20 



Annals of the Smithsonian Institution 1999 



running television series in the world. Several cast characters 

 presented a sketch about diversity to children from the 

 Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center and the adult audi- 

 ence from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Reading 

 Is Fundamental, Congressional offices, and media representa- 

 tives, among others. The Center's cosponsorship of the 

 symposium was based on shared values around diversity and 

 multiculturalism and the important implications of the 

 CTW "Sesame Street" model for the development of cultural 

 heritage policies in other media, cultural, and educational 

 institutions. 



In January, the Center hosred a forum for the Smithsonian 

 Congress of Scholars on our varied involvement in cultutal 

 research as public scholarship. Staff members presented case 

 studies on the questions and hypotheses that are the starting 

 points for our research, our methodologies, and the intellec- 

 tual, programmatic, and policy/applied implications of our 

 work. The case studies provided an introduction to discus- 

 sion with colleagues in research positions throughout the 

 Smithsonian on issues such as the nature of humanities ver- 

 sus physical sciences research, and the value of research 

 collaborations with community-based cultural workers and 

 educators. 



These collaborations can be seen in many recent Smith- 

 sonian Folkways projects. Praise the Lord! Gospel Music in 

 Washington, D.C., is the product of a collaboration with the 

 Smithsonian Institution's Anacostia Museum and Center for 

 African American History and Culture, and provides the au- 

 dio background to the exhibition, "Speak To My Heart: 

 Communities of Faith and Contemporary African American 

 Life." The two CD set, The Mississippi: River of Song involved 

 collaboration with Smithsonian Productions and other indi- 

 viduals and organizations, and became a companion to the 

 public radio and television documentary series, book, home 

 video, and Web site with educator's guide. And Taquachito 

 Nights: Conjunto Music from South Texas was recorded from 

 live performances at the 1998 Conjunto Festival in San Ben- 

 ito, Texas, and was produced in collaboration with the 

 Narciso Martinez Cultural Arts Center and in conjunction 

 with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. 



Jointly developed by the Center and the Smithsonian In- 

 stitution Traveling Exhibition Service, the exhibition 

 "Creativity and Resistance: Maroon Cultures in rhe Ameri- 

 cas" opened in March at the National Civil Rights Museum 

 in Memphis, Tennessee. The exhibition highlights the cul- 

 tural traditions and historical documentation of the Maroon 

 experience as expressed through the voices of contemporary 

 Maroon peoples ot Jamaica, French Guyana, Suriname, and 

 the Seminole community along the U.S. -Mexico border. On 

 June 20, the day following the traditional Juneteenth cele- 

 bration of the abolition of slaver}' in Texas, members of the 

 Texas Seminole Maroon community traveled ro San Antonio 

 for the opening of the exhibition at the Institute for Texas 

 Culture. The show continues to travel to sites throughout 

 the United States. 



Collaborations continued with the Center's cohosting 

 with UNESCO a working conference entitled, "A Global 

 Assessment of the 1989 Recommendation on the Safeguard- 



ing of Traditional Culture and Folklore: Local Empowerment 

 and International Cooperation." This confetence was the cul- 

 mination of a decade-long UNESCO initiative aimed at 

 deepening awareness of and commitment to cultural exptes- 

 sions — sometimes referred to as intangible cultural 

 heritage — that incorporate folklore, popular culture, and 

 grassroots expressions. Over 35 conference attendees, 30 ob- 

 servers, and some 20 Smithsonian and UNESCO staff 

 members focused on the 1989 Recommendation in light of 

 the profound sociopolitical and technological changes that 

 have occurred in the ensuing decade and the way these have 

 influenced, and been influenced by, ttaditional cultutes. 

 Over the course of the conference, working groups concen- 

 trated on three areas: legal protection; national cultural 

 policy; and the relationship between traditional cultures and 

 a variety of current environmental and sociopolitical issues. 

 These issues included cultural identity, gender, sustainable 

 development, globalization, peaceful coexistence of ethnic 

 groups, conflict prevention, youth cultures, and the impact 

 of new information technologies. Smithsonian and UNESCO 

 staff realized a shared goal of having community practition- 

 ers and leaders sit together with academics and 

 representatives of governments and philanthropic institu- 

 tions. This succeeded in strengthening the original inrent of 

 the 1989 Recommendation by reforumulating it as an Ac- 

 tion Plan and expanding its vision in significant ways, 

 among them: focusing institutional protection not only on 

 folklore items but on the practitioners themselves and on the 

 processes through which they nurture and develop their her- 

 itage; assisting communities in locally based measures to 

 protect and safeguard their own traditions with the support 

 of national, regional, and international bodies; and develop- 

 ing the protection of traditional cultural practitioners and 

 practices within a framework of international standards of 

 human rights. 



The Smithsonian Folklife Festival once again was the 

 venue where long-term collaborations with governments, 

 regional organizations, local communities, and individual 

 participants came together to present varied grassroots tradi- 

 tions. The New Hampshire program was organized around 

 four theme areas: "Home, Town & Communiry," "Ingenuity 

 & Enterprise," "Seasonal Work & Recreation," and "Farm, 

 Forest, Mountain & Sea." Added to this was a lively musical 

 component and several special events, which contribured to 

 the presenration of a microcosm of New Hampshire folklife. 

 Some of the special events included a barn raising by the 

 New Hampshire Timber Framers Association and Benson- 

 wood, an Old Home Day celebration with one of the state's 

 oldest community bands and a fireman's muster, and Franco- 

 American Day that acknowledged the importance of 

 French-Canadian traditions in shaping the state's history and 

 present-day character. The program was produced with the 

 New Hampshire Commission on the Smithsonian Folklife 

 Festival and its nonprofit affiliate Celebrate New Hampshire 

 Culrure in partnership with the New Hampshire State 

 Council on the Arts, Department of Cultural Resources. 



The Romanian program was the culmination of American 

 scholars working with colleagues from the Romanian Cul- 



