For the People

For the People: Exploring Living Traditions for Learning is a professional development program for teaching artists and middle-school classroom educators that uses local festivals as experiential learning laboratories. Over the course of nine months, through virtual workshops with Smithsonian Folklife Festival staff and an in-person convening coinciding with the Concert of Colors, we aim to develop cultural competency that inspires curiosity, empathy, and mutual respect.

In 2026, the program includes thirty-three participants—eighteen educators and fifteen teaching artists—forming six geographic cohorts, each place tied to an Of the People collaborating festival: Tucson, Arizona; Detroit, Michigan; Jackson, Mississippi; Montclair, New Jersey; Washington, D.C.; and Menominee Nation, Wisconsin. Our educators represent a wide range of disciplines, including civics, English language arts, and visual arts. Our teaching artists bring expertise across diverse mediums and traditions—from mural painting and zine making to Filipino tribal arts and South Indian dance.

As members of this inaugural cohort, participants will help shape the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage’s future educational resources and contribute to a thriving educational ecosystem that connects the Smithsonian with communities nationwide.