Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Through the Archive Challenge, the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress encourages musicians, singers, and other artists to explore our archive and get creative with what they find. Since 2015, we’ve helped artists find a song or piece of music they love so they can put their own stamp on it with a new arrangement or interpretation---and then perform it in a live setting or on a recording. This year, we’re excited to focus on Youth and the Future of Culture with our friends at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival by working with emerging talent across a range of traditions. The Archive of Folk Culture, located within the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, is the largest ethnographic archive in the world, containing treasures for everyone to explore.
This event will happen in-person, live on the National Mall, during the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on July 2-7, 2025. It will be livestreamed for online audiences and remain archived on our YouTube channel and website.
Accessibility: Live real-time captioning and American Sign Language Interpretation are available for these programs.
Through the Archive Challenge, the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress encourages musicians, singers, and other artists to explore our archive and get creative with what they find. Since 2015, we’ve helped artists find a song or piece of music they love so they can put their own stamp on it with a new arrangement or interpretation---and then perform it in a live setting or on a recording. This year, we’re excited to focus on Youth and the Future of Culture with our friends at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival by working with emerging talent across a range of traditions. The Archive of Folk Culture, located within the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, is the largest ethnographic archive in the world, containing treasures for everyone to explore.
This event will happen in-person, live on the National Mall, during the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on July 2-7, 2025. It will be livestreamed for online audiences and remain archived on our YouTube channel and website.
Accessibility: Live real-time captioning and American Sign Language Interpretation are available for these programs.
