Culture Series: Snap City - The Art of Roller Skating

HumanitiesDC & Tasha Klusmann Present Culture Series: Snap City - The Art of Roller Skating. Join us for an unforgettable evening as native Washingtonian and roller skate historian Tasha Klusmann takes us inside the world of Style roller skating. Style skating is a cultural tradition with roots dating back to the 1960s. Klusmann presents her case for Style being recognized as an official folk art.

Her groundbreaking research traces the history of the DC-Maryland variation of Style from its beginnings to today's new generation of skaters referred to as "Snappers." Be among the first to see short takes of exclusive footage from Our Family Skate Association’s National African American Roller Skating Archive documentary, Snap City (currently in post-production), followed by a Q&A.

Snap City highlights how the community works to bridge the gap between seasoned skaters and "Snappers" to preserve the area's unique variation of Style roller skating for future generations.

Don't miss your chance to grab a selfie with the largest artifact submitted to the National African American Roller Skating Archive. Can you guess what it is?

More About the Curator: Tasha Klusmann, curator and historian, sheds light on the rich history and artistry of African American roller skating, with a particular focus on the DC-MD variation of Style roller skating, also known as "Snap." As a 2023 HumanitiesDC Fellow, Klusmann has presented her research most recently at, the 2025 DC History Conference, where she showcased her work "Roll Wit It! More than a Century of Roller Skating In Washington, D.C.," and at the 2025 Rendez-Vous in Paris (Paris, France) with "Snap Style History.”
A native Washingtonian, Tasha has been documenting and researching the history of roller skating for over twenty years. In 2004 she founded the National African American Roller Skating Archive, dedicated to preserving the stories and artifacts of roller skating across the United States. She is thrilled to share her findings and continue her mission to illuminate the health and social benefits of roller skating.

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Please note: RSVPs guarantee entry up to 10 minutes prior to the event start time, at which point unclaimed tickets will be released to the public. Donations are not refundable.

Accessibility: For reasonable accommodation requests regarding access and inclusion, including ASL interpretation, please contact Jimmy Watkins ([email protected]) no later than five business days before the start of this event.

Host or Publisher HumanitiesDC