Smithsonian Folklife Festival (2022) -- United Arab Emirates:
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- Description of Pictures: United Arab Emirates
Living Landscape | Living Memory
United Arab Emirates: Living Landscape | Living Memory
June 22–27 and June 30–July 4, 2022
What kind of world do we want to create together?
Fifty years ago, this was not a hypothetical question but a challenge for seven men as they gathered at a desert crossroads. Their answer would go on to embody a sense of unity and possibility and lead to the formation of the United Arab Emirates.
Since its founding in 1971, the UAE has transformed rapidly and profoundly. The prosperous, urbanized nation welcomes residents from other parts of the world, who now make up nearly ninety percent of the population. Women play a prominent role in private as well as every aspect of public life. Yet the era before oil is still in living memory; the impact of the environment persists as a determinate of the way of life. Traditional knowledge can be a source of solutions to the world’s pressing problems. In the UAE, investigations of memory, from both the distant and recent past, underlie many creative and groundbreaking projects, from poetry to architecture, music to green technologies.
At the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, United Arab Emirates: Living Landscape | Living Memory explores cultural traditions that emerge from Emirati experiences of migration and survival in close connection with the natural environment. At the same time, the UAE is forward-looking, and the program highlights visions for a diverse, sustainable future.
Our program takes the form of a majlis—an Emirati tradition of gathering and conversation inscribed on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage. There, we will explore three areas of human experience: place, creativity, and belonging. We invite you to join us for artisan and culinary demonstrations, poetry and spoken-word sessions, musical performances, discussions and storytelling, films, workshops, and more. Special activities for children and families will spark curiosity, creativity, and joy.
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- Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
- FLUAE_220630_09.JPG: Welcome
- FLUAE_220630_12.JPG: Place
- FLUAE_220630_17.JPG: The United Arab Emirates
- FLUAE_220630_40.JPG: Falaj
- FLUAE_220630_45.JPG: The United Arab Emirates
Living Landscape
Living Memory
Killing Yemenis
Boycott!
Honor the suffering people of Yemen
Denounce the UAE's genocidal war crimes
Boycott the UAE's criminal cover-up
Yemeni Lives Matter
- FLUAE_220630_80.JPG: The Traditional Majlis
- Description of Subject Matter: Smithsonian Folklife Festival: Stories of Land, Sea, and Sky
June 22-July 4, 2022
After a two-year hiatus, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival returns to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., with programs designed to spark curiosity, understanding and delight. Visitors to the 2022 Smithsonian Folklife Festival can explore the cultural traditions of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Smithsonian’s Earth Optimism program through two weeks of workshops, demonstrations, performances, family activities, and discussion sessions highlighting the importance of culture and community in creating a sustainable future.
The Festival, which runs from June 22 to 27 and June 30 to July 4, will open with an evening concert Wednesday, June 22. Starting June 23, daytime programming will begin at 11 a.m. and run until 6 p.m. daily. Special evening events, including concerts and a film screening, begin shortly after the daytime programming concludes. For the first time, selected evening concerts and daily conversations will be livestreamed. Always free and open to the public, the Festival will be located on the National Mall between Seventh and Twelfth streets.
The Festival is presented by the Smithsonian’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in partnership with the National Park Service. It is supported by federally appropriated funds; Smithsonian trust funds; contributions from governments, businesses, foundations and individuals; in-kind assistance; and food, recording and craft sales, with additional support from the Timashev Family Foundation.
UAE: Living Landscape | Living Memory
Living Landscape | Living Memory focuses on the arts, poetry, cuisine and other cultural traditions of the United Arab Emirates, a vibrant young nation with a deep history. Since the formal creation of a single nation in 1971, the UAE has transformed rapidly and profoundly, becoming a prosperous, urban nation where residents hailing from other parts of the world make up nearly ninety percent of the population. As the country moves into its next half-century, the era before its current prosperity is still in living memory. For many, the environment remains an important influence on the rhythms of life.
Living Landscape | Living Memory will highlight the skills, cultural practices and essential knowledge that arose from living in challenging landscapes that have served as a cultural crossroads for thousands of years. Through demonstrations and participatory sessions, visitors will learn about the region’s falconry tradition, maritime culture, musical instruments, classic and contemporary poetry, perfume, coffee and much more. Visitors can explore Emirati traditions, past and present, as resources for connecting communities and envisioning a sustainable future.
“Traditional knowledge has an important role to play in finding solutions to some of the world’s most intractable problems,” said Folklife Festival director Sabrina Lynn Motley. “In the UAE, it’s possible to encounter dynamic links between past, present and future in everything from green technologies to extraordinary poetry. As the Festival has done since its inception, curators are creating a program that draws from diverse voices on the ground, challenging us to look beyond headlines, generalizations and stereotypes.”
UAE: Living Landscape | Living Memory sponsoring partners include the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth and the UAE Embassy in Washington, D.C. Additional support is provided by Etihad Airways.
Earth Optimism × Folklife: Inspiring Conservation Communities
The Smithsonian’s Earth Optimism initiative celebrates what is working in conservation. By changing the narrative from despair and gloom to optimism and possibility, the initiative shines a light on individuals and community efforts to address our most pressing challenges.
“I am thrilled to collaborate with my Folklife Festival colleagues,” said Ruth Anna Stolk, Earth Optimism program co-founder. “Earth Optimism × Folklife is a unique opportunity to share stories and learn from conservation successes. When the focus is on solutions rather than problems, we empower people to replicate and scale up these activities in their own communities.”
Visitors will encounter examples of practical solutions and positive change presented by community leaders, innovators, scientists, artists and others working to create a sustainable planet. Visitors can learn how to make an impact on a local-to-global scale through workshops, performances, interactive art installations, film screenings including a special presentation of My Garden of a Thousand Bees, hands-on educational activities, cooking and gardening demonstrations, sustainable food concessions, and more. The program will inform, inspire, delight, and, most importantly, leave visitors with hope for the planet.
Earth Optimism × Folklife sponsoring partners include the Smithsonian’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Amtrak, Ford Motor Company, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and United Airlines. Additional support is provided by the Smithsonian Women’s Committee and the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative.
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