Archaeology
Archaeology is the study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and the analysis of artifacts and other physical remains. Despite its focus on the past, archaeology brings to life themes as relevant today as they were several millennia ago: identity, sense of place, community, ritual, power, awe, and connection.
Architectural Styles
Think of any city in the world, and chances are you immediately call to mind an iconic skyline or building–the pyramids of Egypt, Gaudi’s Sagrada Família in Barcelona, the Taj Mahal in India, the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in Peru. This cultural uniqueness is called “genius loci,” which means the “spirit of a place.”
Changemakers
Culture encompasses the past, the present and the future. Culture includes heritage and tradition, as well as creativity and innovation. To endure, be sustainable, and remain relevant, culture is dynamic and ever-changing.
Cultural Immersion
Are you eager to have an authentic cultural experience in your next destination…but aren’t sure how to? Keen to understand how people in other parts of the world live…but don’t know how to go about meeting locals? We can help! We love to share ideas on how to travel with locals.
Dance
Dance is a powerful mode of communicating in a visceral way. Before the invention of written languages, dance was a primary method of passing stories down from generation to generation. Dance is an intrinsic part of life on many levels–social, ceremonial, competitive, eroctic, martial or sacred.
Festivals
Festivals are a way to become part of a region’s community. Whether religious or seasonal, somber or silly, formal or casual, festivals mark an occasion that has some type of meaning for the people who honor it. Festivals are a window into the shared traditions and history.
Folk Art
Folk art expresses cultural identity by conveying shared community values and aesthetics and often reflect ethnic, tribal, or religious beliefs. Folk art encompasses a range of utilitarian and decorative media, including cloth, wood, paper, clay, metal and more.
Culinary Arts
Food is one of the most tangible and evocative cultural manifestations there is! If the main ingredient in “Culture” is identity, who doesn’t consider their favorite dish to be an integral part of who they are and where they come from?
Gardens and Landscapes
Gardens and landscapes are two different ways to encounter our natural physical surroundings. Gardens are an aesthetic arrangement of nature, whereas landscapes may or may not have reflected intervention by humans.
Language and Legend
The need to be heard and feel understood are part of our shared, universal human condition. A common understanding of how units of sounds and symbols are organized, written and spoken facilitate understanding and effective social interaction.
Maritime
Maritime traditions reflect the tangible and intangible dimensions of the nautical life and encompass hard skills such as boat-building, fishing, salt harvesting as well as nuanced and mystical rituals, ceremonies and festivals.
Music
If language is a cultural construct that allows we humans to process and communicate ideas and thoughts, then music is the medium that enables us to share our hearts and souls with each other.
Cultural Heritage
One definition of preservation means to "keep alive". The desire to honor and share what we find meaningful seems to be hard-wired into our DNA. Neolithic man created cave art, alphabets began emerging around 2000 B.C.
Spiritual Practices
A desire to connect with the Divine is a part of the human experience and how we make that connection personally is our spiritual practice; how we access something larger than ourselves as a collective creates a culture.
Textiles
Textiles are a material manifestation of history, memory, and place, telling the story of people’s relationship with each other, their landscape, their culture–as well as chronicling the influences of conquerors, colonists, pilgrims, and trading partners.
Visual Arts
Humans process information better visually than by any other means. With 90% of the data transmitted to the human brain being visual, its not surprising that the visual arts is such a diverse and far-reaching mode of cultural transmission.