Arts Council’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeships announced

The N.H. State Council on the Arts has announced grant awards for eight apprenticeship teams working within its Traditional Arts Apprenticeship program.

The Traditional Arts Apprenticeship grants help preserve cultural heritage through the learning and passing on of traditional arts and folklife – including crafts, music, dance and foodways – so that future generations can continue to benefit from them.

Each apprenticeship team is made up of a qualified master traditional artist and an apprentice who together apply to meet in one-to-one sessions for a minimum of 65 hours over a period of six to ten months.

Funds granted through the program support teaching fees, supplies, travel to the one-to-one sessions and fees associated with a community presentation for the public, which is a grant requirement.

The maximum request for the master artist is $3,000 and the maximum request for the apprentice is $1,000. Total grant funding the program in Fiscal Year 2022 is $30,960.

Teams receiving 2022 Traditional Arts Apprenticeship funding are:

• William Gould, Bradford, and Darryl Peasley, Contoocook; ash splint Abenaki baskets
• J. Wheeler, Hampton Falls, and apprentice Isabelle Domingos, Hampton; blues songsters
• Fred Dolan, Strafford, and apprentice Bryan Tasker, Center Barnstead; decoy carving
• Hari Maya Adhikari, Concord, and apprentice Ajay Darjee, Concord; Eastern classical and vocal harmonium music
• Prem Sagar Khatiwada, Concord, and apprentice Samir Darjee, Concord, Eastern folk and classical madal music
• Julia Ferrari, Ashuelot, and apprentice Nick Costantino, North Bennington, Vt.; letterpress printing
• Pam Bartlett, Loudon, and apprentice Alice Ogden, West Franklin; rug hooking
• Marina Forbes, Rochester, and apprentice Eileen Riggs deCastro, Boylston, Mass.; Russian icon painting

The New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, a division of the New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, enhances the quality of life in New Hampshire by stimulating economic growth through the arts, investing in the creativity of students, making the arts accessible to underserved populations and preserving heritage arts. Learn more about the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts at nh.gov/nharts.