Read the original press release on Smithsonian Newsdesk
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival presents a wide-ranging theme this year: Youth and the Future of Culture. This vast topic will highlight a simple fact: about 41 percent of the world population is under age 25. Visitors can explore the perspectives and experiences of today’s young people through the revival of Native languages, intergenerational techniques of traditional craftwork, and new trends in street art, skating, and rapping.
The Festival opens Wednesday, July 2, and runs through Monday, July 7, on the National Mall between Seventh and Twelfth streets. Admission is free, and hours are from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. each day, with special evening concerts beginning at 5:30 p.m. The Festival is presented by the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and co-sponsored by the National Park Service.
Program Highlights
Building Trades Artisans
Skilled craftspeople in the building arts are vital to preserving the nation’s built environment and cultural heritage, but today many of these centuries-old skills are endangered—there are not enough young people practicing the traditional trades. In the Next Generation Artisans in the Traditional Building Trades area, Festival-goers will meet inspiring young craftspeople—stone carvers, decorative painters, preservation carpenters, stone masons, blacksmiths and ornamental plasterers—who are learning the building crafts from master artisans dedicated to passing on their knowledge and skills to the next generation. The building trades program curator is Marjorie Hunt.
Native Language Reclamation
The Native American Languages Act of 1990 inspired a movement among Native communities to reclaim their Native languages. Today, youth are at the forefront of driving reclamation. The Native Language Reclamation in the U.S. area at the Festival features four groups representing different languages and regions: the Kodiak Alutiiq Dancers from Alaska; Hālau I Ka Leo Ola O Nā Mamo from Hawa‘i; Ionkwahronkha’onhátie’ (“We are becoming fluent” from Ahkwesáhsne Mohawk Territory in Upstate New York, Ontario and Quebec; and the Myaamia Center based in Ohio and representing the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma. In the Language Lodge, visitors can learn how these languages sound and how they can be passed on to future generations. To complement the language sessions, there will be lacrosse demonstrations, Alutiiq social dances, and lessons in Mohawk basket making. The language reclamation program curator is Mary Linn.
Streetwise
A main tent called Streetwise will highlight three forms of youth expression: lowrider culture, street art and graffiti, and skateboarding and skate arts. Visitors can watch the restoration of two cars with the iconic bold painting, special suspension system, and chrome details, which are hallmarks of the lowrider tradition that began in Southern California in the 1940s and later spread around the globe. The action in Streetwise features skating demonstrations, painters working on murals and skate decks, teens customizing cars and bikes, and artisans from Indonesia making stylized adornments for lowriders. Music for this program is provided by teenage DJs. The lowriders program curator is Sojin Kim.
Museum of the Contemporary Teenager
The Museum of Contemporary American Teenagers (MoCAT) was started in 2017 by high school and middle school students in Montgomery County, Maryland. For the Festival, MoCAT will bring together teenagers from across Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia to collaborate on exhibitions that highlight some of the dynamic and often overlooked youth movements that shape American culture. Their setting will feature a high school hallway, classroom, and auditorium and a bedroom and bathroom where teens can share everything from fashion to their futures. Through performances, discussions, and demonstrations, teen participants will explore topics as varied as “third spaces,” social media, fashion, slang, and coming of age. MoCAT will also explore pressing topics such as school lockdowns and mental health, presented from the perspective of young advocates and activists. Michelle Banks is the curator of this program.
Music
The weekend will feature a variety of daytime and evening musical performances, showcasing youth groups and music apprenticeship programs that honor and preserve their musical heritage. The lineup of local and national young musicians spans a broad range of genres, from mariachi to orchestral ensembles and folk contradance.
The music program kicks off the first day with “Made in D.C.,” dedicated to performers from the capital region. The following days will have daytime sets and evening concerts inspired by the Fourth of July, prom music, and classical music. The final day of the Festival will close with a talent show and open mic. Evening concerts on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday will begin at 5:30 p.m.; feature events on Friday and Sunday will begin earlier in the day. Performers will also host a series of workshops and hands-on activities in the afternoons where visitors of all ages can explore the process and stories behind the music. The music program curators are Cristina Díaz-Carrera, Pablo Molinero-Martinez, and Eloy Neira de la Cadena.
Films and Discussions
The Arts and Industries Building will serve as a theater during the Festival with film screenings, workshop,s and talks with Emerging Media Makers. The short films have been created by the Ghetto Film School (Los Angeles), Action Youth Media (Silver Spring, Maryland), Deanwood Radio Broadcast Youth Journalism Program (Washington, D.C.), and Wide Angle Youth Media (Baltimore). In addition, ARTxFM will be streaming live to WXOX 97.1 FM in Louisville, Kentucky, capturing the sounds of the Festival.
A special screening of the award-winning documentary film The Ride Ahead, by disability activist and filmmaker Samuel Habib, will be held in the National Museum of American History’s Warner Bros. Theater. The film series program curator is Michelle Banks.
Accessibility
The Festival strives to maintain an accessible and inclusive environment for all. Outdoor festival venues and activities are located in shaded grassy areas that are accessible via concrete sidewalks and/or packed gravel walkways. Accessible seating areas are available at all presentation venues, and a limited number of wheelchairs are available for loan each day. All narrative and performance stages are equipped with assistive listening. American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters and real-time captioning are available for select events. Additional ASL interpreting services may be requested and are provided as available. Verbal description tours and sighted guide services are available, along with large-print and Braille brochures and menus. A sensory map of the Festival will be available. Accessibility service schedules and additional resources will be available online and in the Accessibility Tent on the Festival grounds.
On Sunday, July 6, the festival will host “Morning on the Mall” for individuals with autism or sensory sensitivities or others who may benefit from a more relaxed and supported environment. To find out more about this event or to request other access services not listed above, visitors may call (202) 633-2921 or email access@si.edu.
Sustainability
The Festival’s sustainability program diverts as much waste from landfills as possible so it can be repurposed as a sustainable resource through recycling or compost. The program began in 2011, when the Festival debuted water bottle collection and free water stations. The following year, a pilot composting program was launched at a staff event. These early steps culminated in a waste diversion project in 2013, which was the first year of composting, and it resulted in keeping 74 percent of the waste from landfills. By 2017, the festival hit 97 percent waste diversion, meriting an excellence award for sustainability from the American Alliance of Museums.
This year, the Festival will continue efforts to achieve a diversion rate of over 90 percent. At stations located throughout the Festival grounds, volunteers will help visitors properly sort their trash. In addition, all Festival staff and vendors receive training on sustainability guidelines while working on site.
For media inquires, please email folklife@si.edu.
