Smithsonian's Mississippi Cultural Conservation Program Culminates: 30 Participants to Be Honored at National Folk Festival
The Smithsonian Institution announced on November 3 that its Mississippi Community Cultural Conservation Program will culminate during the 83rd National Folk Festival in Jackson, Mississippi, where participants will gather Thursday, November 12 through Saturday, November 14 and be recognized by Monique Chism, the Smithsonian's Under Secretary for Education, and Barry White, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, marking the program's final in-person workshop.
Launched in February 2026, the program brought together 30 participants representing 15 museums, historic sites and cultural organizations across Mississippi. Through virtual and in-person workshops, participants received training in collections care, digitization, preservation, disaster preparedness and community-centered storytelling. Experts from across the Smithsonian, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Museum of American History, the Museum Conservation Institute, the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and Smithsonian Affiliations, taught alongside experts in Mississippi.
The Mississippi program is the first project launched through the Smithsonian's Regional Collaboratives, a nationwide initiative designed to deepen partnerships with communities by aligning Institution resources with locally identified priorities. "One of the most important things we heard from community partners was that they wanted opportunities to connect, learn from one another and build capacity for the work they're already leading," Chism said. "This program celebrates the people and organizations across Mississippi who are preserving local history and culture every day."
Workshops during the program were tailored to community needs. An initial workshop at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, focused on digital technologies, led by staff from Jackson State University's Margaret Walker Center. Another workshop took participants to the University of Mississippi to learn about conservation and collections care. The latest workshop, on Mississippi's Gulf Coast at the Walter Anderson Museum of Art, focused on disaster preparedness and emergency response techniques for museum collections.
The culminating event, taking place November 12-14, will overlap with the National Folk Festival in Jackson, held November 13-15. "Partnerships like this demonstrate how national resources and local knowledge can come together to create new opportunities," White said. "Together, we've built relationships that will continue to strengthen this work in the years ahead." (Source: Smithsonian Institution)
Source: Smithsonian Institution
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 Jackson 的密西西比州议会大厦。照片：Michael Barera，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson. Photo by Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
