Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program

[ClayB]

I received an email from the Folklorist at the North Dakota Council for the Arts this week that said it's time to apply for the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. This program gives grants to help preserve what are considered "traditional arts". Here in ND, those include such things as Dakotah storytelling, Vietnamese embroidery, Czech Easter egg decorating, Armenian copper bas relief work, blacksmithing, saddle construction, German-Russian willow basketry, Hidatsa quillwork, Sudanese music, Norwegian Hardanger embroidery, etc. The grants are available for up to $2500 with part of the funds going to buying materials and the other portion going to the "master" that teaches the apprentice. I have participated in this program twice as an apprentice and this year I am considering applying to teach my son how to build a saddle.

If you are interested in learning or teaching what is considered a traditional art, check out what may be offered in your state. Many states have similar programs and you should be able to find them by doing a search for Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program or your state's Council for the Arts. Deadlines for applying for these are usually quite early in the year.

[King's X]

I called the the A/C here in Texas and I swear he thought I was smoking crack! He has absolutely no clue what I was talking about. He did mention that I could hook up with a saddler or custom maker and they could teach me for free. He said that was kinda like a grant. I then thought that he was smoking crack and didn't bother to give me a "me too!"

This Apprenticeship sound AWESOME. Your boy should be so luck!!

I appreciate the heads up though.

[budd4766]

Not every state will have leather work as an option. Here in GA, I'm S.O.L....unless I want to learn dance or something.

[King's X]

You would think that TEXAS would be interested in leather/saddle making and keeping the craft alive. Go figure.

[abn]

If anyone living in Virginia is interested, a similar program is sponsored by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.

http://www.virginiafolklife.org/apprenticeships/apprenticeship.html

[King's X]

ABN ~ thanks for sharing, that is cool~!

[TimDreamer]

King's X,

No one has made the case for leatherworking to be a traditional folk art here in Texas. So far as I can see from the website for Texas FolkArt (www.texasfolklife.org) is for the past five years they've been stuck on getting kids to play accordions in The Big Squeeze Contest. Other things have been photographing Texas Ranch Gates and planting flowers at some ghost town. Doesn't sound much like traditional arts things to me. Maybe it's time to break out of the mold and start sending in applications for apprenticeships, huh?