The Traditional Arts Apprenticeship grants help communities preserve their cultural heritage through the learning and passing on of traditional arts– including crafts, music, and dance – so that future generations can continue to benefit from them.
Donor Name: New Hampshire State Council on the Arts (NHSCA)
State: New Hampshire
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/30/2023
Size of the Grant: $3,000
Grant Duration: 1 year
Details:
Apprenticeship grants fund a master traditional artist to teach an experienced apprentice in one-to-one sessions for a minimum of 65 hours over a period of six to ten months. Traditional arts are passed down from one generation to the next within communities through observation, conversation, imitation, and practice. They represent a sense of beauty, skills, knowledge, and community values refined over generations and are an important part of their living cultural heritage. Communities can be defined in many ways such as groups that share the same ethnic heritage, language, geographic area, religion, occupation, or way of life.
The Traditional arts evolve as people, communities and the environment interact and transform. The State Council on the Arts Heritage and Traditional Arts Program seeks to be responsive to how communities define themselves and their traditions. They place emphasis on supporting tradition bearers that have a direct connection to the community or group from which a tradition emerged. Applications in traditions in which there is a limited availability of master teachers will be more competitive than those that are widely taught in New Hampshire.
Funding Priorities
- Funding for Traditional Arts Apprenticeship grants is limited and awarded on a competitive basis.
- To provide for the equitable distribution of funds, when two applications have been determined as having equal merit by the review panel, the State Arts Council will give funding priority to master artists who are applying for the first time.
- Master Artist and/or Apprentices applying to this program who are not from the community where the tradition emerged will be considered a low priority.
Funding Information
- A master artist and apprentice team may apply for a combined total of up to $4,000 per year. Within that amount, the maximum request for the master artist is $3,000 and the maximum request for the apprentice is $1,000. Please note that all grant categories and amounts are subject to change, depending upon availability of state and federal funds for any fiscal year.
- Projects occurring between November 1, 2023 – September 30, 2024
Eligible Project Expenses
Grant funds may cover:
- Master artist fees for teaching, supplies, and travel essential to the Apprenticeship.
Apprentice supplies and travel costs essential to the Apprenticeship. (The grant does not cover fees for the apprentice’s time.) - Fees associated with sharing a community presentation.
Eligibility Criteria
- Traditional artists active in any artistic or cultural expression that can demonstrate there is a community context for the tradition within New Hampshire may apply for a Traditional Arts Apprenticeship grant. Individuals interested in applying for this grant identify each other and apply together as a team. In some cases, the Heritage and Traditional Arts Coordinator can provide contact information for artists working in a particular traditional art form, but it is up to individuals interested in this grant to contact each other.
The master artist should
- Be recognized by their community as an established and mature practitioner of the traditional art form.
- Demonstrate artistic excellence through supporting materials. There is no certification required to be considered a master artist.
- Strong connection and/or involvement to the community where the tradition emerged. · Be able to express in the application a sincere interest and commitment to teaching the tradition to the proposed apprentice.
The apprentice should
- Demonstrate experience and competency in the artistic tradition they want to study.
- Be able to express in the application a sincere interest and commitment to sharing with others the knowledge learned after the completion of the Apprenticeship.
- Strong connection and/or involvement to the community where the tradition emerged.
- Be at least 12 years old and have parental approval to apply if younger than 18.
For more information, visit Traditional Arts Apprenticeships.