Jesus Mari Lazkano is a professor at the University of the Basque Country and outdoor enthusiast known for his fantastic surrealist landscape paintings inspired by the Basque landscapes he encounters on a daily basis.

Environmentalists, activists, educators—the Arrow-weeds are a force. They protect the sacred sites and desert ecosystem of their ancestral lands, the lower Colorado River region, through successfully protesting the creation of mines and turbines.

Gentrification: the process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents. (Merriam-Webster)

The shapes and colors of Jesus Maria Lazkano’s landscape paintings are familiar, but his mountains float, his water falls in squares, and his icebergs hang in mid-air.

What do you remember after you leave a large festival at closing time? The sights, sounds, and smells? Or all of the Styrofoam cups and containers on the ground?

We recently heard from Sean Harris, one of the animators in the 2009 Wales Smithsonian Cymru program.

In talking with folk artist Angel L. Callañaupa Alvares, this video gives insight about the expansive significance of Pachamama. His deep appreciation for Pachamama is ever present in his work

Artist Aymar Ccopacatty knits, weaves, braids, and collages with recycled plastic bags that he collects mostly from his homeland of Peru.

Did you know that the Folklife Festival is the largest composting and recycling effort on the National Mall?

Influenced by the biodiversity of southern Peru and the Amazon, the paintings of Brus Rubio and Ángel Callañaupa depict a profound link between art and the natural world.