Reports of the Museums and Research Institutes 



21 



rural Foundarion, ASTRA Museum, rhe Universiry of 

 Bucharesr, rhe Peasanr Museum, Aid ro Arrisans, rhe Gov- 

 ernmenr of Romania, and orher insrirurions ro develop rhe 

 idea of "gateways ro Romania" as an organizing concepr for 

 rhe Fesrival program. The Fesrival offered meraphoric access 

 ro everyday life, rirual, and knowledge of and abour Roma- 

 nia; and lireral access as skilled carpenrers and woodworkers 

 from rhe Maramureo region erecred rradirional gareways on 

 rhe Narional Mall. The carpenrers also demonsrrared rheir 

 skills of rradirional basilica building, poinring ro rhe impor- 

 rance of rhe sacred and rirual arrs in Romanian life, along 

 wirh icon painrers, carvers, and egg decorarors. Music and 

 dance groups from Moldavia, Transylvania, and Wallachia 

 performed a range of rural celebrarory rradirions. And a vari- 

 ety of craftspeople including weavers and porrers 

 demonsrrared rhe arrs of everyday life in various regional 

 styles. The program was inevirably an inreresring mixrure of 

 grassroors, popular, and official genres. 



The Sourh Africa Fesrival program "Crafring rhe Eco- 

 nomic Renaissance of rhe Rainbow Narion" presenred over 

 ioo craftspeople, music and dance performers from each of 

 rhe nine provinces. Texr panels described rhe culrural and 

 linguisric diversity of each province and irs narural resources, 

 provided overview of how rradirional arrisans and provincial 

 and narional governmenr represenrarives work ro craft cul- 

 rural policy, public aesrherics, and susrainable employmenr 

 and culrural enrerprises based on rhe diversity of grassroors 

 culrural communities throughour the narion. Parricipanrs 

 and officials discussed various ropics wirh visirors — culrure 

 and protest, and contemporary issues of tradirional culrure 

 and economic developmenr — at the shebeen, a reproducrion of 

 rhe matchbox-like family houses thar mer rhe need for social 

 cenrers under rhe racially restricrive social codes of rhe for- 

 mer aparrheid sysrem. The program was produced wirh rhe 

 collaborarion and support of rhe Sourh African Deparrmenr 

 of Arts, Culrure, Science and Technology and rhe Narional 

 Arrs Council. 



The Fifth Annual Ralph Rinzler Memorial Concerr fea- 

 rured rwo bands from recenr immigranr groups, the Yuri 

 Yunakov Band and Ensemble Tereza. The Yuri Yunakov 

 Band played music from Bulgaria and rhe Republic of Mace- 

 donia rhar is known for its haunting melodies, dense 

 ornamentation, and complex rhyrhms. The conremporary 

 style is known as wedding music, because ir mosr often ac- 

 companies dancing ar life-cycle celebrarions such as 

 weddings and baprisms. The program fearured instrumental 

 music from various regions of Bulgaria and a Rom (Gypsy) 

 reperroire. This repertoire is currenrly popular in rhe Bronx 

 community of Roma from Macedonia, which dares from rhe 

 1960s. Ensemble Tereza performed Mounrain Jewish music 

 by recenr immigranrs from rhe easrern Caucasus, in particu- 

 lar Azerbaijan and Dagesran to New York. Lead singer 

 Tereza Elizarova sang in a variety of languages including 

 Djuhuri, Azeri, Turkish, Persian, rradirional Hebrew, and 

 nowadays Arabic and modern Hebrew. Dance sryles include 

 the energeric Caucasian men's dances, as well as the stately 

 circle dances and Turkish/Persian-style solo dancing most of- 

 ten performed by women. 



And in anorher collaborarion, a conjunto concerr and 

 dance party was produced wirh rhe Narional Museum of 

 American Hisrory's "Encuenrros" program. This program 

 marked the release of the Smithsonian Folkways recording 

 Taquachito Nights: Conjunto Music from South Texas, produced 

 in partnership with the Narciso Marrmez Culrural Arrs Cen- 

 rer of San Beniro, Texas. 



This year's Festival also hosted two teacher seminars, rhe 

 annual five-day course "Bringing Folklife inro rhe Class- 

 room," cosponsored wirh rhe Smithsonian Office of 

 Educarion, and a special rhree-day inrensive seminar organ- 

 ized for 30 New Hampshire reacher-fellows chosen ro 

 develop a folklife curriculum for rheir srare through rhe New 

 Hampshire program cosponsor, Celebrare New Hampshire 

 Culrure, under a granr from rhe Narional School ro Work 

 iniriarive. Borh seminars used rhe Fesrival as a context in 

 which reachers could develop techniques and skills in the use 

 of multicultural resources that could enhance their classroom 

 reaching. Teachers in the seminars shared stores abour rheir 

 own family and communiry rradirions, mer wirh curarors for 

 a behind-rhe-scenes look ar how Fesrival programs are pur 

 Together, and engaged with rraditional arrists from New 

 Hampshire, Romania, and Sourh Africa. 



Through rhese collaborarions and orhers, we continue to 

 work with colleagues around rhe narion and the world in 

 helping culrural commumries flourish in ways rhar enhance 

 their own well-being and also contribute to the larger hu- 

 man family. 



Hirshhorn Museum 

 and Sculpture Garden 



James T. Demetrion, Director 



The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculprure Garden, the Smithson- 

 ian Institution's museum for modern and contemporary art, is 

 commirred ro increasing rhe awareness and undersranding of 

 art through acquisirions, exhibirions and publicarions, re- 

 search acriviries, public programs, and rhe presenrarion of rhe 

 collection in irs galleries and ourdoor exhibirion spaces. The 

 museum provides a public facility for rhe exhibirion, srudy, 

 and preservarion of ninereenrh- and rwenrieth-century arr 

 while presenring a spectrum of conremporary work. 



The museum, which opened ro rhe public in October 

 1974, spent much of the year generaring celebrarory exhibi- 

 rions, programs, and acriviries in anticipation of the 

 2 5th-anniversary monrh of Ocrober 1999. On February 24 

 rhe rhird-floor collecrion galleries, which had been closed for 

 renovarions for more rhan six monrhs, reopened wirh new car- 

 pers, a far more effective lighring sysrem, and, in several areas, 

 reconfigured walls and platforms. At the hearr of the anniver- 

 sary "makeover" was a complere rethinking, on the parr of rhe 

 curators, of how to tell the story of modern art using the Hir- 

 shhorn 's unusually broad and often surprising collection. 



"The Hirshhorn Collecrion at 25: Celebraring Modern 

 Arr," as rhe reinstallarion was ritled, was a team effort led by 



