106.32 Cubic feet (87.5 cubic feet of papers, 18.82 cubic feet of audio)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Field recordings
Correspondence
Phonograph records
Notes
Business records
Audiocassettes
Photographic prints
Black-and-white negatives
Audiotapes
Date:
1890-2011
bulk 1950-1994
Summary:
This collection, with bulk dates from 1950-1994, documents the life of Ralph Rinzler and his professional activities as Director of Field Programs for the Newport Folk Festival, Director of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival (formerly the Festival of American Folklife) and the Office of Folklife Programs (now the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage), and the Smithsonian Institution's Assistant Secretary for Public Service. Includes personal papers, business records, correspondence, notes, photographs, audiotapes and field recordings.
Scope and Contents:
The Ralph Rinzler Papers and Audio Recordings encompasses a wide range of materials from Rinzler's prolific personal and professional life. Predominantly consisting of clippings, collected texts, correspondence, meeting notes, photographs, and production materials, this collection charts Rinzler's role in the mid-twentieth century emergence of community-based and institutional efforts to preserve, sustain, and amplify cultural heritage. As an assemblage of materials from all aspects of his life, the Ralph Rinzler Papers also reflect the many integral relationships he developed throughout the years with his colleagues, contemporaries, family, and friends.
Arrangement note:
The collection is currently arranged in 9 archival series as follows:
1. Biographical
2. Collected Texts
3. Correspondence
4. Events
5. Fieldwork
6. Meetings and Organizations
7. Notable Figures
8. Publishing and Production
9. Audio
The papers and photographs contained in the first 8 series are processed at an intermediate level, which means that all material was rehoused in archival folders, with folder-level arrangements and descriptions. Individual items within folders may not be fully arranged or described, due to the collection's level of complexity when it was deposited in the Archives.
When possible, folders were arranged alphabetically within series and subseries.
Biographical/Historical note:
Ralph Rinzler (1934-1994) was born in Passaic, New Jersey, and was interested in music at an early age. He was given a collection of ethnographic recordings from the Archive of Folk Song of the Library of Congress by his uncle, Harvard University ballad scholar George Lyman Kittredge, and they soon became his favorites. He became actively involved in the Folk Revival while attending Swarthmore College, organizing an annual festival on campus. He received his B.A. in 1956, and did graduate work at Middlebury College and the Sorbonne in French literature and language. Upon his return to the United States, he played mandolin for four years with the Greenbriar Boys, at times touring with singer Joan Baez. During the 1960s, he also studied, recorded, and worked with performers of traditional music, such as Doc Watson and Bill Monroe, both of whom gained international recognition in part through his efforts. In 1964, Rinzler accepted the position of Director of Field Programs at the Newport Folk Foundation, which involved the planning and programming of the Newport Folk Festival.
Rinzler came to the Smithsonian in 1967 as co-founder of the Festival of American Folklife (now the Smithsonian Folklife Festival) with James Morris in what was then the Smithsonian's Division of Performing Arts. After the 1976 Bicentennial Festival, Rinzler became the founding director of the Office of Folklife Programs (now the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage) to establish a center for research, publication, and presentation of programs in American culture and tradition. As Director, he initiated Smithsonian Folklife Studies, a publication series, and did research for the Celebration exhibit, which opened at the Renwick Gallery in 1982. Rinzler was appointed Assistant Secretary for Public Service in 1983 and Assistant Secretary Emeritus in 1990. Ralph Rinzler died on July 2, 1994.
Shared Stewardship:
Making this collection accessible to the public is an ongoing process, tethered to the living people and cultures its materials represent. 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.
To view the Center's full shared stewardship statement, please visit https://folklife.si.edu/archives#shared-stewardship.
Provenance:
The materials in this collection were deposited into the archives of the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage over a number of years by Ralph Rinzler, Kate Rinzler, and Jeff Place in honor of the aforementioned. From the 1980s until Ralph Rinzler's passing in 1994, the Center received the majority of the audio tapes and photographs in this collection directly from Rinzler. With Rinzler's death in 1994, Jeff Place reviewed and deposited the majority of Rinzler's papers at the Center.
Until her passing in 2011, Kate Rinzler donated materials to this collection, with more continuing to arrive via her estate (as of May 2021). Many of these items were rehoused in the Kate Rinzler Papers.
Restrictions:
Large portions of this collection are digitized, and while these materials are being prepared for public access through this finding aid, researchers can request digital copies by contacting the Rinzler Archives at rinzlerarchives@si.edu or (202) 633-7322.
Rights:
Copyright restrictions apply. Contact archives staff for information.
File consists of rolodex cards, correspondence regarding Irish culture and Armenian, Arab and Japanese musicians, Urban Folklife Studies or How to Use the Washington Telephone Book by Forrest W. Meader, Jr. Correspondents include: Forrest W Meader, Jr., John A. K. Donovan, Ralph Rinzler.
Collection Restrictions:
Large portions of this collection are digitized, and while these materials are being prepared for public access through this finding aid, researchers can request digital copies by contacting the Rinzler Archives at rinzlerarchives@si.edu or (202) 633-7322.
Collection Rights:
Copyright restrictions apply. Contact archives staff for information.
Collection Citation:
Ralph Rinzler papers and audio recordings, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
File consists of "The Meaders Family: North Georgia Potters", Smithsonian Folklife Studies Number 1.
Collection Restrictions:
Large portions of this collection are digitized, and while these materials are being prepared for public access through this finding aid, researchers can request digital copies by contacting the Rinzler Archives at rinzlerarchives@si.edu or (202) 633-7322.
Collection Rights:
Copyright restrictions apply. Contact archives staff for information.
Collection Citation:
Ralph Rinzler papers and audio recordings, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
File consists of Working Americans: Contemporary Approaches to Occupational Folklife edited by Robert H. Byington and reprinted as Smithsonian Folklife Studies Number 3 from Western Folklore (Volume 37, Number 3), published by the California Folklore Society. Authors include: Robert S. McCarl Jr., Roger D. Abrahams, Robert H. Byington, Jack Santino, Archie Green. Inscribed "Ralph Rinzler Jan. 1979".
Collection Restrictions:
Large portions of this collection are digitized, and while these materials are being prepared for public access through this finding aid, researchers can request digital copies by contacting the Rinzler Archives at rinzlerarchives@si.edu or (202) 633-7322.
Collection Rights:
Copyright restrictions apply. Contact archives staff for information.
Collection Citation:
Ralph Rinzler papers and audio recordings, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
The first in what later became a series of annual tributes to Festival founding director Ralph Rinzler featured two of his earliest collaborators in the folk revival - Pete Seeger and Mike Seeger - as well as Piedmont blues from the duo of John Cephas and Phil Wiggins and African American music of the Appalachians from Ed Cabbell and Melissa Cabbell.
Other special evening concerts provided a preview of an ongoing project concerning African immigrant communities in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. While many recent African immigrant communities shared some social characteristics with each other, with others of the African diaspora, and with immigrant groups in general, they also varied considerably in size, in the length of time they had been in the United States, and in the circumstances that brought them to this country. Some individuals came with scholarships to American universities; others fled oppressive political situations with "only the shirt on their backs," as one Ethiopian educator and cab driver explains.
In the process of building community life in the United States, African-born immigrants in America in the 1990s were creating new and unique forms of expressive culture patterned after but not identical to African forms; they actively and explicitly used the language of tradition - ways of cooking food, of dressing, of dancing - to define themselves as Africans, in the context of the United States, to each other and to the world.
Fieldwork by the project team - primarily constituted of community-based scholars - during the project's first year hinted at the richness of the material available: from Ghanaian drumming to Zairian soukous music; from Nigerian jollof rice to Ethiopian coffee ceremonies; from Senegalese hair-braiding to Somalian women's songs; from South African poetry of invocation to personal experience stories of immigrants' first encounters with American culture. The African Immigrant Study Group hoped that the activities at the 1995 Festival as well as the full program in 1997 would make their cultures more accessible and more valued as an important part of the Washington area's cultural heritage.
Emily Botein was Program Coordinator for the evening programs and special events. The African Immigrant Folklife Study Project was directed by Diana Baird N'Diaye, with Betty Belanus serving as Education Specialist, Roland Freeman as Fieldwork Photography Advisor, and Sulayman Nyang as Head Advisor. Project Advisors included Mary Jo Arnoldi, Hayelom Ayele, Laura Bigman, Camilla Bryce-Laporte, Roy Bryce-Laporte, Olivia Cadaval, Roland Freeman, Philippa Jackson, Portia James, Niani Kilkenny, Michael Licht, Phyllis May-Machunda, Deborah Mack, Sharon Rienken, Beverly Robinson, Fath Ruffins, Peter Seitel, and Addisu Tolesa.
THE VOLTA ENSEMBLE, GHANAIAN (EWE) COMMUNITY -- THE VOLTA ENSEMBLE, GHANAIAN (EWE) COMMUNITYAdult performersGodwin AgodoRad AkoriiJosephine AkuDavid Aku, Sr.William AyensonEric AzumaEvelyn AzumaFelly BlegeNana BlegeKenzie DamankeWilliam DzathorKwame Koffle-LartSteve NashGeorgina NuwameEmmanual SawyerGladys VodiChild performersDela AgodoEmefa AgodoGamell AgodoSesime AgodoCynthia AkuDavid Aku, Jr.Amanda AzumaSefe AzumaSelom AzumaEnyonam BlegeEyram BlegeSitsofe BlegeAlexandra NuwamePascal NuwameSharon NuwameAfi VodiMawuii Vodi
THE NILE ETHIOPIAN ENSEMBLE, ETHIOPIAN COMMUNITY -- THE NILE ETHIOPIAN ENSEMBLE, ETHIOPIAN COMMUNITYSetagne Atena, masinko (one-stringed fiddle)Abebe Belew, kebero drumsAlmaz Getahun, danceAshenafi Miteku, danceSelamawit Nega, vocalsAsaye Zegeye, kraar (six stringed lyre)
SOUKOUS
PAPA LOUIS AND LIZIBA, CENTRAL AFRICAN COMMUNITY -- PAPA LOUIS AND LIZIBA, CENTRAL AFRICAN COMMUNITYPapa Louis, lead guitarJoselito De Kashama, vocals"Stick" Malowdo, drumsMartino, guitarGelo De Mingongo, vocalsWilly Naweza, vocals"Petit" Sammy, atalakuZino "Synthe", keyboards
THE SENEGALESE SUPPORT SOCIETY AND GAMBIAN ASSOCIATION -- THE SENEGALESE SUPPORT SOCIETY AND GAMBIAN ASSOCIATIONAwa Ba, danceMariama Diop, danceMagatte fall, talking drumMare Gueye, ndere drumIdrissa Gueye, mbeung-mbeung drumBara Mboup, lamb drumCheikh Tahirou MBaye, ndere drumMame Khoudia Niang, danceSophie Sar, danceHaddy Mu Ndow Sekka, dance
BASOTHO PRAISE POETRY
LESOTHO-SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNITY -- LESOTHO-SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNITYMike Mvelase, poet
NORTH AFRICAN
THE NORTH AFRICAN REGION ENSEMBLE -- THE NORTH AFRICAN REGION ENSEMBLEMohamed Habibi, luteSayed Ismeal, oud, group leaderAdel Al Khadi, violinKhalid, DrumMahmoud Tutu, niy flute
NGONJERA (POETIC CONVERSATION)
THE ASSOCIATION OF TANZANIAN COMMUNITY IN AMERICA -- THE ASSOCIATION OF TANZANIAN COMMUNITY IN AMERICAEmanuel Bandawe, performerJessica Kamala Mushala, performerPrimrose Mushala, performerMartin Ngireu, writerGeorge Sebo, performer
PRAISE POETRY INVOCATION, CELEBRATORY DANCE, NIGERIAN COMMUNITY
IGBO POETRY OF INVOCATION, THE ANIOMA ASSOCIATION -- IGBO POETRY OF INVOCATION, THE ANIOMA ASSOCIATIONAugustine Nwabueze, president, responseTony Dunkwu, responseFidelis Iwugo, responseGeorge Nwabuku, responseFlorence Nwaonye, responseSonny Obidi, responseChief Raphael Ogbolu, invocationKunirum Osia, responseMr. & Mrs. Elias Uwandi, response
EWI (YORUBA PRAISE POETRY)
Abiodun Adepoju, poetry
Kemi Oriowo, dance
Tayo Oriowo, talking drum
CELEBRATORY DANCE
THE AKWA IBOM STATE ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA -- THE AKWA IBOM STATE ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIAFrank Akanem, presidentJustina Ikpim, vice presidentElizabeth Akanem, danceFlorence Inwang, danceHelen Inwang, danceEdemekong Isema, drumIbok Isema, drumSamuel Isema, drumWilson Oduk, drumEno Okon, danceGodwin Udo, drumRose Williams, dance
PAN-AFRICAN IMMIGRANT GOSPEL MUSIC
MIXED CHOIR OF THE CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD -- MIXED CHOIR OF THE CHURCH OF THE LIVING GODLeslie Hawkins, senior choir directorSamuel Gyermah, junior choir directorSamuef Agyepong-Mensah, band leader, lead guitaristJuliana Agyepong-Mensah, lead vocalsSamuel Jr. Agyepong-Mensah, bass guitarNana Busia, alto vocalsYau Cann, congasErnest Frimpong, congasKwabena Larbi, drumsInnocent Onyeanusi, drums, bass guitar
A Tribute to Ralph Rinzler: July 2nd Evening Concert
Ed Cabbell, vocals, Morgantown, West Virginia
Melissa Cabbell, vocals, Tahens, West Virginia
John Cephas, vocals, guitar, Woodford, Virginia
Phil Wiggins, harmonica, Washington, D.C.
Mike Seeger, vocals, guitar, banjo, autoharp, Lexington, Virginia
Pete Seeger, vocals, banjo, guitar, Beacon, New York
Collection Restrictions:
Access by appointment only. Where a listening copy or viewing copy has been created, this is indicated in the respective inventory; additional materials may be accessible with sufficient advance notice and, in some cases, payment of a processing fee. Older papers are housed at a remote location and may require a minimum of three weeks' advance notice and payment of a retrieval fee. Certain formats such as multi-track audio recordings and EIAJ-1 videoreels (1/2 inch) may not be accessible. Contact the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections at 202-633-7322 or rinzlerarchives@si.edu for additional information.
Collection Rights:
Copyright and other restrictions may apply. Generally, materials created during a Festival are covered by a release signed by each participant permitting their use for personal and educational purposes; materials created as part of the fieldwork leading to a Festival may be more restricted. We permit and encourage such personal and educational use of those materials provided digitally here, without special permissions. Use of any materials for publication, commercial use, or distribution requires a license from the Archives. Licensing fees may apply in addition to any processing fees.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1995 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
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 1980 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 7 series.
Series 1: Program Books, Festival Publications, and Ephemera
Series 2: American Talkers
Series 3: Caribbean Americans
Series 4: Community Activities and Food Preservation
Series 5: Finnish Americans
Series 6: Folk Housing and Energy Efficiency
Series 7: Southeast Asian Americans
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 1980 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 1980 Festival was the third to use "community" as its over-arching theme, and the last to be held in October. As with recent Festivals, it was held on a site on 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). It was also the first to be organized by the newly-established Office of Folklife Programs (1980-1992), successor to the former Folklife Program of the Office of American and Folklife Studies (1977-1980). The indoor programming in several museums that had characterized the 1977-1979 Festivals was discontinued and all activities were held outdoors.
When families and community groups gather to celebrate or to mourn, Festival Director Ralph Rinzler observed in the program book, they depend on traditional flavors, sounds, dances, and prayers to reinforce their sense of belonging, their group strength and cultural identity. At the annual Folklife Festival, the Smithsonian acknowledged the power of these traditions, which recall the value that Americans continue to place on being members of groups - familial, occupational, ethnic, regional, and religious. Festival organizers considered this recognition a step in the process of cultural conservation, in the belief that cultural variety, on a national and on a global scale, makes life itself more rewarding. Community and identity thus served as the twin poles around which Festival programs were organized.
The 1980 Festival (October 8-13) included a Caribbean Carnival with steel band and calypso competitions; Finnish Americans from northern Minnesota demonstrating a traditional "whip-sled" for children and such crafts as making Christmas tree ornaments from wood shavings; Southern carpenters building a traditional "dog trot" house; Southeast Asians demonstrating weaving, embroidery, stone carving, calligraphy; among others. The Festival asserted that rootedness is a tangible part of the fascination with history, our own or our country's or that of some distant place. This was seen as a part of life that everyone should value, and so the Festival not only celebrated customs and ways of doing things, but evoked the pride of being someone from somewhere. The 1980 Program Book provided information on each of the programs.
The 1980 Festival was again co-presented by the Smithsonian Institution and National Park Service, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Music Performance Trust Funds. It was organized by the Office of Folklife Programs.
Folklife Advisory Council
Wilcomb E. Washburn, Chairman, Roger Abrahams, Richard Ahlborn, Richard Dorson, William Fitzhugh, Lloyd Herman, Robert Laughlin, Scott Odell, Ralph Rinzler, Peter Seitel, Richard Sorenson, Thomas Vennum
Office of Folklife Programs
Ralph Rinzler, Director; Richard Derbyshire, Archivist; Susan Kalcik, Folklorist; Jeffrey LaRiche, Program Coordinator; Jack Santino, Folklorist; Peter Seitel, Senior Folklorist; Thomas Vennum, Ethnomusicologist; Steve Zeitlin, Folklorist
National Park Service
Russell E. Dickenson, Director; Manus J. Fish, Jr., Regional Director, National Capital Region
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1980 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 by appointment only. Where a listening copy or viewing copy has been created, this is indicated in the respective inventory; additional materials may be accessible with sufficient advance notice and, in some cases, payment of a processing fee. Older papers are housed at a remote location and may require a minimum of three weeks' advance notice and payment of a retrieval fee. Certain formats such as multi-track audio recordings and EIAJ-1 videoreels (1/2 inch) may not be accessible. Contact the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections at 202-633-7322 or rinzlerarchives@si.edu for additional information.
Rights:
Copyright and other restrictions may apply. Generally, materials created during a Festival are covered by a release signed by each participant permitting their use for personal and educational purposes; materials created as part of the fieldwork leading to a Festival may be more restricted. We permit and encourage such personal and educational use of those materials provided digitally here, without special permissions. Use of any materials for publication, commercial use, or distribution requires a license from the Archives. Licensing fees may apply in addition to any processing fees.
History of Smithsonian Folklife Oral History Interviews
Extent:
0.5 cu. ft. (2 half document boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiotapes
Transcripts
Date:
2005-2009
Introduction:
The Smithsonian Institution Archives (SIA) began its Oral History Program in 1973. The purpose of the program is to supplement the written documentation of the Archives'
record and manuscript collections with an Oral History Collection, focusing on the history of the Institution, research by its scholars, and contributions of its staff. Program
staff conduct interviews with current and retired Smithsonian staff and others who have made significant contributions to the Institution. There are also reminiscences and
interviews recorded by researchers or students on topics related to the history of the Smithsonian or the holdings of the Smithsonian Institution Archives.
Smithsonian Institution predoctoral fellow, William S. Walker, of Brandeis University, conducted a series of oral history interviews on the history of folklife presentation
at the
Smithsonian, as part of his dissertation research.
Descriptive Entry:
The History of Folklife at the Smithsonian Oral History Interviews consist of 13.2 hours of analog and digital audio interviews and 369 pages of transcript.
Historical Note:
Folklife studies are carried on in several organizational units of the Smithsonian Institution: the Department of Anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History
(NMNH), the Festival of American Folklife (FAF), and the National Museum of American History (NMAH), and the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). Dr. Walker began
his project on the study and exhibition of folklife at the Smithsonian, focusing on the Folklife Festival and then expanded his interview scope to include other Smithsonian
cultural scholars and solicit their views on the FAF and cultural studies, exhibition and public programming at the Smithsonian.
JoAllyn Archambault (1942- ), Director of the American Indian Program at the National Museum of Natural History, is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.
She earned her doctorate at the University of California in Berkeley in 1984. She was a faculty member of the Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukie,
Wisconsin (1983-86), and the Director of Ethnic Studies, California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, California (1978-83). As curator of Anthropology at the NMNH since
1986, she organized various exhibitions, including Plains Indian Arts: Change and Continuity, 100 Years of Plains Indian Painting, Indian Baskets and Their
Makers, and Seminole Interpretations.
Spencer Crew (1949- ) received the A.B. in history from Brown University in 1972 and holds a master's degree (1973) and a doctorate from Rutgers University (1979). He was
assistant professor of African-American and American History at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, 1978-1981; historian, 1981-1987, curator 1987-1989, Department
of Social and Cultural History, chair, 1989-1991, deputy director, 1991-1992, acting director, 1992-1994, director, 1994-2001 of NMAH. He then served as historical consultant
to the National Civil Rights Museum, in Memphis, Tennessee, from 1987-1991; consultant to the Civil Rights Institute, in Birmingham, Alabama, 1991-1994; and executive director
and chief executive officer for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center from 2001-2008; and was appointed Clarence Robinson Professor at George Mason University in
2008. At the Smithsonian, Crew curated several exhibitions, most notably Field to Factory: Afro-American Migration, 1915-1940
William W. Fitzhugh (1943- ), an anthropologist, specialized in circumpolar archaeology, ethnology and environmental studies. He received his B.A. from Dartmouth College
in 1964. After two years in the U.S. Navy, he attended Harvard University where he received his PhD in anthropology in 1970. He joined the Anthropology Department at NMNH
in 1970. As director of the Arctic Studies Center and Curator in the Department of Anthropology, NMNH, he has spent more than thirty years studying and publishing on arctic
peoples and cultures in northern Canada, Alaska, Siberia and Scandinavia. His archaeological and environmental research has focused upon the prehistory and paleoecology of
northeastern North America, and broader aspects of his research feature the evolution of northern maritime adaptations, circumpolar culture contacts, cross-cultural studies
and acculturation processes in the North, especially concerning Native-European contacts. He curated four international exhibitions, Inua: Spirit World of the Bering Sea
Eskimos; Crossroads of Continents: Native Cultures of Siberia and Alaska; Ainu: Spirit of a Northern People; and Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga.
Rayna D. Green (1942- ) curator and Director of the American Indian Program at the NMAH, received the B.A. in 1963 and M.A. in 1966 from Southern Methodist University,
served in the Peace Corps as a history instructor and library director for the Teacher Training School in Harar, Ethiopia, and the Ph. D. in Folklore and American Studies
from Indiana University in 1973. A member of the Cherokee tribe, she administered National Native American Science Resource Center, Dartmouth College, before joining the staff
of the Smithsonian in 1984. She has written extensively of Native American culture and foodways. Her research and exhibit projects include a documentary narrative with Julia
Child, In the Kitchen with Julia, following on her co-curation of the long-running popular exhibition Bon App tit: Julia Child's Kitchen at the Smithsonian.
Thomas W. Kavanagh (1949- ), an anthropologist, received the B.A. from the University of New Mexico in 1971, the M.A. from The George Washington University in 1980, and
the Ph.D. from University of New Mexico in 1986. He began his career at Indiana University and then joined the staff of the Smithsonian Institution. A scholar of Comanche
Indians of Oklahoma, he has published extensively on the Comanches and was appointed Consulting Anthropologist for the Comanche Nation. In the 2000s, he served as director
of the Seton Hall University Museum. His publications include Comanche Ethnography (2008), Comanche Political History (1996), North American Indian Portraits:
Photographs from the Wanamaker Expeditions (1996), and "Comanche" in the Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 13 (Plains), Smithsonian Institution (2001).
Roger G. Kennedy (1926-2011) graduated from Yale University in 1949 and the University of Minnesota Law School in 1952, and pursued a diverse career in banking, television
production, historical writing, foundation management, and museum administration. He was appointed Director of the National Museum of History and Technology (NMHT) in 1979,
renamed it the National Museum of American History, and left in 1992 to become Director of the National Park Service. He focused on social and cultural history, and oversaw
controversial exhibits including A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans & the American Constitution and Field to Factory: Afro-American Migration, 1915-1940.
Keith E. Melder (1932- ) studied American history at Williams College (B.A. 1954) and Yale University (M.A. 1957; PhD, 1964). He was an intern at the NMHT in 1958 and returned
in 1961 as Curator of Political History until his retirement in 1996. His research focused on America political movements, especially the Women's Movement and the Civil Rights
era. Melder was also interviewed for two other Smithsonian Institution Archives projects, Record Unit 9603, African American Exhibits at the Smithsonian, and Record Unit 9620,
the American
Association of Museums Centennial Honorees Oral History Project, as well as for the Ruth Ann Overbeck Capitol Hill History Project of the Capitol Hill Historical Society.
Clydia Dotson Nahwooksy (1933-2009), a Cherokee, and her husband Reaves, a Comanche Nation member, worked most of their lives to preserve American Indian tribal culture.
Originally from Oklahoma, they spent 20 years in Washington, D.C., as cultural activists. In the 1970s, Clydia was director of the Indian Awareness Program for the Smithsonian
Institution's Festival of American Folklife. In 1986 both Nahwooskys entered the seminary, and the Rev. Clydia Nahwooksy was an active pastor and a member of the Board of
National Ministries and the American Baptist Churches USA General Board.
Ethel Raim (1936- ), Artistic Director of New York's Center for Traditional Music and Dance (CTMD), researched ethnic music and worked closely with community-based traditional
for almost five decades. Raim also had a distinguished career as a performer, recording artist, music editor, and singing teacher. In 1963 she co-founded and was musical director
of the Pennywhistlers, who were among the first to bring traditional Balkan and Russian Jewish singing traditions to the folk music world. Raim served as music editor
of Sing Out! magazine from 1965 to 1975. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, she developed ethnic programs for the Newport Folklife Festival and the Smithsonian's Festival
of American Folklife. In 1975 Raim joined Martin Koenig as Co-Director of the Balkan Folk Arts Center, which developed into the CTMD in New York City.
Joanna Cohan Scherer (1942- ) received the B.A. from Syracuse University in 1963 and the M.A. from Hunter College, City University of New York in 1968. A specialist in
visual anthropology especially of Native Americans, historical photography, women and photography, North American Indian photography, and cultural anthropology. She joined
the staff of the Anthropology Archives of the National Museum of Natural History in 1966 and in 1975 advanced to served as anthropologist and illustrations editor for the
Smithsonian's multivolume series Handbook of North American Indians.
Robert D. Sullivan (1949- ) was educated at St. John Fisher College with a B.S. in anthropology in 1970, the M.A. in education management from the University of Rochester
in 1979, and pursued the Ph.D. in human studies (ABD) at The George Washington University until 2006. He served as Chief of Museum Education at Rochester Museum and Science
Center from 1970 to 1980, Director at the New York State Museum from 1980 to 1990, and Associate Director for exhibitions at National Museum of Natural History from 1990 to
2007.
Peter Corbett Welsh (1926-2010) was a curator and historian at the Museum of History and Technology, now known as the National Museum of American History. He was born on
August 28, 1926, in Washington, D.C. He received his B.A. from Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio, in 1950 and completed a post-graduate year of study at the University
of Virginia. He received his M.A. from the University of Delaware where he was the first recipient of the Hagley Fellowship in 1956. Welsh served in the United States Army,
1951-1954. Prior to coming to the Smithsonian Institution, he was Research Assistant and Fellowship Coordinator at the Eleutherian-Mills Hagley Foundation, 1956-1959. Welsh
was Associate Curator in the Smithsonian's Department of Civil History, 1959-1969, and served as editor of the Smithsonian's Journal of History in 1968. As Curator he played
a major role in the development of the Growth of the United States hall for the opening of the Museum of History and Technology which depicted American civilization
from the time of discovery through the mid-twentieth century. Welsh was Assistant Director General of Museums, 1969-1970, and assisted with the implementation of the National
Museum Act through seminars on improving exhibit effectiveness. He also served as Director of the Office of Museum Programs, 1970-1971. After Welsh's tenure at the Smithsonian,
he became the Director of both the New York State Historical Association and the Cooperstown Graduate Program, 1971-1974. He then served as Director of Special Projects at
the New York State Museum in Albany, 1975-1976; Director of the Bureau of Museums for the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission; President of The Welsh Group, 1984-1986;
and Curator (1986-1988) and Senior Historian (1988-1989) of the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake, New York. In 1989, he became a full-time, independent museum consultant
and lecturer, and was a visiting professor of the State University of New York (SUNY) in 1992. Welsh was a contributor to numerous scholarly journals. He authored Tanning
in the United States to 1850 (1964), American Folk Art: The Art of the People (1967), Track and Road: The American Trotting Horse, 1820-1900 (1968), The
Art of the Enterprise: A Pennsylvania Tradition (1983), and Jacks, Jobbers and Kings: Logging the Adirondacks (1994).
Rights:
Restricted. Contact SIHistory@si.edu to request permission.
Photographs made by Ralph Rinzler documenting steps in the traditional Korean pottery-making process, as well as images of potters, kilns, and pottery use and storage. Rinzler captioned and arranged the photographs into five series: 1. introduction; 2. clay preparation; 3. turning process (tools, preparation, turning); 4. drying and glazing; 5. firing and shipping.
Biographical/Historical note:
Ralph Rinzler (1934-1994) was a folklorist and musician. In 1964, he became Director of Field Programs at the Newport Folk Foundation, which involved the planning and programming of the Newport Folk Festival. Rinzler joined the Smithsonian in 1967 as the founding Director of what is now the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. He also developed the annual Festival of American Folklife, Smithsonian Folklife Studies, a publication series, and conducted research for the Celebration exhibit, which opened at the Renwick Gallery in 1982. Rinzler was appointed Assistant Secretary for Public Service in 1983 and Assistant Secretary Emeritus in 1990.
During the 1960s, Rinzler started visiting traditional potters. A trip to Korea resulted in a film "Southern Korea Kitchen Pottery Making: A Study in Folk Technology," as well as a book, "The Korean Onggi Potter," written with Robert Sayers.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 86-17
Location of Other Archival Materials:
The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections holds the Ralph Rinzler papers and audiorecordings, 1950-1994.
The Smithsonian Institution Archives holds an oral history interview with Rinzler from 1993 (SIA RU009569), as well as subject files, grant records, and agency history from Rinzler's time at the Smithsonian (SIA RU000367, SIA Acc. 95-149, SIA Acc. 11-186, SIA Acc. 11-279, SIA RS00081, SIA RS00762, SIA RS00763, and SIA AH00283).
The Smithsonian Institution Archives began its Oral History Program in 1973. The purpose of the program is to supplement the written documentation of the Archives'
record and manuscript collections with an Oral History Collection, focusing on the history of the Institution, research by its scholars, and contributions of its staff. Program
staff conduct interviews with current and retired Smithsonian staff and others who have made significant contributions to the Institution. There are also interviews conducted
by researchers or students on topics related to the history of the Smithsonian or the holdings of the Smithsonian Institution Archives.
Descriptive Entry:
This collection is comprised of one hundred and sixty interview sessions, totaling approximately 68.5 hours of recordings and 289 pages of transcript. Thirteen of the
interview sessions have been transcribed, while the remainder of interview sessions have been described in short summaries.
Interviewees were Smithsonian staff, retirees, volunteers, and visitors, including:
Lorie Aceto - 033
Paul Allen - 044
Leslie Atkins - 034
Preston Atkins - 034
Betty Belanus - 123
Louise D. Belcher - 027
Stephen Belcher - 027
Dick Bell - 140
Cordelia Benedict - 141
Francine Berkowitz - 026
Maggie Bertin - 132
Carvester Booth - 050
David Bosserman - 133
Steven Bostwick - 137
Anita Buffaloe - 105
Josephine Burman - 057
Olivia Cadaval - 040
Richard Callwood - 139
Nathaniel Carleton - 071
Judy Chelnick - 099
Barbara Coffee - 091
Sheila E. Cogan - 095
Ronald Colaprete - 081
Judie Cooper - 058
Patricia Cox - 038
William E. Cox - 077
Myron Curtis - 009
Melissa Darden - 135
Herb Davis - 056
James Deutsch - 055
David DeVorkin - 006
Kathleen Dorman - 029
Doc Dougherty - 157
James Early - 062
Douglas Evelyn - 068
Edgar Farley - 101
Edward Fisher III - 153
Jody Fitterer - 008
Lou Fleming - 088
John Franklin - 085
William Gagham - 124
Jim Galvin - 096
Helen Gaul - 102
Mark Geiger - 083
John Gibson - 011
Jane Glaser - 041
Lee Galssco - 122
Andrew Goffrey - 042
Carol Gover - 036
Elease Hall - 092
Sara Harkavy - 080
Marguerite Harding - 021
Robert Harding - 078
Rebecca Hartman - 080
William Hartung - 017
Martha Hayes - 052
Leonard Hirsch - 125
Alice Hirschfeld - 002
Elaine Hodges - 134
Cynthia Hoover - 024
Bernard Howard - 136
David Howery - 131
Karin Hoyes - 001
Regina H. Ingrim - 160
Reuben Jackson - 111
David Jickling - 117
Myron Johnson - 047
Larry Jones - 042
Mitchell Jones - 149
Steve Jones - 042
Ken Jordan - 042
Martin Kaufna - 066
Walter Kelly - 144
Dana Kent - 065
David Kessler - 070
Kethshara Khlok - 147
Donald E. Kloster - 015
Ramunas Kondratas - 106
Amy Kotkin - 145
Kamille Kreger - 051
Michael Kreger - 051
Manjula Kumar - 010
Katharine Landfield - 114
Peggy Langrall - 086
Dorothy Laoang - 037
Felix Lapinski - 022
Jeffrey LaRiche - 152
Elyse Lattner - 159
Tom Lauderbaugh - 076
Myron Lecar - 059
Rose Lee - 061
Martin Levine - 107
Steven Lubar - 110
Marian Hope Lund - 003
Ian MacTavish - 073
Joseph Madeira - 014
Peter Magoon - 148
Barbara Manioc - 096
Sally Maran - 087
Kenneth Mason - 143
B. C. May - 004
Virginia McCawley - 121
Mary McCutcheon - 104
David McFadden - 025
Joseph H. McGuiness - 082
Adriana McMurray - 097
Jimmy Melendez - 044
Felicia Messina-D'Haiti - 084
Per Midboe - 073
Harry Miller - 138
Barbara Moore - 103
David Moore - 064
Marvin Nakashima - 005
Diana N'Diaye - 035
Norman Novack - 155
Jen Page - 146
Geoffrey Parker - 150
Joan Paull - 060
Marvette Perez - 109
Catherine Perge - 032
Don Phillips - 042
Jeff Place - 154
Nancy Pope - 119
Jean Porter - 007
Fred Price - 053
Louis R. Purnell - 089
Larry Randall - 054
Jahari Rashad - 158
Sharon Reinckens - 019
Sharon Rohnback - 093
Anne Roocker - 069
Rex Roocker - 069
Ingrid Roper - 031
Cordelia Rose - 115
Deborah Rothberg - 130
Lucile Rowe - 018
Margaret Santiago - 113
Lori Schlemmer - 098
Volkor K. Schmeissner - 127
Eric Scott - 046
Mina Smith Segal - 043
Ruth Selig - 108
Arnold Sperling - 048
David Squire - 156
John Stine - 030
Sally Sweetland - 023
Nancy Sweezey - 151
Charles Tamosa - 142
Kenneth Thomas - 045
L. Susan Tolbert - 112
Billy Turner - 020
Raineldo Urriola - 094
Vincent VanAllen - 128
Tom Vennum - 028
Jane Walsh - 012
Rita Wanpeha - 120
Mark H. Warmaling - 072
Deborah Watkins - 075
Mick Weltman - 067
David West - 079
Dennis Whigham - 074
Janice Whigham - 192
William White - 049
Amy Wilson - 063
Jennie Witthoff - 039
Douglas Wonderlic - 118
Mary Wood - 016
Chuck Woolf - 126
Steptoe Wrenn - 013
Holly Wright - 116
Agnes Yore - 090
Elizabeth Zimmer - 100
Amanda Zocchi - 038
Interviewers were Smithsonian staff and volunteers, including Francine Berkowitz, Maggie Bertin, Dorothy Blink, David Bosserman, Emily Botein, Olivia Cadaval, Tim Carr,
Vivien Chen, Martin Collins, Eduardo Contreras, Odette Diaz, John Franklin, Shenandoah Gale, Joanne Gernstein-London, Margy Gibson, Terrica M. Gibson, John McKiernan Gonzalez,
Pamela M. Henson, Paula Johnson, Katherine Kirlin, Felix Lapinski, Tom Lawrence, Brian LeMay, Magdelena Mieri, Pilar Somma Montalvo, Jen Page, Marvette Perez, Catherine Perge,
Sarita Rodriguez, and Polly Stewart.
Historical Note:
A section of the 1996 Festival of American Folklife was devoted to capturing the history and memories of Smithsonian for the Smithsonian Institution's celebration of
its Sesquicentennial in 1996. Staff and volunteers of the Institutional History Division and the Center for Folklife Programs conducted interviews with Smithsonian staff,
volunteers, and visitors about their memories of the Smithsonian. Between June 26 and July 7, 1996, some 173 individuals were interviewed alone and in groups. Interviewees
included a wide array of Smithsonian staff from many museums and organizations, several Smithsonian volunteers, and a number of visitors to the Festival. Staff interviewees
ranged from guards in a K-9 unit, to administrators, curators, educators, "skull" crews who move large objects, registrars, administrative staff, and horticultural staff,
among others. Interviews of visitors focused on their reminiscences of visits to the Smithsonian museums and previous Folklife Festivals. Additional interviews of collected
Smithsonian staff can be found in Record Unit 9508, Senate of Scientists Interviews; Record Unit 9522, Association of Curators Reminiscences; Record Unit 9595, Smithsonian's
150th Birthday Interviews; and Record Unit 9622, National Museum of Natural History Centennial Interviews.
Ripley, S. Dillon (Sidney Dillon), 1913-2001, interviewee Search this
Extent:
48 audiotapes (Reference copies).
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Audiotapes
Transcripts
Date:
1977-1993
Introduction:
The Smithsonian Institution Archives began its Oral History Program in 1973. The purpose of the program is to supplement the written documentation of the Archives'
record and manuscript collections with an Oral History Collection, focusing on the history of the Institution, research by its scholars, and contributions of its staff. Program
staff conduct interviews with current and retired Smithsonian staff and others who have made significant contributions to the Institution. There are also interviews conducted
by researchers or students on topics related to the history of the Smithsonian or the holdings of the Smithsonian Institution Archives.
S. Dillon Ripley was interviewed for the Oral History Collection because of his role as an ornithologist and as the eighth Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution from
1964 to 1984.
Descriptive Entry:
Ripley was interviewed by Pamela M. Henson from 1977 to 1993 at his offices at the Smithsonian and at his home in Litchfield, Connecticut. These interviews cover his
youth, early interests in natural history, education, career on the faculty at Yale, field work and expeditions, tenure as Secretary of the Smithsonian, involvement in international
conservation efforts, and reminiscences of individuals, including Sálim Ali, August Heckscher, Joseph H. Hirshhorn, G. Evelyn Hutchinson, and Ralph Rinzler. The collection
consists of 38.5 hours of audiotape recording and circa 831 pages of transcript.
Historical Note:
S. Dillon Ripley (1913-2001), ornithologist and eighth Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, developed an interest in natural history in his youth. He received
the B.A. from Harvard University in 1936 and the Ph.D. from Yale University in 1943. He served briefly as a curator of birds at the National Museum of Natural History before
joining the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. From 1946 to 1963, he was on the faculty of Yale University and served as Director of their Peabody Museum from
1959 to 1963. In 1964, he was appointed Secretary of the Smithsonian. During his twenty year tenure as Secretary, he oversaw the development of the Anacostia Museum, Cooper-Hewitt
Museum, Festival of American Folklife, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of African Art, Renwick Gallery, Arthur M. Sackler
Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Associates, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, and Smithsonian magazine. Ripley was also involved in numerous conservation organizations,
including the Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands, International Council for Bird Preservation, and International Union for the Conservation of Nature. His
interests in international affairs also led him to play a role in the foundation of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Rights:
Restricted. Contact SIHistory@si.edu to request permission.
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 1979 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 7 series.
Series 1: Program Books, Festival Publications, and Ephemera
Series 2: Caribbean Carnival
Series 3: Children's Area
Series 4: Folklife in the Museum - Folk Medicine
Series 5: Folklore in Your Community
Series 6: Medicine Show
Series 7: Native American Architecture
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 1979 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:
The 1979 Folklife Festival continued to take community as its theme, as had been announced in 1978. The Festival celebrated the creative genius of many cultural groups - some had been on American soil only for months, others for millenia. The point of the Smithsonian festivals and the museums' displays of diversity struck home to the people who came to the museums and reached out for reaffirmation of identity. People feared the loss of identity in the sense of anomie that came with being a cipher, a numeral, a set of digits, organizers believed; they feared big government, big business, megastates that might rule the world. Coupled with the fear of homogenization was the fear of the loss of one's own soul. One way to strengthen our sense of identity and to demonstrate our essential humanity, the Festival asserted, was the reaffirmation of the differences among us, the persistence of our traditions at the ground roots of life, a countercurrent for survival.
In 1979 the Festival welcomed the newly-arrived ethnic community of Vietnamese, who had brought with them rich folklife traditions. From the West Indies came immigrants who enliven our cities with the folk theatrical spectacle of Carnival. Native Americans from several tribal groups shared their knowledge of ways in which their housing has been adapted to local environmental conditions.The International Year of the Child was celebrated at the Festival in the program book cover and articles, and in the living presentations of children's folklife in the Children's Area, where Lumbee Indian children re-created a Field Day celebration, and several other children's communities enacted Halloween traditions. Occupational communities were represented by D.C. firefighters, taxicab drivers, and stonecarvers from the National Cathedral. Other communities represented, which had formed around particular interests or institutions, were a medicine show, mom-and-pop neighborhood stores, street criers, and CB radio clubs.
As with the two preceding years, the 1979 Festival (October 3-8) was held on a site on 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). Indoor activities including a symposium focused on folk medicine took place in the National Museum of History and Technology, in the days preceding the outdoor Festival (September 27-30). The 1979 Program Book provided information on each of the programs.
The 1979 Festival was again co-presented by the Smithsonian Institution and National Park Service, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Music Performance Trust Funds. It was organized by the Folklife Program within the Office of American and Folklife Studies.
Folklife Advisory Council
Wilcomb E. Washburn, Chairman, Roger Abrahams, Richard Ahlborn, Richard Dorson, William Fitzhugh, Lloyd Herman, Robert Laughlin, Scott Odell, Ralph Rinzler, Peter Seitel, E. Richard Sorenson, Thomas Vennum
Folklife Program, Office of American and Folklife Studies
Ralph Rinzler, Director; Richard Derbyshire, Archivist; Susan Kalcik, Folklorist; Jeffrey LaRiche, Program Coordinator; Jack Santino, Folklorist; Peter Seitel, Senior Folklorist; Thomas Vennum, Jr., Ethnomusicologist; Steve Zeitlin, Folklorist
National Park Service
William J. Whelan, Director; Manus J. Fish, Jr., Regional Director, National Capital Region
Fieldworkers and presenters:
Nicholas Bocher, Sylvia Grider, Glenn Hinson, Marjorie Hunt, Fred Lieberman, Susan Manos, Phyllis May, Robert McCarl, Maxine Miska, Peter Nabokov, Elliott Parris, Kate Rinzler, Betsy Seamans, Barbara Strickland, Katherine Williams, Peggy Yocum
Forms Part Of:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1979 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 by appointment only. Where a listening copy or viewing copy has been created, this is indicated in the respective inventory; additional materials may be accessible with sufficient advance notice and, in some cases, payment of a processing fee. Older papers are housed at a remote location and may require a minimum of three weeks' advance notice and payment of a retrieval fee. Certain formats such as multi-track audio recordings and EIAJ-1 videoreels (1/2 inch) may not be accessible. Contact the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections at 202-633-7322 or rinzlerarchives@si.edu for additional information.
Rights:
Copyright and other restrictions may apply. Generally, materials created during a Festival are covered by a release signed by each participant permitting their use for personal and educational purposes; materials created as part of the fieldwork leading to a Festival may be more restricted. We permit and encourage such personal and educational use of those materials provided digitally here, without special permissions. Use of any materials for publication, commercial use, or distribution requires a license from the Archives. Licensing fees may apply in addition to any processing fees.
The Smithsonian Institution Archives began its Oral History Program in 1973. The purpose of the program is to supplement the written documentation of the Archives'
record and manuscript collections with an Oral History Collection, focusing on the history of the Institution, research by its scholars, and contributions of its staff. Program
staff conduct interviews with current and retired Smithsonian staff and others who have made significant contributions to the Institution. There are also interviews conducted
by researchers or students on topics related to the history of the Smithsonian or the holdings of the Smithsonian Institution Archives.
Rinzler was interviewed for the Oral History Collection because of his distinguished career as the founder of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and Center for Folklife
and Cultural Heritage, as well as a Smithsonian administrator. Additional information about Rinzler can be found in the the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
in the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
Descriptive Entry:
The interview of Rinzler, with friend and colleague Roger D. Abrahams, by Marc Pachter, Acting Assistant Secretary for External Affairs, covers his early life and interest
in music; involvement in the folk music scene at Swarthmore and organization of the festival there; time spent in London after graduate courses; life on the road with Joan
Baez; work with Doc Watson, Bill Monroe, and others; field work for the Newport Foundation; beginnings of the Folklife Festival at the Smithsonian and his subsequent career
at the Institution. It also includes reminiscences of many individuals at the Smithsonian and in the larger folklife community, including S. Dillon Ripley, Frank A. Taylor,
Charles Blitzer, David Challinor, Robert McC. Adams, Michael Seeger, Peggy Seeger, and Alan Lomax; and discusses the rise of the folklife movement including the political
and ethnological forces behind the movement. The interview consist of 2.5 hours of videotape and 94 pages of transcript.
Historical Note:
Ralph Carter Rinzler (1934-1994) was born in Passaic, New Jersey, and was interested in music at an early age. He was given a collection of ethnographic recordings
from the Archive of Folk Song of the Library of Congress by his uncle, Harvard University ballad scholar George Lyman Kittredge, and they soon became his favorites. He became
actively involved in folk music while attending Swarthmore College, organizing an annual folk festival on campus. He received his B.A. in 1956, and did graduate work at Middlebury
College and the Sorbonne in French literature and language. Upon his return to the United States, he played mandolin for four years with the Greenbriar Boys, touring with
singer Joan Baez. During the 1960s, he also studied and worked with performers of traditional music, such as Doc Watson and Bill Monroe, both of whom gained international
recognition, in part through his efforts. In 1964, Rinzler accepted the position of Director of Field Programs at the Newport Folk Foundation. Rinzler came to the Smithsonian
in 1967 as the founding Director of what is now the Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies, then in the Division of Performing Arts, to establish a center for research,
publication, and presentation of programs in American subcultures. As Director, he also developed the annual Festival of American Folklife. After the summer-long festival
of 1976, he initiated Smithsonian Folklife Studies, a publication series, and did research for the Celebration exhibit, which opened at the Renwick Gallery in 1982. Rinzler
was appointed Assistant Secretary for Public Service in 1983 and Assistant Secretary Emeritus in 1990.
