The Smithsonian Institution Festival of American Folklife, held annually since 1967 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1998. The materials collected here document the planning, production, and execution of the annual Festival, produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present) and its predecessor offices (1967-1999). An overview of the entire Festival records group is available here: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.
Scope and Contents note:
This collection documents the planning, production, and execution of the 1977 Festival of American Folklife. Materials may include photographs, audio recordings, motion picture film and video recordings, notes, production drawings, contracts, memoranda, correspondence, informational materials, publications, and ephemera. Such materials were created during the Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., as well as in the featured communities, before or after the Festival itself.
Arrangement note:
Arranged in 9 series.
Series 1: Program Books, Festival Publications, and Ephemera
Series 2: African Diaspora Street Culture
Series 3: America's Appetite (for Energy)
Series 4: Folklife in the Museum: Hall of Musical Instruments
Series 5: Folklife in the Museum: A Nation of Nations
Series 6: Folklife in the Museum: Renwick Gallery
Series 7: Native American Musical Styles
Series 8: Other Programs
Series 9: Virginia Folk Culture
Historical note:
The Festival of American Folklife, held annually since 1967 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1998.
The 1977 Festival of American Folklife was produced by the Smithsonian Folklife Program of the Office of American and Folklife Studies and cosponsored by the National Park Service.
For more information, see Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.
Introduction:
As early as 1974, managers within the Smithsonian had wondered what to do after the Bicentennial Festival - return to the pattern of smaller Folklife Festivals that had preceded, expand its scope to a Smithsonian Summer Festival that would present popular artistic forms as well, or discontinue it and focus on curating the research and Festival documentation. In the immediate wake of the Bicentennial Festival, plans were proposed for Ralph Rinzler to become head of a new, unnamed folklife unit that would process the documentary materials developed by the Festival and produce scholarly and educational publications. James R. Morris and the Division of Performing Arts would continue to produce the Festival. A broader Smithsonian Summer Festival was accordingly announced for 1977. However, a newly-constituted Folklife Advisory Council decided instead that the Festival's emphasis on traditional cultural should continue, but that the Festival should be moved to the fall and should be more closely integrated with the activities of relevant units of the Smithsonian, especially within the National Museum of History and Technology and National Museum of Natural History. A Folklife Program was established under Rinzler's direction, attached to the Office of American and Folklife Studies headed by Wilcomb E. Washburn (also chair of the Folklife Advisory Council).
The 1977 Festival was thus held October 5-10, on a site within the National Mall later to be occupied by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, between 14th and 15th Streets and between Constitution Avenue and Madison Drive (see site plan). Additional outdoor activities were held on the terrace of the National Museum of History and Technology, and indoor activities took place in that museum, the National Museum of Natural History, and the Renwick Gallery. The Division of Performing Arts continued to provide overall technical support for the Festival, but each program component was curated by a different team, typically including cooperation between a Folklife Program folklorist and a curator within another Smithsonian museum (see the individual programs for the specific units collaborating on each presentation). Programming was originated by museum staff, then reviewed by the Advisory Council, to broaden the base of staff involvement in the research, planning, and presentation of this and other folklife endeavors.
The Festival featured several larger and numerous smaller programs; documentation of the 1977 Festival is divided into eight series:
Missing Title
African Diaspora Street Culture
America's Appetite (for Energy)
Folklife in the Museum: Hall of Musical Instruments (including presentations of hammered dulcimers andmusical traditions of India)
Folklife in the Museum: A Nation of Nations (including presentations of saddle making, Dunham Schoollore, Ellis Island & immigrant lore, pencil making, baseball bat turning, ethnic foods, Hispanic crafts)
Folklife in the Museum: Renwick Gallery (including presentations of paint on wood and crafting withnatural fibers)
Native American Musical Styles
Other Programs (including presentations of transportation, folklore in your community, family folklore,Louisiana Cajun social music)
Virginia Folk Culture
The 1977 Program Book provided information on each of the programs.
The Festival was jointly presented by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Park Service, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy, National Council for Traditional Arts, and Music Performance Trust Funds. The 1977 Festival resulted from cooperation among a number of entities; those with overall responsibility included:
Folklife Advisory Council
Wilcomb E. Washburn, Chairman, Roger Abrahams, Richard Ahlborn, Robert H. Byington, Richard Dorson, William Fitzhugh, Lloyd Herman, Robert Laughlin, James Morris, Scott Odell, Bernice Reagon, Ralph Rinzler, E. Richard Sorenson
Folklife Program, Office of American and Folklife Studies
Ralph Rinzler, Director; Robert H. Byington, Deputy Director; Thomas Vennum, Jr., Ethnomusicologist; Susan Kalcik, Ethnic Folklore Specialist; Frank Proschan, Archivist; Steve Zeitlin, Family Folklore Specialist; Jack Santino, Occupational Folklore Specialist; Mike Herter, Documentation Coordinator; Jeffrey LaRiche, Energy Program Coordinator
Division of Performing Arts
James R. Morris, Director; Rosie Lee Hooks, African Diaspora Program Coordinator; African Diaspora Program Cultural Historian, Bernice Reagon; Shirley Cherkasky, Production Coordinator
National Park Service
William Whelan, Director
In addition, persons and bodies responsible for individual programs are identified in the relevant series note.
Fieldworkers, presenters, and curators:
Carl Scheele, William Sturtevant, Scott Odell, Eugene Knez, Nancy Groce, Holly Baker, Amy Kotkin, Karen Peiffer, Paul Wagner, William Foshag, James Leary, Diane Hamilton, Winifred Brendel, Robert Vogel, Richard Ahlborn, Roddy Moore, Chuck Perdue, Peter Row, Arnold Burghardt, Charlotte Heth, William Powers, Elaine Eff, Robert McCarl, Peter Seitel
Shared Stewardship of Collections:
The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage acknowledges and respects the right of artists, performers, Folklife Festival participants, community-based scholars, and knowledge-keepers to collaboratively steward representations of themselves and their intangible cultural heritage in media produced, curated, and distributed by the Center. Making this collection accessible to the public is an ongoing process grounded in the Center's commitment to connecting living people and cultures to the materials this collection represents. To view the Center's full shared stewardship policy, which defines our protocols for addressing collections-related inquiries and concerns, please visit https://doi.org/10.25573/data.21771155.
Forms Part Of:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1977 Festival of American Folklife forms part of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival records .
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: Papers
1967 Festival of American Folklife records - [Ongoing]
Related Archival Materials note:
Within the Rinzler Archives, related materials may be found in various collections such as the Ralph Rinzler papers and recordings, the Lily Spandorf drawings, the Diana Davies photographs, the Robert Yellin photographs, and the Curatorial Research, Programs, and Projects collection. Additional relevant materials may also be found in the Smithsonian Institution Archives concerning the Division of Performing Arts (1966-1983), Folklife Program (1977-1980), Office of Folklife Programs (1980-1991), Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies (1991-1999), Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present), and collaborating Smithsonian units, as well as in the administrative papers of key figures such as the Secretary and respective deputies. Users are encouraged to consult relevant finding aids and to contact Archives staff for further information.
Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
