From Ghana to Niger and beyond, African Fashion is increasingly recognized as a significant component of the cultural, social, economic, and even political expression of contemporary life on the continent and in the diaspora. It is a performance art, a showcase for the work of traditional master artisans, and a spectator sport. The occupations and industries that support African fashion are typically grounded in the traditional knowledge, histories, artistry, and skills of local communities.
As a community-centered cultural heritage enterprise, fashion provides opportunities for people to identify and appreciate the handmade. Crafts of African Fashion is an initiative promoting the continuity of heritage arts by exploring the important role which cultural enterprises play in sustaining communities and connecting generations on the African continent and throughout the diaspora. The Festival program showcased the skills of weavers, dyers, leather workers, designers and tailors in their presentations of African fashion trends and craft production.
Through discussions, demonstrations and workshops, participants explored with visitors the important role cultural enterprises play in sustaining communities and connecting generations of Africans. Following three underlying themes, the local marketplace, transnational and international fashion trends, and the relationships between consumers and producers within a community, artisans lead daily presentations and activities.
Interest in African fashion has come to international attention in the Hollywood blockbuster Black Panther. The film represented emerging global African identities by using Ghanaian adinkra, kente, and other textiles, as well as African clothing styles in their costuming throughout the film. Using this as a departure point, participants explored the role that heritage plays in both the identity and the artisanship of African fashion.
The panoply of African fashion was presented in a series of short films depicting haute couture design studios, pop culture fashion houses, as well as the streets of Soweto. Starting with the creativity and style influenced by the African continent, the program explored the current state and future of African fashion through panel discussions with local, national, and international designers. Visitors learned how textile and adornment artists—weavers, dyers, leather workers, designers—contribute their knowledge, values, skills, and local aesthetics to contemporary global fashion while sustaining time-honored traditions.
PRODUCTION
Curator: Diana Baird N'Diaye
Fashion Project Coordinator: Shay Stevens
Research Fellow: Rebecca Fenton
Katzenberger Art History Intern: Brianne Chapelle
PARTICIPANTS
• Brenda Winstead, Clothing designer
• Chapuchi Bobbo Ahiagble, Ewe weaver
• Cynthia Sands, Textile artisan
• Kibonen, Fashion designer
• Kwasi Asare, Kente cloth weaver
• Soumana Saley, Leather craftsman
Collection 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.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 2018 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Extent:
1 Sound recording (digital audio file)
Type:
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Date:
2013 July 06
Scope and Contents:
Neil, Sharon (jewelry designer); Davies, Marilyn (Urban Runway fashion designer) Weaving for different occasions; demonstration of tools used for weaving; Quechua phrases; alpaca wool
Collection 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.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Extent:
1 Sound recording (compact audio cassette)
Type:
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Date:
2000 August 18
Collection 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.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 2001 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
101 Old Traditions in New Settings: African Gospel in the U.S / Gabriel Osanyingbemi, Layo Ajibade.
102 Work Experience Stories: First Jobs in the U.S / Gihgi, Kanuthia Macharia, Aristide Pereira.
Local Numbers:
FP-1997-CT-0266-7
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:
Recorded in: Washington (D.C.), United States, June 27, 1997.
Restrictions:
Restrictions on access. SI Permission.
Collection 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.
Festival Recordings: Musical storytelling: Moctar Kane, Mamary Diabaté (Ibrahim N'Diaye); Malian Fashion Design: Kandioura Coulibaly, Kletigui Dembélé, Dikouou Diarrah Traoré (Janet Goldner); Growing Up in Mali: Inogo Dolo, Aly Dolo, Ousmane Ganame (Ib...
Collection Creator:
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Extent:
1 Sound recording (compact audio cassette)
Type:
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Date:
2003 July 3
Collection 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.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 2003 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Extent:
1 Sound recording (digital audio file)
Type:
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Date:
2013 June 30
Scope and Contents:
Elaine Nichols; Fana Chisolm (Hair Stylist); Andrene Taylor (community curator / cancer research); Yemaya Jones (Wrap Stylist / fashion designer) Song and dance from Demesh, Transylvania
Collection 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.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
The 2003 Mali program was an invitation to think about Mali and her important place in the wider world. Mali's influence in West Africa and beyond has been felt for centuries. But her regional, continental, and global connections are not just part of the past. The Festival program also demonstrated Malians' ongoing interest in actively forging new links worldwide.
From Timbuktu to Washington evolved over five years, from a wish and an idea to a fully developed and exciting program of musical performances and cultural activities. Planning was enhanced by the previous relationships, both personal and institutional, between the Smithsonian and Malian cultural institutions and was supported by the Malian government and U.S. agencies in Mali. Malian organizers thoughtfully deliberated about what to share with American visitors and determined how Malian culture in all its diversity should be represented.
Traditional music is a vibrant expression of Mali's cultural diversity and wealth. Each ethnic group and region is characterized by certain musical rhythms, instruments, and compositions - a tremendous diversity of which were reflected in the Festival program. Music is involved in all aspects of life, marking birth, work, marriage, religious ceremonies, and death. For the Malian people, music is fundamental and essential to life: it has a precise function and meaning, and it is inextricably linked to a set of doctrines, ideals, beliefs, and practices whose coherence constitutes the identity of each group. Since beliefs about music are often associated with beliefs about the origin of both music and the ethnic group that performs it, the perpetuation of music is a matter of considerable importance.
Malian crafts are a legacy from the past but also very much a part of the present - and the future. People generally think of crafts as the artistic expression of a civilization or culture, but they are much more. Crafts are an important economic resource for Malians, and in 1995 the government adopted a Craft Code to protect and develop craft activity, which the code defined as all basically manual extraction, transformation, or production of goods or services, in metalwork (such as tool-making and appliance repair), woodwork (from carpentry to paper-making), textile and leather work (such as tailoring and tanning), mining and building trades, food processing and preparation (from meat-cutting to milling grain), health and body care (from hairdressing to incense-making), as well as arts. Crafts encompass not only objects used in rituals and traditional ceremonies, but also objects used in daily life - all demonstrated for Festival visitors on the National Mall. Other presentations focused on Malian vernacular architecture, the building arts, and foodways.
Samuel Sidibé, Oumou Dembélé, Zakiyatou Halatine, Sina Maiga, Stephanie Diakité, Modibo Diarra, and Vanessa Adams constituted the Curatorial Board/General Festival Coordination in Mali; Mary Jo Arnoldi and John Franklin were the Curatorial Team; Aboubakar Sanogo was Program Coordinator; and Diana N'Diaye was Fashion Curator. Music and Dance Commission: Kardigué Laico Traoré and N'tji Bagayoko; Craft Commission: Oumou Maiga; Architecture Commission: Alpha Baba Cissé and Boubacar Mady Diallo; Gastronomy Commission: Ami Sow; Communication Commission: Yiriba Samaké; Tourism Commission: Korotimi Théra; Commercial Crafts Commission: Tidiane Hady Kane.
The Mali National Planning Commission included: Dabele Diassana, Chair; Moussa Konaté; Gaoussou Mariko; Abdoulaye Sow; Germaine Samaké Sylla; Demba Kone; Oumou Maiga; Illal; Fatim Kouyaté; Yriba Samaké; and Mamadou Soubounou. A National Advisory Board included: Mossadeck Shada Bally; Alpha Baba Cissé; Ousmane Daou; Idrissa Diakité; Zakiyatou Halatine; Doulaye Konaté; Adam Ba Konaré, co-chair; Fatim Kouyaté; Adama Samessekou; Bintou Sanankuoa; Klena Sanogo; Samuel Sidibé, co-chair; Bakary Soumanou; Ousmane Sow; Djibril Tabouré; Adam Thiam; Barthélémy Togo; and Ibrahim Ag Youssouf.
The program was made possible by a partnership with the Government of Mali (Office of the President; Office of the Prime Minister; Malian National Folklife Festival Commission; Ministry ofTourism and Crafts; Ministry of Culture; Ministry ofWomen, Family, and Youth Affairs; and Ministry of Education), the World Bank, and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Additional supporting organizations included the U.S. Department of State, Africa Society, Corporate Council on Africa, Friends of Mali, Association of Malians, the Peace Corps, Chemonics Inc., and John Snow Inc.
Participants:
PERFORMANCE TRADITIONS
Ali Farka Touré Group, Niafunke -- Ali Farka Touré Group, NiafunkeAli Farka Touré, electric guitar, vocalsOumar Touré, congas, chorus vocalsAli KontaSouleymane Kane, djembéHamadoun BocoumMamadou Kelly
Baba Larab, Gao -- Baba Larab, GaoGuilemikoye M'bara I., 1956-, dancerArawaidou Yacouba, 1959-, guitarSalif Maiga, 1950-, guitarZéinaba Assoutor, 1977-, dancer
Tartit, Kel Antessar -- Tartit, Kel AntessarMohamed Aly Ansar, leaderIssa Amanou, n'goniMohamed Issa Ag Oumar, n'goniIdwal Ag Mohamed, n'goniFatoumata Walett Mohomadoun, dancerTafa Walett Alhousseini, violinFatoumata HaidaraZeinabu Walett Oumar, tende
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.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 2003 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
At first, it might seem like an oxymoron to talk about the "folklore" or "folklife" of one of the world's most modern cities, but daily life in New York would be impossible without this body of shared urban traditions, of collective community knowledge, customs, historical memories, and cultural understandings that constitutes the folklife of the city. lt provides the basic ground rules that shape how New Yorkers interact with their families, their colleagues, and their fellow New Yorkers. From subway etiquette to local street food to stickball games, these traditions give New York City its unique sense of place.
ln addition to a shared urban culture, most New Yorkers also have one or more reservoirs of specialized traditional knowledge, which they have acquired from their ethnic and/or religious upbringing, working in a particular occupation, or living in a specific area of the city. The innumerable, multifaceted ways in which these factors interact are what make New York and New Yorkers so fascinating. Of course, it was impossible to cover all aspects of New York's culture in a single event, but by approaching city culture thematically, and by carefully selecting examples that highlight different aspects of work, life, and leisure in New York, New York City at the Smithsonian sought to acquaint Festival visitors with both the ordinary and extraordinary aspects of life in Gotham.
What gives New York a sense of being different is not merely tbe myriad ethnic and interest groups that are found in the city, but the complex ways in which they overlap and interact. The physical landscape of New York - the lack of space, the reliance on mass transit by people of vastly differing backgrounds, neighborhoods which are home to both the very rich and the extremely poor - makes it impossible for New Yorkers to ignore the influence of "others." From kosher Chinese restaurants to lrish hip-hop groups to Mexican pizzas, cultures from all corners of the globe have influenced one another in New York, in part because of their physical proximity.
The 2001 Smithsonian Folklife Festival celebrated just a few of the innumerable manifestations of traditional culture in New York City. More importantly, fieldwork leading up to the Festival allowed the Smithsonian, working in close collaboration with city-based cultural organizations and ethnic and occupational communities, to document daily life in New York City at the turn of the millennium. Material collected during the course of this research, as well as information recorded during and after the Festival, will significantly enrich the Smithsonian's archival holdings about New York City. A century from now, when scholars and writers want to know what it was like to live in New York in 2001, to work on Broadway, to drive a taxi, to trade stocks on Wall Street, or teach English in a school filled with recent immigrants, they can turn to the documentation collected by this project. That body of documentation - and the recordings and photographs made during the Festival itself - took on increased importance with the events of September 11, 2001, barely three months after the Festival had closed, which emphasized to all observers how the cultural values of New Yorkers, vividly on display to Festival visitors, also provided them a reservoir of resiliency to surmount those tragic events.
Nancy Groce was Senior Curator for the program, supported by several Area Curators: Ray Allen, music; Marion Jacobson, urban fashion; Annie Hauck-Lawson, foodways; Cathy Ragland, music; Ethel Raim, music; Henry Sapoznik, media; Brian Thompson, Wall Street; Kay Turner, Wall Street; and Steve Zeitlin, neighborhood. Arlene Reiniger was Program Coordinator.
An Advisory Committee included: Ruth Abram, Director, Lower East Side Tenement Museum; Gladys Pena Acosta, Director, RAICES; Ray Allen, Director, American Studies Program, Brooklyn College/CUNY; Gage Averill, Chair, Music Department, New York University; Fatima Bercht, Chief Curator, El Museo del Barrio; Melody Capote, Executive Director, Caribbean Culture Center/African Diaspora Institute; Barbara Cohen-Stratyner, Curator, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts; Cara De Silva, Food Historian; Miriam De Uriarte, Director of Education, El Museo del Barrio; Howard Dodson, Director, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture/NYPL; Sharon E. Dunn, Senior Assistant for the Arts, New York City Board of Education; Juan Flores, Professor, Black and Puerto Rican Studies, Hunter College/CUNY; Laura Hansen, Director, Place Matters, Municipal Art Society; John Haworth, Assistant Director, National Museum of the American Indian; Ellie Hisama, Director, Institute for Studies in American Music, Brooklyn College/CUNY; Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Professor, Performance Studies Department, NYU; Leah Krauss, Program Officer, The New York Community Trust; Susana Torruella Leva!, Executive Director, El Museo del Barrio; Robert MacDonald, Executive Director, Museum of the City of New York; Fay Chew Matsuda, Executive Director, Museum of Chinese in the Americas; Ethel Raim, Executive Director, Center for Traditional Music and Dance; Jan Seidler Ramirez, Vice President of Public Affairs, New York Historical Society; Frances A. Resheske, Vice President of Public Affairs, Consolidated Edison Company; Joseph Sciarra, Academic Programs, Calandra Italian American Institute, Queens College; Gabrielle Shubert, Director, New York Transit Museum; Pravina Shukla, Assistant Professor, Folklore Department, Indiana University; John Kuo Wei Tchen, Director, Asian/Pacific/American Studies Program & Institute, NYU; Brian Thompson, Director, Museum of American Financial History; Michael Wallace, Historian and Author, CUNY; Steve Wheeler, Archivist, New York Stock Exchange; Theodora Yoshikami, Multicultural Program, American Museum of Natural History; Steven Zeitlin, Executive Director, City Lore: The Center for Urban Culture.
The program was produced in collaboration with New York's Center for Traditional Music and Dance and City Lore, with major funding from the New York City Council, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Howard P. Milstein, and the New York Stock Exchange. The Leadership Committee was co-chaired by The Honorable Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Elizabeth Moynihan and corporate chairman Howard P. Milstein. Major support was provided by Amtrak, Con Edison, the Recording Industries Music Performance Trust Funds, Arthur Pacheco, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Major contributors included The New York Community Trust, The Coca-Cola Company, The Durst Foundation, the May & Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Leonard Litwin, Bernard Mendik, and Stephen and Judy Gluckstern. Additional donors included Emigrant Savings Bank, Jeffrey Gural, Lester Morse, Richard Schwartz, Michael Bloomberg, Keyspan Energy, Martin Segal, and Earle Mack.
Researchers:
Jerald Albarelli, Ray Allen, Emily Botein, Lori Branston, Kathleen Condon, Martha Cooper, Amanda Dargan, Andrew Davis, Tony DeNonno, Sonia Estreich, Makale Faber, Kwali Farbes, Michael Greene, Laura Hansen, Annie Hauck-Lawson, Marion Jacobson, Denise Lynn, Elena Martinez, Cathy Ragland, Ethel Raim, Henry Sapoznik, Roberta Singer, Les Slater, Scott Spencer, Brian Thompson, Kay Turner, Tom Van Buren, Li Wangsheng, Bill Westerman, Lois Wilken, Steven Zeitlin
Presenters:
Judy Adamson, Ray Allen, Dwight Blocker Bowers, Kathleen Condon, Andrew Davis, James Early, Makale Faber, Juan Flores, Annie Hauck-Lawson, Marion Jacobson, Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Wangsheng Li, Elena Martinez, Cathy Ragland, Ethel Raim, Kristin Richard, Henry Sapoznik, Les Slater, Brian Thompson, Kay Turner, Tom Van Buren, Meg Ventrudo, Cynthia Vidaurri, George Zavala, Steve Zeitlin
Participants:
Arts & Artists
Wilfreda "Bio" Feliciano, muralist, Tats Cru
Hector "Nicer" Nazario, muralist, Tats Cru
Sotero "BG 183" Ortiz, muralist, Tats Cru
Gaspar Ingui, neon sign maker
Robbie Ingui, neon sign maker
Theresa Ingui, neon sign maker
Backstage Broadway
Judy Adamson, costume maker, Barbara Matera
Jarred Aswegan, costume maker, Barbara Matera
Gary Brouwer, theatrical milliner
Kimberly Cea, actress
Edie Cowan, director, choreographer
Brian Healy, prop maker, armorer, Costume Armour
Bob Kelly, wig maker, make-up artist
Polly Kinney, costume maker, Barbara Matera
Janice Lorraine, actress
Terry Marone, Gypsy Robe, Actors' Equity
Barbara Matera, costume maker
Nino Novel lino, prop maker, Costume Armour
Peter Ray, prop maker, Costume Armour
Woody Regan, rehearsal pianist
Linda Rice, wig maker, Bob Kelly
Tom Rocco, actor
Tom Schneider, theatrical milliner
Scott Sliger, make-up artist, Bob Kelly
Josephine Spano, costume maker, Barbara Matera
Patricia Sullivan, costume maker, Barbara Matera
Brian Wolfe, prop maker, Costume Armour
Leslie Wolfe, prop maker, Costume Armour
Building Trades
George Andrucki, sheet metal worker, Local 28
Stan Bernstein, sheet metal worker, Local 28
William Bush, water tank builder
Adonis Cegisman, water tank builder
Ryszard Danielewski, water tank builder
John DeGeorge, water tank builder
Robin Delk, sheet metal worker, Local 28
Nicholas Maldarelli, sheet metal worker, Local 28
Leah Rambo, sheet metal worker, Local 28
Andrew Rosenwach, water tank builder
Thomas Schlitz, sheet metal worker, Local 28
George Treanor, sheet metal worker, Local 28
Arthur Tyburski, sheet metal worker, Local 28
Urban Fashion & Garment Industry
Britt Bowers, window display and design, Fashion Institute of Technology
Vanessa Burgos, needle trade worker, Garment Industry Development Corporation
Lidia Carrera, needle trade worker, UNITE! Local 23-25
Esther Cheung, needle trade worker, Garment Industry Development Corporation
Mary Costantini, mannequin sculptor
Linda Dworak, director, Garment Industry Development Corporation
Shiniji Horimura, window display and design, Fashion Institute of Technology
Elizabeth Jacobsen, window display and design, Fashion Institute of Technology
Anne Kong, window display and design, Fashion Institute of Technology
Anne Liu, needle trade worker, Garment Industry Development Corporation
Nicole Mata, window display and design, Fashion Institute of Technology
Adrienne Muken, window display and design, Fashion Institute of Technology
Ana Perez, needle trade worker, Garment Industry Development Corporation
Ramon Roman, window display and design, Fashion Institute of Technology
Isabel Toledo, fashion designer
Ruben Toledo, fashion designer
Monica Williamson, window display and design, Fashion Institute of Technology
May Xian, needle trade worker, Garment Industry Development Corporation
APOLLO THEATRE, AMATEUR NIGHT AT THE APOLLO -- APOLLO THEATRE, AMATEUR NIGHT AT THE APOLLOVanessa Brown, Amateur Night assistantJoseph Gray, lead vocalsJane Harley, Kemet ProductionsMonteria Ivey, hostSteve Jones, production managerC.P. Lacey, The ExecutionerShirley Matthews, coordinating producerMoni-J, hostessDavid Rodriguez, executive director
RAY CHEW & THE CREW -- RAY CHEW & THE CREWRay Chew, musical directorMike Ciro, guitarBobby Douglas, keyboardArtie Reynolds, bassRalph Rolle, drums
CHERISH THE LADIES -- CHERISH THE LADIESSean Conner, step dancerDeirdre Connolly, tin whistle, vocalsMary Coogan, guitar, banjo, mandolinKatie Fox, step dancerDonna Long, piano, fiddleJoanie Madden, director, tin whistle, flute, vocalsPaul McKeown, sound engineerMary Rafferty, accordion, tin whistleMarie Reilly, fiddle
DAVID DAVID -- DAVID DAVIDLauterio Polanco, director, lead vocals, accordionAdriel Espaillat, guieraAdelso Fernandez, bajoKenny Fernandez, tamboraMenecio Martinez, pianoHector Mota, saxophoneFernando Rodreguez, conga
FRISNER AUGUSTIN AND LA TROUPE MAKANDAL -- FRISNER AUGUSTIN AND LA TROUPE MAKANDALFrisner Augustin, 1948-2012, lead drums, vocalsRaymond Charles, third drumSteve Deats, second drumSmith Destin, dancerKethelyne Jean-Louis, dancerKesler Pierre, percussionSandy St. Cyr, dancer
HANGUK: SOUNDS OF KOREA (KOREAN TRADITIONAL PERFORMING ARTS ASSOCIATION) -- HANGUK: SOUNDS OF KOREA (KOREAN TRADITIONAL PERFORMING ARTS ASSOCIATION)Gee Soak Back, percussionHyung Joan Kim, percussionChii-Seung Kwon, percussionJi-Young Park, dancer, percussionSue Yeon Park, dancer, percussionKathy Soh, dancer, percussionMaggie Soh, percussion
LOS AFORTUNADOS -- LOS AFORTUNADOSFelix Sanabria, director, congas, bata, percussionFrancisco Cotto, bassPedro Domeich, dancer, vocalsAlbert Lusink, trumpetAbraham Rodriguez, vocals, percussionMichael Rodriguez, percussionBrandon Rosser, percussionSusan Richardson Sanabria, dancerAdam Tully, tres guitar
LOS MACONDOS -- LOS MACONDOSJorge L. Marquez, bajoEugenio R. Ortega, accordion, lead vocalsJuan A. Ortega, caja vallenata, vocalsDavid Pacheco, timbalesGuillermo E. Penate, guieroMario A. Rodriguez, congas
LOS PLENEROS DE LA 21 -- LOS PLENEROS DE LA 21Juan J. Gutierrez, leader, tamboreroAlberto Cepeda, güiro, tamboreroRoberto Cepeda, vocals, bailador de bomba, güiro, maraca, tamboreroJose Lantigua, keyboardHector Matos, vocals, tamboreroEdgardo Miranda, cuatroDonald Nicks, bassJose Rivera, vocals, tamboreroDomingo Tanco, vocalsNellie Tanco, vocals, bailadora de bomba, tamboreraVictor Velez, vocals, tamborero
MUKTHAMBAR FINE ARTS, INC. -- MUKTHAMBAR FINE ARTS, INC.A. Balaskandan, violinBala Ganesh, mrudangist (Asian Indian drum)Aarati Ramanand, dancerSaavitri Ramanand, vocals
MUSIC FROM CHINA -- MUSIC FROM CHINASusan Cheng, director, daruanChung Bun Chiu, percussionWai Wah Law, vocalsGao Renyang, dizi, xiaoGuowei Wang, erhu, zhong hu, daohuTienjou Wang, gou hu, zhong huHerman Wong, concert managerMin Xiaofen, pipaHelen Yee, yang qinYing Ying Zhu, vocals
SAU FAMILY ORCHESTRA -- SAU FAMILY ORCHESTRAZoran Muncan, keyboardErnie Sau, button accordionMichael Sau, button accordionVinnie Sau, violin
SHASHMAQAM BUKHARAN JEWISH CULTURAL GROUP -- SHASHMAQAM BUKHARAN JEWISH CULTURAL GROUPAbokhay Aminov, vocals, doyra (drum)Tavriz Aronova, ensemble memberDavid Davidov, tarFiruza Junatan, dancerShumiel Kuyenov, doyra (drum)Boris Kuknariyev, accordionIzro Malakov, vocals
SIMON SHAHEEN & QANTARA -- SIMON SHAHEEN & QANTARASimon Shaheen, director, oud, violinOlga Chirino, keyboardsBilly Drewes, soprano saxJamie Haddad, world percussionFrancois Moutin, contrabassAdam Rogers, acoustic and electric guitarBassam Saba, flute, naiLuis Santiago, Latin percussionNajib Shaheen, oudSteve Sheehan, world percussionSoraya, vocalsMartin Zarzar, world percussion
SON MUNDANO -- SON MUNDANOBobby Allende, bongosJimmy Bosch, 1962-, tromboneNelson Gonzalez, Cuban tresNelson Gonzalez, Jr., lead vocalsOscar Hernandez, electric pianoRene Lopez, Jr., congasLuis Rosa, vocalsJoe Santiago, upright bass
VISION BAND
X-ECUTIONERS -- X-ECUTIONERSD.J. AngolaTotal EclipsePeter KangRoc RaiderMista SinistaRob Swift
Neighborhood & Community Life -- Neighborhood & Community LifeLori Brandston, urban sports and gamesSam Chwat, speech therapist, dialect coachMichael E. Clark, Citizens Committee for New York CitySonia Estreich, Citizens Committee for New York CityMichael Greene, urban sports and gamesLaura Hansen, Place Matters, Municipal Art SocietyRoberta Jones, storytellerJessica Katz, Citizens Committee for New York CityAnnie Lanzilloto, storyteller, performance artistMoe Maloney, community activist, "Mayor of Windsor Terrace"Rosalyn Perry, storytellerLiz Sevcenko, Memory Map, Lower East Side Tenement Museum
Charles Sachs, Sr., curator, New York Transit Museum
Gabrielle Shubert, director, New York Transit Museum
Mark Watson, New York Transit Museum
Wall Street
Richard Anderson, Jr., stock market investor, speaker
Richard Anderson, Sr., stock market investor, analyst
Richard Baratz, caricaturist, stock certificate engraver, American Bank Note Company
Madeline Boyd, trader, New York Stock Exchange
Victoria Chukwuka, New York Metro Coordinator, Stock Market Game
Joseph Cicchetti, trader, New York Mercantile Exchange
Anthony DeMarco, trader, New York Board of Trade
Joe Gabriel, engineer, plant manager, New York Stock Exchange
Michael Geoghan, clerk, New York Mercantile Exchange
John E. Herzog, founder, Museum of American Financial History
Scott Hess, trader, New York Mercantile Exchange
Myron Kandel, senior financial editor, CNN
Michael LaBranche, specialist, New York Stock Exchange
Gary Lapayover, trader, New York Mercantile Exchange
Michel Mark, New York Mercantile Exchange
Mark Tomasko, financial printer, engraving historian
Nancy Norton Tomasko, financial printer
Steve Wheeler, archivist, New York Stock Exchange
Jason Zweig, columnist, -- Money -- Magazine
Generations: a centennial tribute to Margaret Mead
THE FLOWERS FAMILY SINGERS -- THE FLOWERS FAMILY SINGERSRev. James N. Flowers, Jr., director, vocals, Ft. Washington, MarylandAnthony Flowers, vocals, keyboard, Seat Pleasant, MarylandYolanda Flowers, vocals, Capital Heights, MarylandMarie Hickson, vocals, Capital Heights, MarylandDorothy McDowell, vocals, Upper Marlboro, MarylandMargie Pickett, vocals, Landover, MarylandErma Reed, vocals, Landover, MarylandMildred Scruggs, vocals, Capital Heights, Maryland
WALKER CALHOUN AND THE RAVEN ROCK DANCERS -- WALKER CALHOUN AND THE RAVEN ROCK DANCERSWalker Calhoun, director, vocals, drum, rattle, Cherokee, North CarolinaAndrew Calhoun, dancer, Cherokee, North CarolinaJennifer Calhoun, dancer, Cherokee, North CarolinaChris Mahan, dancer, Cherokee, North CarolinaVelma Mahan, dancer, Cherokee, North CarolinaDelana Smith, dancer, Cherokee, North CarolinaPatrick Smith, dancer, vocals, Cherokee, North Carolina
THE SAU FAMILY ORCHESTRA, RIDGEWOOD, QUEENS, NEW YORK -- THE SAU FAMILY ORCHESTRA, RIDGEWOOD, QUEENS, NEW YORKZoran Muncan, keyboard, Ridgewood, Queens, New YorkAksenti Sau, piano accordion, Ridgewood, Queens, New YorkErnie Sau, button accordion, Ridgewood, Queens, New YorkMichael Sau, button accordion, Ridgewood, Queens, New YorkNikica Sau, keyboard, Ridgewood, Queens, New YorkVinnie Sau, violin, Ridgewood, Queens, New York
Collection 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.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 2001 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Extent:
1 Sound recording (digital audio file)
Type:
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Date:
2013 June 30
Scope and Contents:
Diane N'Diaye; Zarinah Shakir (African Historian / Professor) ; Models; Lubna Muhammad (Fashion Designer) Transylvanian sing along and dance
Collection 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.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity
Collection Creator:
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
The creative traditions of dress and body arts among people of African descent in the United States reveal continuities of ideas, values, skills, and knowledge rooted in the African continent and in the American experience. They have been shaped by identities born of African heritage; legacies of bondage and resistance; and encounters and alliances between people of African descent, indigenous Americans, Europeans, and more recent African and Caribbean diasporas. They may reflect, for example, shared experiences of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements; group commitments to faith; and the politics of gender.
African Americans "belong" to many communities variously defined by ethnic, class, gender and gender orientation, regional, religious, political, cultural, and other affiliations that exist in complex interrelationship with each other. Accordingly, there is no single African American aesthetic of dress; there are many aesthetics that at times overlap, intertwine, and are juxtaposed in visual dialogues defining difference and belonging.
Style, the art of dress and personal adornment, is a powerful way to assert complex identities, announce solidarity with a cause, proclaim music and dance preferences, uphold cultural pride, and declare belief in a set of religious and moral principles. In all its glorious diversity, African American style is as local as the barbershop on the corner and as global as the influence of hip hop dress culture among young people from Japan to South Africa. The 2013 Festival celebrated the communities, artisans, and exemplars of style who contribute to this distinctive, expressive art form and their creative approaches, processes, and performances.
The Will to Adorn Festival program was part of a multi-year collaborative cultural research and community engagement project initiated by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. The project brought together faculty and students at historically (and predominantly) African American colleges and universities, museum and independent scholars, community and student researchers, educators, and cultural practitioners to document and present the wearable art traditions of African Americans from diverse regional, ethnic, occupational, faith, and ideology-based communities. This research focused on urban style centers - Atlanta, metropolitan Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, New Orleans, New York, St. Croix and St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and most recently Oakland, California. The project identified and represented a range of traditions of dress and body arts of Americans of African descent across the United States. At the 2013 Festival, this work was highlighted at the Research Tent, where, as part of the Smithsonian's Will to Adorn Youth Access project, teen researchers worked with visitors to create their own sartorial (dress) autobiographies.
Diana Baird N'Diaye was Program Curator, with a Curatorial Team including Olivia Cadaval, Elaine Nichols, and Debora Mack; Sally A. Van de Water was Program Coordinator. Advisors included: Harold Anderson, Mary Jo Arnoldi, Jade D. Banks, Rachel Delgado-Simmons, Tina Dunkley, James Early, Jessica Harris, Monte Oyd Harris, Christine Kreamer, Marsha MacDowell, Maurita Poole, Mark Puryear, Deborah Richardson, Gwendolyn K. Robinson, Pamela Rogers, Nicole Shivers, Pravina Shukla, Deborah Smith-Pollard, Gabrielle Tayac, Patricia Turner, Mary Arnold Twining Baird, and Deborah Willis.
The program was produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and supported by Smithsonian Institution funds from the Youth Access Grants Program, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and other Smithsonian fund sources. It was also supported by AARP. Major in-kind support came from the Smithsonian Office of Mobile Technology, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Museum of African Art, the Center for Aesthetic Modernism, Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, Bowie State University, Frank McClarin High School, University of the District of Columbia, University of Michigan, University of California-Los Angeles, Michigan State University, Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, and Mind-Builders Creative Arts Center. Research for the program was funded by the Craft Research Fund, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Smithsonian Scholarly Studies, Smithsonian Institution Consortium for Understanding the American Experience and Consortium for World Cultures, and the Virgin Islands Council on the Arts.
Researchers:
Maurita Poole and Spelman College students, Deborah Robinson and McClarin High School Video Production Program, Atlanta researchers; Althea Grey McKenzie, Baltimore researcher; Gwendolyn Robinson, Chicago researcher; Simone Forde, Deborah Smith Pollard, Detroit researchers; Diana Briggs, Malik Stevenson, New Orleans researchers; Jade D. Banks, Madaha Kinsey Lamb, and students of the Beverly Robinson Folk Arts Internship Program, Mind-Builders Creative Arts, New York City researchers; Shukuru Sanders, Oakland researcher; Harold Anderson and students at Bowie State University and Goucher College, Camila Bryce-LaPorte and students, Katherine Hockey, Mark Puryear, James Robinson, Washington, D.C., researchers; Sally A. Van de Water, Januwa Moja, Jade D. Banks, Betty Mahoney, U.S. Virgin Islands researchers; Camila Bryce LaPorte, Olivia Smith-Elnaggar, Deborah Smith Pollard, communities of faith researchers; Rachel Delgado-Simmons, Gabrielle Tayac, Native/African American communities researchers; Keisha Martin, on-line communities of style researcher
Presenters:
Kimberly Brown, Camila Bryce-LaPorte, James Early, Allison J. Hamilton, Elaine Nichols, Mark Puryear, Gwendolyn Robinson, Olivia Smith-Elnaggar, Gabrielle Tayac, Patricia Turner, Derrick Washington
Rosemary Reed Miller, historian and entrepreneur, Washington, D.C.
Lubna Muhammad, 1955-, fashion designer, Pennsauken, New Jersey
Betty Keckley Stratford, family historian, Washington, D.C.
Takoma Park Baptist Church, style exemplars, Takoma Park, Maryland
RESEARCH TENT
Jade Banks, director, Dr. Beverly J. Robinson Community Folk Culture Program, Mind-Builders Creative Arts Center, New York, New York
Monte Oyd Harris, 1966-, Maryland, plastic surgeon, Chevy Chase, Maryland
Yemaya Jones, 1949-, resist dyer, Frederiksted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
James Pogue, 1993-, Frank McClarin High School student researcher, Atlanta Georgia
Darius Smith, 1993-, Frank McClarin High School student researcher, Atlanta Georgia
Geena Paige Mignon, genealogist, African ancestry
Edmund Asante, 1993-, Mind-Builders student researcher, Bronx, New York
Katherine Blanco, 1995-, Mind-Builders student researcher, Bronx, New York
Marlon Carter, Mind-Builders student researcher
Chennell Christopher, 1984-, Mind-Builders student researcher, Bronx, New York
Phylicia Martin, Mind-Builders student researcher
Debra Robinson, 1953-, videographer, educator, Frank McClarin High School, Atlanta, Georgia
Andrene M. Taylor, 1978-, health activist, CEO of Zuriworks for Women's Health, Washington, D.C.
Collection 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.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Extent:
1 Sound recording (compact audio cassette)
Type:
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Date:
2005 June 27
Collection 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.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 2005 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
