Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

Thanks to Destination DC for naming the 2024 Smithsonian Folklife Festival a "can't-miss summer event in Washington, D.C."! Still need convincing? Read their reasons to check out our "Indigenous Voices of the Americas" program, June 26–July 1 on the National Mall and inside the National Museum of the American Indian: s.si.edu/3VFNeK4

Check out the latest from Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III for Smithsonian Magazine! This year's Smithsonian Folklife Festival presents the program "Indigenous Voices of the Americas" in honor of the twentieth anniversary of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. As we prepare to welcome visitors from around the world to the National Mall, Secretary Bunch shares his own reflections on the museum’s opening and helps us understand the monumental significance of this celebration. Read the article → s.si.edu/3xcNVkG Plan your Festival visit → festival.si.edu

Save the Dates: July 16-18, 2024 for the Smithsonian National Education Summit! Read more about this year's Summit theme, session tracks, and speaker line-up. #SmithsonianEdu

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, the nonprofit record label of the institution, is hiring two full-time, permanent staff positions: - Financial Operations Manager (due May 1) - Licensing and Publishing Assistant (due May 15) See more information, including how to apply: https://lnkd.in/g7_DEdZ

For the past five weeks, we have worked with creators of Indigenous and minoritized language media through the 2024 #LanguageLodge. We are feeling bittersweet as we close this beautiful chapter of inspirational community building and engaging content creation. The program had hundreds of registrants representing 182 named languages across 44 countries. Take a look here at examples that were created by our participants throughout the program! 📷: As a way of sharing Tongan, one of the national languages of Tonga, a participant created five slides about common phrases and when to use them. 📷: As a way of sharing Ekpeye, one of the languages spoken in Rivers State, Nigeria, a participant shared information and the recipe for one of the most famous Ekpeye dishes, ogbolo li mechi ede. 📷: As a humorous, lighthearted way of sharing her journey in learning O’dam, an Indigenous language spoken in parts of Mexico and the United States, a participant created a meme which maps her skills in listening, speaking, and writing. #CulturalHeritage #CulturalVitality #IndigenousLanguage

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival is seeking contractors to provide specialized services for the “Indigenous Voices of the Americas” program this summer. Work takes place between May and August 2024. The deadline for proposals has been extended to Monday, April 22.   Community Engagement Coordinator: The contractor will plan and execute community outreach and events with focus on women-centered plant knowledge, foodways, and/or Indigenous Latin American communities. The contract will be awarded to either one vendor with dual focus areas or two separate contracts with each respective focus area. Gardens Coordinator: The contractor will support the creation of a teaching garden highlighting Indigenous plant knowledge in connection with foodways programming. See complete statements of work and requests for quotes: https://lnkd.in/dEV6fFb These contracts received federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino, and the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum. Photo by Grace Bowie, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives

Join us April 24 to learn from experts working to preserve cultural heritage in armed conflict zones and how we can rise to meet the growing challenges of doing so. This program is free and open to the public. RSVP here: https://s.si.edu/4c7w0M4

Did you know we work with communities in the United States and around the world to encourage the understanding, appreciation, and vitality of humanity’s diverse living cultural heritage? We are participating in Cultural Heritage Forward, a new exchange program from the Smithsonian’s Office of Global Affairs, with support from and in coordination with the Cultural Heritage Center at the U.S. Department of State, and are looking to strengthen ties with local cultural heritage practitioners and museum professionals from Vietnam and the Māori communities of New Zealand to increase accessibility of their collections, be proactive with future collecting practices, and explore the relationship between cultural heritage, climate, migration, policy, and wellness. Sound interesting? Learn more and apply: https://s.si.edu/3V3rU1e

Applications are now open for the Latino Museum Studies Program Undergraduate Internship program! These paid internships take place in the fall in Washington, D.C. We are collaborating with our colleagues at the museum to offer three practicums within our Center: 1) Processing Born Digital Fieldwork: Brazil in DC Documentation  2) American Latinx Storytelling for Folklife Magazine 3) Folklife Fabrication and Design See all opportunities and how to apply: s.si.edu/LMSPundergrad

From the Mother Tongue Film Festival team, thank you to all the visitors, filmmakers, and volunteers who made our ninth annual event a success! If you were able to attend and want to share feedback, please take our audience survey: s.si.edu/MTFF24survey If you were unable to attend, four short films are now available to stream in full on our website, and we expect to add more in the near future. Look for films titles with the 👁 symbol. If you look back through past programs, you’ll find even more to watch for free, on demand: mothertongue.si.edu Photo by Phillip R. Lee, Smithsonian