Uploaded June 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
From celestial navigation to the Hope Mars probe, voyaging is part of the UAE experience. In this conversation, learn about traditional navigation, sailing, and pearl diving traditions.
ACCESSIBILITY: Live real-time captioning and American Sign Language Interpretation are available for this program.
From celestial navigation to the Hope Mars probe, voyaging is part of the UAE experience. In this conversation, learn about traditional navigation, sailing, and pearl diving traditions.
ACCESSIBILITY: Live real-time captioning and American Sign Language Interpretation are available for this program.

![Painter Victor Sitali at the 2022 Smithsonian Folklife Festival
When Victor Sitali started exploring avenues of art, he found himself unsatisfied with landscapes and still life. What really lit a fire in him was portraiture.
“There’s emotion that’s in the face, and you can see feelings,” he told as this summer at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. “You can feel connections with people. It’s from the heart directly to the face and that visual connection.”
Sitali, Deaf since age three, wasn’t able to study art at the deaf school he attended in Zambia, his home country. When his family moved to the United Arab Emirates, he was able to join Mawaheb, an art studio for people with disabilities. At the Festival, he communicated with visitors and fellow participants using a form of International Sign.
Read the full feature on the Festival Blog: https://s.si.edu/3Ffl4fz
[Catalog No. CFV11487; © Smithsonian Institution, 2022] Painter Victor Sitali at the 2022 Smithsonian Folklife Festival](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xdf0z-qJins/mqdefault.jpg)



![“Groundhog” – The Creek Rocks (2023 Smithsonian Folklife Festival)
At the 2023 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, The Creek Rocks, composed of married duo Mark Bilyeu and Cindy Woolf, showed how they bring a modern twist to traditional folk music from the Ozarks region. In this video, they speak a bit about their musical mission and perform the traditional tune “Groundhog.”
Read more in the Festival Blog: https://festival.si.edu/blog/the-creek-rocks-ozarks
Camera: Mykal Bailey, Sonia Harnish, Nadya Ellerhorst, Yijo Shen, London Pidel, David Barnes
Editing: Hayden Draycott
[Catalog No. 11720; © 2024 Smithsonian Institution] “Groundhog” – The Creek Rocks (2023 Smithsonian Folklife Festival)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ylHF7k9IveU/mqdefault.jpg)


