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Storied Objects
From the Smithsonian Folklife Festival
1967–present

This exhibition is both a showcase and a portal, shining a light on the “storied objects” made during the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival. It incorporates updated entries from our 2017 50 Years | 50 Objects online exhibition and dozens more. Each contains a story of community, tradition, collaboration, and skill—and the unique experience of the maker on the National Mall. New entries will be added on a regular basis.

Gifts, commissions, demonstration pieces, and more

Since 1967, the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage has acquired a diverse and growing collection of objects that represent art, craft, and cultural traditions from around the world. It is housed and displayed throughout the Center’s office—greeting visitors in the lobby, filling hallway cases and walls, and standing in all free corners.

  • Folklife entry corridor
    Folklife entry lobby and corridor.
    Photos by Sonya Pencheva, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
  • Folklife entry lobby

The collection numbers over 1,000 objects. Institutional memory still covers much of its history, and a growing database holds documentation of individual objects. There is also a goldmine of information in the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives, which holds photographs, video, and recordings from many of the Festival stages—all available to the public.

  • Ali “Skanda” Ali
    Ali “Skanda” Ali plays the East African bao game with a Festival visitor in 2014.
    Photo by Harold Dorwin, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
  • Jiří Sedlmaier discusses design
    Czech Republic egg decorator Jiří Sedlmaier discusses design in 1995.
    Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives
  • Paula Rodriguez decorates a cross
    Paula Rodriguez decorates a cross with cut straw at the 1992 New Mexico program.
    Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives

Festival stories tied to the featured objects are often personal—about how and why a cultural practice remains important to its maker. Sometimes the stories are serendipitous, as when participants meet from halfway around the world and discover surprising parallels in their experiences. Almost always, being part of the Folklife Festival has made a lasting impression on the maker, reinforcing the value of their work—and enriching the lives of others in the process.

—Erin Younger, exhibition curator
Erin has been a research associate with the Folklife Festival since 2014, working to document and bring new focus to the material culture collection.

Richard Kurin, Mohammed Mandi and Sabrina Lynn Motley
Master Emirati calligrapher Mohammed Mandi presents his painted calligraphy—a spiral repetition of Francis Bacon’s quote, “Knowledge is power”—to former Center director Richard Kurin (far left) and Festival director Sabrina Lynn Motley, 2022.
Photo by Erin Younger, Smithsonian
David Skorton and Mamoni Chitraker
Patachitra painter Mamoni Chitrakar presents the “Washington Mall” story scroll to Smithsonian Secretary David Skorton, 2018.
Photo by Erin Younger, Smithsonian
Preston Scott and Timothy Mack
Circus Arts curator Preston Scott holds aloft the top hat given to the collection by Imperial OPA Circus ringmaster Timothy Mack, 2017.
Photo by Erin Younger, Smithsonian

Credits

Sponsor


Resources

Exhibition

  • Curator

    Erin Younger

  • Authors

    Raneem Atiyeh, Alison Ball, Betty Belanus, Olivia Cadaval, Amalia Córdova, James Deutsch, Cristina Díaz-Carrera, Caroline Diemer, Nancy Groce, Marjorie Hunt, Sojin Kim, Mary S. Linn, Adriel Luis, Rylyn Monahan, Sabrina Lynn Motley, Diana Baird N’Diaye, Cecilia Peterson, Jeff Place, Frank Proschan, Arlene Reiniger, Preston Scott, Erin Younger

  • Reviewers

    John Burrison, Nancy Groce, Richard Kennedy, Amy Kitchener, Mary S. Linn, Richard March, Inah Pang, Preston Scott

  • Editor

    Elisa Hough

  • Interns

    Raneem Atiyeh, Alison Ball, Michelle Ibarra, Emily Lew, Gwen Mallow, Rylyn Monahan, John Speer, Lea Winston

  • Object Photography

    Zvonimir Bebek, Sonya Pencheva

Web Development

  • Design

    Visual Dialogue

  • Web Support

    Toby Dodds, Elisa Hough, Lombiq

  • Accessibility

    Diane Nutting

  • Video

    Albert Tong, Charlie Weber

  • Archives Support

    Greg Adams, Cecilia Peterson, David Walker
View By

Credits

Sponsor


Resources

Exhibition

  • Curator

    Erin Younger

  • Authors

    Raneem Atiyeh, Alison Ball, Betty Belanus, Olivia Cadaval, Amalia Córdova, James Deutsch, Cristina Díaz-Carrera, Caroline Diemer, Nancy Groce, Marjorie Hunt, Sojin Kim, Mary S. Linn, Adriel Luis, Rylyn Monahan, Sabrina Lynn Motley, Diana Baird N’Diaye, Cecilia Peterson, Jeff Place, Frank Proschan, Arlene Reiniger, Preston Scott, Erin Younger

  • Reviewers

    John Burrison, Nancy Groce, Richard Kennedy, Amy Kitchener, Mary S. Linn, Richard March, Inah Pang, Preston Scott

  • Editor

    Elisa Hough

  • Interns

    Raneem Atiyeh, Alison Ball, Michelle Ibarra, Emily Lew, Gwen Mallow, Rylyn Monahan, John Speer, Lea Winston

  • Object Photography

    Zvonimir Bebek, Sonya Pencheva

Web Development

  • Design

    Visual Dialogue

  • Web Support

    Toby Dodds, Elisa Hough, Lombiq

  • Accessibility

    Diane Nutting

  • Video

    Albert Tong, Charlie Weber

  • Archives Support

    Greg Adams, Cecilia Peterson, David Walker

.