Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1990 Festival of American Folklife
odd: label: Introduction
content: In the 1990 Program Book, Secretary Robert McC. Adams noted that the Festival of American Folklife, the annual extension of the Smithsonian onto the National Mall of the United States, was a long-lived national and international model for the research and presentation of living culture. Emphasizing the Smithsonian's commitment to cultural pluralism, Adams pointed to the Festival ais an example of cultural pluralism in research, exhibition development, and public education. In 1990, programs on the folklife of the U.S. Virgin Islands, the cultures of Senegal, and the Musics of Struggle presented people with much to say about the cultures they represented, but whose voices were not frequently heard in national or international cultural forums. Field research to develop those programs was conducted largely by academic and lay scholars from the U.S. Virgin Islands, Senegal, and the featured communities, and usually in close collaboration with local cultural institutions. Program interpretation was multivocal, as tradition bearers, local scholars, and Smithsonian curators spoke for themselves, with each other, and to the public. Together they created a rich, pluralistic, and knowledgeable perspective in the Festival presentations.

The 1990 Festival took place for two five-day weeks (June 27-July 1 and July 4-8) between Madison Drive and Jefferson Drive and between 10th Street and 14th Street, south of the National Museum of American History and the National Museum of Natural History (see site plan).

The 1990 Program Book included schedules and participant lists for each program; the Program Book featured substantial essays laying out in depth the rationale for the Festival as a whole and for each of the three Festival programs, complemented by shorter pieces focusing on particular topics (not all of which were presented on the National Mall).

The Festival was co-presented by the Smithsonian Institution and National Park Service and organized by the Office of Folklife Programs.

Office of Folklife Programs

Richard Kurin, Acting Director; Diana Parker, Festival Director; Peter Seitel, Senior Folklorist; Anthony Seeger, Curator, Folkways Records; Thomas Vennum, Jr., Senior Ethnomusicologist; Olivia Cadaval, Director, Quincentenary Projects; Richard Kennedy, Program Analyst; Betty Belanus, Education Specialist; Diana N'Diaye, Jacquelin Peters, Curators; Marjorie Hunt, Ed O'Reilly, Frank Proschan, Nicholas Spitzer, Research Associates; Arlene L. Reiniger, Program Specialist; Jeffrey Place, Archivist

Folklife Advisory Council

Roger Abrahams, Richard Bauman, Henry Glassie, Rayna Green, John Gwaltney, Charlotte Heth, Adrienne Kaeppler, Ivan Karp, Bernice Reagon, John Tchen, Carlos Vélez-Ibáñez

National Park Service

James M. Ridenour, Director; Robert G. Stanton, Regional Director, National Capital Region
label: Shared Stewardship of Collections
content: The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage acknowledges and respects the right of artists, performers, Folklife Festival participants, community-based scholars, and knowledge-keepers to collaboratively steward representations of themselves and their intangible cultural heritage in media produced, curated, and distributed by the Center. Making this collection accessible to the public is an ongoing process grounded in the Center's commitment to connecting living people and cultures to the materials this collection represents. To view the Center's full shared stewardship policy, which defines our protocols for addressing collections-related inquiries and concerns, please visit https://doi.org/10.25573/data.21771155.
name: label: Creator
content: Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
label: Names
content: Smithsonian Folklife Festival
place: label: Place
content: Caribbean Area
label: Place
content: Virgin Islands
label: Place
content: Puerto Rico
topic: label: Topic
content: World music
label: Topic
content: Food habits
label: Topic
content: Folklore
label: Topic
content: Folk art
label: Topic
content: Folk festivals
label: Topic
content: Folk music
label: Topic
content: arts and crafts
creator: label: Creator
content: Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
setName: label: See more items in
content: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1990 Festival of American Folklife
abstract: label: Summary
content: 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.
bioghist: label: Historical note
content: 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 1990 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.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1 Cubic foot (approximate)
phystech: label: Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements note
content: The Rinzler Archives is continually engaged in digitization of archival materials to facilitate preservation and ready access by users. However, given the diversity of legacy formats of the originals, some older materials may not be available. Notably, certain older audio recordings cannot be played because of deterioration of the tape stock, and the Archives has no playback equipment for EIAJ-1 videoreels (1/2 inch) or multi-track audio recordings. Where listening or viewing copies are available, this is generally indicated for each item. Users are encouraged to contact Archives staff to verify that the materials of interest to them are already accessible, or to determine if they can be digitized as needed.
unitdate: label: Date
content: June 27-July 8, 1990
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
identifier: label: Identifier
content: CFCH.SFF.1990
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Negatives
label: Type
content: Video recordings
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Plans (drawings)
label: Type
content: Audiocassettes
label: Type
content: Audiotapes
label: Type
content: Notes
label: Type
content: Business records
label: Type
content: Memorandums
label: Type
content: Photographic prints
label: Type
content: Contracts
label: Type
content: Slides (photographs)
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Videotapes
label: Type
content: Digital images
arrangement: label: Arrangement note
content: Arranged in 4 series.

Series 1: Program Books, Festival Publications, and Ephemera

Series 2: Musics of Struggle

Series 3: Senegal

Series 4: U.S. Virgin Islands
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Negatives
label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Plans (drawings)
label: Genre/Form
content: Audiocassettes
label: Genre/Form
content: Audiotapes
label: Genre/Form
content: Notes
label: Genre/Form
content: Business records
label: Genre/Form
content: Memorandums
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographic prints
label: Genre/Form
content: Contracts
label: Genre/Form
content: Slides (photographs)
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence
label: Genre/Form
content: Videotapes
label: Genre/Form
content: Digital images
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents note
content: This collection documents the planning, production, and execution of the 1990 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.
relatedmaterial: label: Forms Part Of
content: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1990 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]
label: Related Archival Materials note
content: 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.