Library of Congress Marks American Folklife Center’s 50th Year with “Alive in Many Hands” Exhibition
The Library of Congress has launched an exhibition titled “Alive in Many Hands: The American Folklife Center at 50” to celebrate the Center's half-century milestone. Featuring over 150 items, this exhibit includes photographs, recordings, and films that showcase how living traditions reflect memory, identity, and community. It covers a wide range of cultural elements like music, storytelling, dance, food, work, celebrations, and everyday life. A standout item is a banjo signed by Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. The exhibit explores how traditions are preserved, changed, and shared, strengthening ties between people and their cultural backgrounds. Founded in 1976, the American Folklife Center's showcase opened in 2026 at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
Key facts
- The Library of Congress opened the exhibition “Alive in Many Hands: The American Folklife Center at 50.”
- The exhibition is part of a yearlong celebration of the American Folklife Center’s 50th anniversary.
- More than 150 objects, photographs, recordings, and films are included.
- The exhibition explores music and dance, storytelling, craft, foodways, work, celebrations, and everyday community life.
- It shows how traditions are preserved, adapted, and passed from hand to hand.
- Featured items include a banjo signed by Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger.
- The exhibition explores how folklife connects people to one another and to the places, experiences, and practices that shape them.
- The Library of Congress is located in Washington, D.C.
Entities
Artists
- Woody Guthrie
- Pete Seeger
Institutions
- Library of Congress
- American Folklife Center
Locations
- Washington, D.C.
- United States