Pictured above:The Castle at Twilight, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
(Photos can be purchased from Scott L. Robertson Photography)
Folklorist Dr Betty Belanus will be in residence at the Centre for the Study of Media and Culture in Small Nations to complete a survey of resources from past and current projects in cultural research and representation done on Wales which she has been working on with the collaboration of specialists in Wales over the past two years.
Dr Belanus said, “I am looking forward to having this very appropriate base at a research centre at the University of Glamorgan. Housed in the new Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries, it should be a good place to learn more about the range of work done by the media, universities, industry, museums, heritage organizations and community groups throughout Wales in recent years.
“I hope that in exchange I can share some of my experience in planning large cultural events with colleagues and students at Glamorgan and around the country.”
The research project supports a planned programme on Welsh culture for the 2009 Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C., and a period of active fieldwork and consultative planning visits around Wales will begin with her extended stay. During this time she will have a chance to build on work developed over several years with a University of Glamorgan based collaborator, Dr. Teri Brewer, as well as colleagues in several other Welsh universities and the National Museum of Wales.
The Centre for the Study of Media and Culture in Small Nations will host a special symposium on issues in the representation of Welsh identity abroad in November 2007 to coincide with the formal opening of the University’s new Cardiff campus. This symposium will be closely linked to work for the planned festival project and will be led by Centre Director Dr. David Barlow, with Dr. Belanus and Dr. Brewer.
Centre Director Dr. David Barlow said, “I am delighted that the Smithsonian will be working so closely with the Centre. Dr Belanus has a wealth of experience which will make this a very rewarding joint project.”
Smithsonian Institution’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which celebrates its 41st year this summer, presents the culture of different countries and regions of the world together with programmes from different American states and regions in a 10 day period on the National Mall in Washington D.C. This event typically attracts more than two million visitors each year.Glamorgan postgraduate student Aparna Sharma was recently awarded an internship developed in collaboration between the University of Glamorgan and the Smithsonian.
Sharma, who recently completed her PhD, is a documentary filmmaker and journalist with a particular interest in the visual representation of minority cultures and national and cultural identities. She is working with Dr. Belanus on Welsh materials and festival planning processes at the Smithsonian and in Library of Congress this spring.
Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries
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© 2007 Mark Leslie Woods
