TRADITIONAL 
ARTS   DC
 

Traditional Arts DC is a folklife network, archive and learning center established in 2019. ​

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Our mission is to celebrate, research and sustain the history and folkways of the District of Columbia. We amplify the culture and pulse of Washington, D.C. beyond what you might see in popular film, TV and news media accounts of life in the nation's capital.

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​Some traditions took root among the Indigenous people who lived here centuries before Congress established the District of Columbia in 1790.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Other traditions, such as go-go music, came much later, but became the city's "official" music. We embrace regional delicacies from bluegrass and straight-edge punk music to eating halfsmokes, pupusas, wings and mumbo sauce. We lift up street, hair and nail art, and keep time via hand dance and Lunar New Year parades. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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The project was sparked in 2019 by a massive groundswell from residents protecting D.C. culture from development remaking the city at a rapid pace. ​​​​​​Grassroots creatives connected with folklorists and faculty at area universities to find pathways to cultural sustainability. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

 

We sustain D.C. history from the ground up through a growing archive of public events, oral histories, apprenticeship, films, publications and exhibits. Our scholars map the roots of these traditions locally, nationally and globally. We share tools for the public to archive their own traditions using free digital, open-source technology including AI (both artificial and ancestral intelligence).
 

Since 2022, our physical hub has been located in the heart of Anacostia at the Go-Go Museum & Cafe under the auspices of the National Folklife Network. This website indexes key projects for the benefit of scholars and art lovers across the ages. ​​​​​​​​​