Photo by Zack Lewkowicz
It’s time to break out your White House selfies because the Library of Congress needs them. The library’s American Folklife Center announced today a call for Americans to submit photos of folk traditions throughout 2016.
In honor of the center’s 40th anniversary, the purpose of the “My Tradition” project is to give future researchers an understanding of folklife in 2016, “just as today’s researchers use AFC collections to look at traditions 20 and 40 years ago,” said AFC Director Elizabeth Peterson in a release.
The AFC defines “tradition” broadly—ranging from preparing a decades-old recipe to singing, dancing, painting, quilting, celebrating a holiday, and more. Family, ethnic, regional, or occupational traditions all fall under the umbrella.
In the District, this could include salivating over a baby panda, getting a D.C. flag tattoo, and getting your morning commute complicated by Metro.
People are asked to submit photos through Flickr (photos can include objects or you can be in them, too). At the end of the year, the photos will create “a collective snapshot of folklife in 2016,” according to the release.