FY19 Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program Application Deadline Sept. 17

From Bradley Hanson, Director of Folklife –

The Tennessee Arts Commission Folklife Program has opened applications for the 2019 Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. Heading into its third year, the program is designed to encourage the sustainability, continued development and proliferation of our state’s diverse folklife traditions. Funding will be awarded to eligible teams of master artists and apprentices committed to preserving, typically through one-on-one training, a traditional art form deeply rooted in their community and cultural heritage. This is a competitive, panel-reviewed grant category. Only some of the applications will be funded.

A master artist is a tradition bearer who is recognized by fellow artists and community members as exceptionally skilled and committed to perpetuating a traditional art form based on his or her cultural heritage. Master artists who apply must demonstrate expertise and excellence, teaching ability, and deep cultural knowledge of the art form.

An apprentice, who is selected by and applies with the master artist, should be a talented and committed student who desires to sharpen his or her skills in a traditional art. The apprentice should not be a complete beginner. He or she should demonstrate enough experience in the traditional art to benefit from this training. Apprentices should also express an intention to train others in the art form in the future. Apprentices and master artists may be family members. The strongest applications are those in which the master and apprentice are members of the same ethnic, religious, or occupational group.

The master and apprentice teams must demonstrate a commitment to training in a community-based folk or traditional art. Such practices include traditional music, visual art, crafts, dance, foodways, calendar and life-cycle customs, and occupational skills. Traditional art forms are those learned and passed down informally by imitation, word of mouth, performance, or observation in cultural communities that share family, ethnic, tribal, regional, occupational, or religious identity.

Ineligible art forms and activities include historical recreations and copies of antiques, the work of professional teachers or contemporary studio craft artists, and revivals of traditions outside of the originating cultural community. Applicants must be citizens or legal residents of the United States. The master artist is preferred to be from Tennessee. The apprentice must be a resident of the state. Read the application instructions before applying. Contact me if you have questions, 615.532.9795.