"The best of Welsh heads to the States"
The best of Welsh culture will be on show at a major Washington D.C festival held during Independence Day celebrations in 2009.
The annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival will see over 100 Welsh artists, performers and cultural scholars cross the Atlantic to take part.
The Festival is a complex production, over the years drawing on the research and presentational skills of more than 1,000 folklorists, cultural anthropologists, ethnomusicologists, and numerous other academic and lay scholars.
Its production involves the expertise of hundreds of technical staff, the efforts of volunteers, and the backing of sponsors and supporters.
Some observers have noted that the involvement of the Welsh Assembly Government, the numerous Welsh scholars and perfomers, the travel and hospitality, event planning and marketing programmes and staff, and the expected operating budget budgets related to this project imply MILLIONS of DOLLARS in necessary expenses along with the potential of MILLIONS of POUNDS in long-term tourism and economic benefit to Wales after the event.
Understandably the news of this event is travelling quickly, and many folks in Wales are beginning to wonder how they can contribute to or benefit from this project.
Members of the Welsh-North American Expatriate, 'Diaspora' and Welsh-descended organisations and scholarly groups are said to be hoping to participate and benefit as well.
[Pictured above Answers.com map of persons in the U.S. with Welsh ancestry -- 'Welsh ancestry' Dark red and brown colours indicate a higher density.]
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival is an international exposition of living cultural heritage annually produced outdoors on the National Mall of the United States in Washington, D.C., by the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
The Festival takes place for two weeks every summer overlapping the Fourth of July holiday.
It is an educational presentation that features community-based cultural exemplars.
Free to the public, like other Smithsonian museums, each Festival typically draws more than one million visitors.
Initiated in 1967, the Festival has become a national and international model of a research-based presentation of contemporary living cultural traditions.
Over the years, it has brought more than 23,000 musicians, artists, performers, craftspeople, workers, cooks, storytellers, and others to the National Mall to demonstrate the skills, knowledge, and aesthetics that embody the creative vitality of community-based traditions.
Wales has been chosen as the featured nation for the 10-day event, which regularly attracts over one million visitors.
But this clearly understates the potential benefit of a newly 'energized' American 'connection' with Wales. For example, the Smithsonian Folklife Centre reports that:
"As the largest annual cultural event in the U.S. capital, the Festival receives considerable publicity, typically reaching 40 million readers and viewers through print and electronic media."
"In the past, the Festival was named the Top Event in the U.S. by the American Bus Association as a result of a survey of regional tourist bureaus—thus joining previous winners that include the Olympics and the World Expo."
"The Festival has also been the subject of numerous books, documentary films, scholarly articles, and debate."
Some skeptical observers have been asking in blogs and discussions, "Is Wales going to be ready for this event, or will a golden, once-in-a-century opportunity be missed for the nation of Wales?"
The Smithsonian has written about the festival's impact upon foreign domestic markets, that:
"The Festival has strong impacts on policies, scholarship, and folks "back home."
"Many states and several nations have remounted Festival programs locally and used them to generate laws, institutions, educational programs, books, documentary films, recordings, museum and traveling exhibitions."
"In many cases, the Festival has energized local and regional tradition bearers and their communities, and thus helped to conserve and create cultural resources."
On November 5th, 2007 the Assembly spokeman reported in a news release that:
"Representatives from the Smithsonian Institution will be in Cardiff today [ 5 November] to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Assembly Government to confirm the Welsh presence at the 2009 Festival."
[Pictured above: Welsh National Assembly First Minister Rhodri Morgan]
"They will also meet First Minister Rhodri Morgan to discuss plans for the event. . ."
The event celebrates the cultural traditions of communities across the United States and around the world. It showcases the best of community-based arts and highlights the importance of heritage to communities.
The Welsh Assembly Government will lead the development of in building of the programme for Wales, which will demonstrate the wealth of cultural history and traditions in Wales. As well as the cultural activities, the Welsh Assembly Government will use this festival to target its international audience to maximise economic opportunities for Wales.
The Welsh Assembly Government will be working closely with partners throughout Wales to build a dynamic programme of performance, demonstration, and discussion events.
The participation of the Welsh Assembly Governemt in this Smithsonian initiative seems to complement and support the 'Assembly Government’s vision for Wales as a confident, diverse, creative and physically fit nation.'
[Pictured above: The Smithsonian's first building, popularly known as the Castle, houses the Institution’s administrative offices and the Smithsonian Information Center, located at 1000 Jefferson Drive SW in Washington, D.C. Completed in 1855, the original Smithsonian Institution Building was designed by architect James Renwick Jr., whose other works include St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City and the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C. This Washington landmark is constructed of red sandstone from Seneca Creek, Maryland, in the Norman style (a 12th-century combination of late Romanesque and early Gothic motifs).]
The Welsh Assembly Goverment has published related statements declaring 'our intention is to raise the profile of Wales and stamp our unique identity on the world stage'.
In a related story, on Wednesday 14th November, a diverse group of arts and cultural practitioners and academics met at the new University of Glamorgan, Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries complex called the ATRiuM on Adam Street in the Cardiff City Centre to address the symposium theme through a series of focused conversations and group exercises.
These discussions were set within the context of what is now a key economic sector, the creative and cultural industries.
Presenting at this event was the ATRiuM / Smithsonian Institution Visiting Fellow, Folklorist Dr Betty Belanus.
Dr. Belanus is Curator at the Smithsonian Institution’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, and has joined the Centre as a Visiting Research Fellow and is undertaking preparatory work for the Smithsonian Festival's focus on Wales in 2009.
2007 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Washington, DC
Since arriving, Dr Belanus has been engaged in an active period of fieldwork which has also involved consultative planning visits around Wales.
[Pictured above: The Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.]
The ATRiuM has been fortunate to have Dr Betty Belanus, Curator at the Smithsonian Institution’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, as a participant at this symposium.
Dr Belanus is currently a Visiting Research Fellow with the Centre for the Study of Media and Culture in Small Nations.
Key Players from the Welsh Higher Education, Welsh Tourism, National Gallery and National Museums, and Arts and Media sectors attended this crucial and timely ATRiuM symposium and participated in the discussions.
Keen interest was show toward all the presentations, although the events related to the upcoming Smithsonian 2009 event attracted animated and intense questions and comment.
Concerns were raised that Wales carefully considers and plans the nation's participation in this upcoming event in 2009, so that the broadest variety of sector in Welsh society and the Welsh economy benfit from this project, both before, during and after the event.
The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage is a research and educational unit of the Smithsonian Institution promoting the understanding and continuity of diverse, contemporary grassroots cultures in the United States and around the world.
The Center produces the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, Smithsonian Global Sound, exhibitions, documentary films and videos, symposia, publications, and educational materials.
The Center conducts ethnographic and cultural heritage policy oriented research, maintains the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, and provides educational and research opportunities through fellowships, internships, and training programs.
The Center also produces major national cultural events consistent with its mission.
In 2004 these included the National World War II Reunion and the First Americans Festival for the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian.
The Center's activities are funded by federal appropriations, Smithsonian trust funds, contracts and agreements with national, state, and local governments, foundation grants, gifts from individuals and corporations, income from the Festival, and Folkways product sales.
The Center's experienced staff is culturally diverse and extremely productive, combining interdisciplinary scholars with technical specialists. The Center has distinguished advisors and cooperates with numerous international, state, local, and professional organizations.
For additional info about the articles discussed above please contact Dr. Mark Leslie Woods at mwoods[at]glam.ac.uk
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Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries
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