many others. Featured training programs: • American College of the Building Arts • The Campaign for Historic Trades • National Park Service Historic Preservation Training Center Traditional Trades Advancement Program • National Trust for Historic Preservation HOPE Crew • John Canning & Co. • George Washington's Mount Vernon Historic Trades Internship Program • New Orleans Master Crafts Guild • Washington National Cathedral Earthquake Restoration Project Learn more about “Next Generation Artisans in the Traditional Building Trades,” part of the “Youth and the Future of Culture” program, and save the dates for July 2–7: https://s.si.edu/4hcOXhv 📷: Stone carving student Tatum Connor and master stone carver Joseph Kincannon from the American College of the Building Arts. Photo by Lindsey Cockburn

We're #hiring a new Communications and Digital Media Coordinator in Washington, District of Columbia. Apply today or share this post with your network.

Want to help tell the stories from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage? Our Folklife Storytellers Workshop is an internship program that offers a professional skill-building and exchange experience for students and recent graduates interested in producing multimedia content for Folklife Magazine, the Folklife Festival Blog, and social media channels. In 2025, the workshop will focus on storytelling from the Festival program, “Youth and the Future of Culture.” These six-month internships will be full-time and in person in D.C. from June to August 2025 and part-time September to November 2025. Applicants should express interest in one of two tracks: Social Media & Video Editing or Writing. Applications are due April 1. Learn more and apply: folklife.si.edu/jobs 📷: Storytelling interns Ned Driscoll, Ali Ali, and Trinity Le with visual artist and skater Keith Secola, Jr. (Northern Ute/Anishinaabe) at the 2024 Festival. Photo by Stanley Turk, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives #WritingInternships #VideoInternships

Today is more than just a date on the calendar—it's a day to honor the incredible contributions of women around the globe. This #InternationalWomensDay, we are highlighting 2015 National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow Mary Lee Bendolph and the other quiltmakers of Gee’s Bend. "My mother taught me. She started me off piecing quilts. I wanted her to let me piece quilts with the machine, but she wouldn’t do that. She gave me a needle and some little pieces." The community of Boykin, Alabama, known to many as Gee’s Bend, is home to some of the most highly regarded quiltmakers in America. These include Mary Lee Bendolph, Lucy Mingo, and Loretta Pettway, three of the chief quilters from the oldest generation of quilters who represent this profound cultural legacy. Described by the New York Times as “some of the most miraculous works of modern art America has produced,” the quilts are known for their improvisational and inventive quality. Bendolph, born in 1935, learned to quilt from her mother. She split her time as a child between working in the fields and attending school. “Folks call some of this kind of stuff “crazy quilts”—don’t know which-a-way it’s going,” Bendolph said. “I never did go by a pattern. I mostly take after my aunt Louella, but I never make a quilt altogether like anybody.” The quilt making tradition in Gee's Bend traces back to the early 1800s, when enslaved women created bedcovers using fabric scraps. National recognition of Gee's Bend quilts emerged in the 1960s, during which time the women participated in the Freedom Quilting Bee, an initiative established during the Civil Rights movement to generate crucial income for the community. “The Lord lead me and guide me and give me strength to make this quilt with love and peace and happiness so somebody would enjoy it,” Gee’s Bend quiltmaker Pettway said of her art. “That makes me feel happy.” 📷: Quilters of Visit Gee's Bend, Alabama: (left to right) Loretta Pettway, Lucy Mingo, and Mary Lee Bendolph. Photo by Tom Pich #IWD2025

“It’s in us. Family is in us. Nurturing is in us. Wood is in us. It’s all there. Fabric. It’s part of our heritage.” Winston Andrews was one of six African American artists who spoke at the Orange County Regional History Center in Orlando, Florida, as part of a panel on “Preserving the Past Through Craft” in February 2024. The program was one of the highlights of the history center’s annual event, Honoring Black Heritage, Arts & Culture. Andrews, a wood sculptor, joined soft-sculpture artist Darlene Allen, quilters Lauren Austin and Lisa Moore, illustrator and chain-stitch embroiderer Teighlor Johnson, and designer of doll fashions Carmen Nibbs to share how their artistry is deeply interwoven with their ancestry, family histories, and cultural legacies. Their stories, rich with connections to nature and experiences of the African diaspora, showcase the profound ways art can transcend generations. The artists were part of a project titled Cultural Sustainability & Legacy Planning for Craft Artists, a partnership between the Orange County Regional History Center, the Craft Emergency Relief Fund, and our African American Craft Initiative. It was conceived to build connections between artist communities and local cultural institutions and to assist makers in safeguarding their stories. Read more about Preserving the Past Through Craft in Folklife Magazine: https://s.si.edu/4buoJ8X From left to right: Darlene Allen, Carmen Nibbs, Winston Andrews, Teighlor Johnson, Lisa Moore, and Lauren Austin.