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 1984 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 4 series.
Series 1: Program Books, Festival Publications, and Ephemera
Series 2: Alaska
Series 3: Black Urban Expressive Culture from Philadelphia
Series 4: The Grand Generation
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 1984 Festival of American Folklife was produced by the Smithsonian Office of Folklife Programs and cosponsored by the National Park Service.
For more information, see Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.
Introduction:
The 1984 Festival took place for two five-day weeks (June 27-July 1 and July 4-8) between Madison Drive and Jefferson Drive and between 12th Street and 14th Street, south of the National Museum of American History (see site plan).
In the Festival Program Book, its new Co-Directors, Diana Parker and Peter Seitel, took note that 1984 marked a change in Festival administration, noteworthy not because of any change in goals or policies, but because the transition provided the opportunity to recall publicly that it was Ralph Rinzler who began the Festival in 1967 and directed it until 1983 when he became the Institution's Assistant Secretary for Public Service. It was Rinzler who devised the model for scholarly research, planning, and production that made the Festival unique and worthy of emulation by other folklife festival planners around the Nation. He also created an environment in which innovation was enouraged, and cross-fertilization of ideas led to healthy growth. This steady development in the cultural ideas presented in the Festival, Parker and Seitel concluded, had happened under Rinzler's careful supervision and with his guidance at important turning points.
The 1984 Festival included three thematic programs, each of which included a substantial foodways component. Charles Camp served as Foodways Program Coordinator, with Joan Nathan as Consultant and Fieldworker, and Charles Camp, Tim Lloyd, and Phyllis May as Presenters.
The 1984 Program Book provides information on each of the programs.
The 1984 Festival was co-presented by the Smithsonian Institution and National Park Service. It was organized by the Office of Folklife Programs.
Folklife Advisory Council
Wilcomb E. Washburn, Chairman, Roger Abrahams, Richard Ahlborn, William Fitzhugh, Lloyd Herman, Robert Laughlin, Scott Odell, Ralph Rinzler, Peter Seitel, Thomas Vennum, Jr.
Office of Folklife Programs
Peter Seitel, Director and Festival Co-Director; Diana Parker, Festival Co-Director; Thomas Vennum, Senior Ethnomusicologist; Marjorie Hunt, Folklorist; Kazadi wa Mukuna, Ethnomusicologist; Richard Derbyshire, Archivist
National Park Service
Russell E. Dickenson, Director; Manus J. Fish, Jr., Regional Director, National Capital Region
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: 1984 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.
