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Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage

Performers wave, forming a ring around a red, circular stage, with a packed audience and rigging hanging above.

Let’s Clown Around! The Circus Comes to the Smithsonian This Labor Day Weekend

Grid of six black-and-white photographs of a crowded outdoor event.

These Photos Visualize the Legacy of Peter Spencer, Founder of America’s First Independent Black Church

A person dances, turquoise and brown skirt flying and twisting around them, with a drummer and singer performing on the sides.

Through ‘By the People,’ the Smithsonian and Humanities Councils Unite to Explore 250 Years of the United States’ Cultural Life

Several pieces of textiles, pottery, and other artwork arranged in an altar.

At the Smithsonian’s Almaty Artisan Retreat, Kazakhstani and Native American Artists Connect through Stories, Copper, and Clay

A man on a stage plays a guitar.

At the Global Concert of Colors, Detroit and Its Unifying Voice Take a Bow

A man with short white hair, moustache, and glasses plays a wooden flute. Behind him, slightly out of focus, is a young woman with long dark hair in a bun and a black tank top.

With Birchbark and Breath, Sierra and Hawk Henries Bring Intergenerational Artistry to the ‘Dawnland’

Thousands of people assemble on the green grass of the National Mall to form a sunburst shape, the Smithsonian logo. The red-brick Smithsonian Castle rises in the background.

The Smithsonian Has 6,724 Staff Members With a Mission to Increase and Diffuse Knowledge. Hear How They Work ‘For the Common Good’

Two men in blue shirts, blue jeans, leather belts, and white cowboy hats pose in front of a brown horse.

In Eastern Idaho, the Blackfoot Ranch Rodeo Celebrates Cowboys, Craftsmanship, and Community

Detail of album cover with black print of a warrior figure in profile wearing a feathered crown and armor.

A Journey to Right the Wrongs on Smithsonian’s ‘Anthology of Central and South American Indian Music’

Portrait-Roen-Kahalewai-Hufford-2023-wkapa-adjhires.jpg

For Hawaiian Artist Roen Hufford, Making Kapa Bark Cloth Embodies an Exchange with Nature and a Way of Life

Six elder Black women pose on a grassy hillside, each holding an enlarged black-and-white photo of a schoolhouse, protestors with signs, and a class photo.

The Mothers Who Marched for Equality in Hillsboro, Ohio

The face of a smiling young woman with face paint wearing beaded earrings against a colorful backdrop. Text: Mother Tongue Film Festival. February 19 to 22, Washington, D.C. 2026.

Your Invitation to the Smithsonian’s Mother Tongue Film Festival

A group of people crouch and stand in front of a wall mural depicting desert plants.

A Catalyst for Culture in the Tucson Mall

A vibrant parade on the National Mall with participants in colorful costumes, carrying flags and banners, in front of the United States Capitol building. Text is overlaid on the image that reads: Culture Of, By, and For the People

Smithsonian Folklife Festival Goes National for the United States’ 250th Anniversary

In the courtyard of a wooden home with tiled roof and carved doorways, strings of orange persimmons hang from a bamboo pole hung along an eave.

Our Director Reflects on “Culture of Everyday Life” and K-Culture after Visiting South Korea

In a warmly lit room, a woman in a floral dress tells a story, both hands outstretched, for a small seated audience that watches her and smiles.

Top Five Folklife Stories of 2025

Film still of an elder woman and a young man, both in wheelchairs, facing each other in conversation and smiling in a warmly lit living room. A man sits to the side, next to a laptop, also smiling.

A Glimpse at 'The Ride Ahead' and a More Inclusive Future With Filmmaker Samuel Habib

A man wearing glasses, white headwrap, and apron holds a metal object to a flame in a forge, sparks flying toward the stone walls.

The Reappearing Art of Metalworking in Mukhrani, Georgia

Map of North America with several points across the continent marked with a blue pinpoint.

Explore Native American Films in the Mother Tongue Story Map

A woman in a yellow dress and long braids skateboarding on a half-pipe

On International Day of Indigenous Women, Meet Native Women Skaters Making Space in the Sport

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