The Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the Aga Khan Music Initiative

The Aga Khan Trust for Culture is the lead funder and creative partner of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and The Silk Road Project, Inc. At the same time the Trust promotes Central Asian music in Europe and North America, it is also working through the auspices of the Aga Khan Music Initiative for the preservation and promotion of traditional music at the heart of the Silk Road.

The Aga Khan Trust for Culture is the lead funder and creative partner of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and The Silk Road Project, Inc. The Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the Aga Khan Music InitiativeThe long-term goals are to revitalise the study and performance of traditional music and to make local festivals artistically and financially self-sustaining.

Introduction to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the Aga Khan Music Initiative
The 2002 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, to be held 26 - 30 June 2002 and July 3 - 7 2002 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C, USA, features 350 traditional artists - musicians, dancers, craftsmen, storytellers, artists, cooks, and more - from 20 nations including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, China, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the United States and Uzbekistan.

For more information on the Aga Khan Trust for Culture's activities in Central Asian Music, please see the information backgrounder Preserving and Promoting Traditional Music of the Silk Road (PDF, 61KB, English) and the Aga Khan Music Initiative page.

The Silk Road Project
The Silk Road Project, an ongoing series of concerts and festivals. The Trust is the lead funding agency and creative partner of the Silk Road Project, which was founded by reknowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma to "study the ebb and flow of ideas among different cultures along the Silk Road" and "plant the seeds of new artistic and cultural growth...".

For more information on Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Project, Inc., please see the Silk Road Project website. Also see the Calendar of concerts on the Silk Road Project website.