July 



July i 



■ Facility Planning Construction of a large-format the- 

 ater and restaurant in the National Museum of Natural 

 History West Court was approved by the Board of Re- 

 gents and authorized by Congress. The design architect 

 was selected and concept development began. Construc- 

 tion is scheduled to be completed in December 1996. 



■ Acquisition A 14th-century Korean Buddhist paint- 

 ing of the bodhisattva (enlightened being) Ji-jang was 

 placed on exhibition at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. 

 The painting, which is the first Korean object to be- 

 come part of the collection, had been presented to the 

 gallery anonymously in 1992. 



July 



■ Canopy Research Forest canopy research at the 

 Smithsonian Environmental Research Center was 

 strengthened by the introduction of rented construction 

 cranes that provide access to the canopy for scientists 

 and equipment. 



July 



■ Recordings "The Downhome Blues" and "The Up- 

 town Blues," twin compact disc— interactive programs 

 on blues music produced by the Office of Telecommuni- 

 cations, were released in the United States and Europe. 



July 



■ Research Infrared images of the impact of several 

 fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter 

 were obtained with a special electronic camera devel- 

 oped in part by Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory 

 scientists and attached to a National Aeronautics and 

 Space Administration telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. 



July 1-4, July 7-10 



■ Festival The Center for Folklife Programs and Cul- 

 tural Studies produced the 28th annual Festival of Amer- 

 ican Folklife. "Masters of Traditional Arts" featured 

 exemplary traditional artists from across the United 

 States who are recipients of the National Endowment 

 for the Arts National Heritage Fellowships. "The Baha- 

 mas" presented participants of African, British, and 

 Seminole descent who demonstrated and discussed tradi- 

 tions of family, community, and religious life. "Culture 

 and Development" examined how grassroots culture has 

 contributed to participatory economic and social devel- 

 opment programs in Latin America and the Caribbean 

 with 16 self-help organizations from nine countries. 

 "Thailand" highlighted the diversity and vitality of 

 Thai culture through the arts of the household, temple 

 fair, and royal court. 



July? 



■ Memorial Service Ralph Rinzler, founding director of 

 the Office of Folklife Programs and the Festival of 

 American Folklife, was honored during "A Celebration 

 of Life," held under the main festival tent. The program 

 included performances by Mike Seeger, Bernice Johnson 

 Reagon, Bill Monroe, the Savoy Family Band, and Guy 

 Carawan; an invocation by Clydia and Reeves 

 Nahwooksy; and remarks by James Early, Richard 

 Kurin, Bess Lomax Hawes, Jeffrey LaRiche, Lucille 

 Dawson, Mike Thomas, and others, faxed to be read on 

 this occasion. Rinzler passed away on July 2 after a long 

 illness. 



July 7-27 



■ Workshop The Office of Museum Programs held its 

 annual Museum Careers Program for Smithsonian 

 interns. 



July 9 



■ Exhibition Opening "The Smithsonian's America: An 

 Exhibition on American History and Culture" opened 

 in Japan as the featured event in the American Festival 

 Japan '94, a six-week celebration of the 140th anniver- 

 sary of the treaty that established diplomatic relations 

 between Japan and the United States. The highly suc- 

 cessful exhibition, organized by a team from the Na- 

 tional Museum of American History, included eight 

 groups of American musicians and dancers from places 

 as far-flung as Hawaii and Puerto Rico. 



July II-15 



■ Workshop Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum 

 and the Board of Education of the City of New York co- 

 sponsored the first annual Summer Design Institute, 

 "The Urban School: A Resource of Design Education." 

 Teachers worked with architects, graphic designers, in- 

 dustrial designers, urban planners, interactive multime- 



V- 



