Descriptive Entry

This Collection contains the records from the discontinued Division of Performing Arts, which began in 1967 and ended in 1983. The Division of Performing Arts was formed with the creation of the first Festival of American Folklife, and handled such events as music and theater performances, festivals, holiday celebrations, and the Children's Discovery Theater. While the division began as only a few people, it grew in size to fifteen staff members and coordinated events with other museums and Universities. This collection contains papers, flyers, and playbills for all events that were put on by the Division between 1972 and 1983, as well as information on each annual Festival of American Folklife that took place in Washington, DC, and the Festival On Tour in 1976. There are also papers about the American Revolution Bicentennial Celebration that was held in 1976. Along with information about the division's various events, there are also the personal files of Martin Williams, who was the Director of the Jazz Program and Bernice Johnson Reagon, who was the Director for the Program in Black American Culture. Other items within this collection include budget information, correspondence, newsletters, mailers, press releases, recipe books, photographs, slides, reel-to-reel audio tapes, and cassette tapes.