Arts Council’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeships announced

The NH 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 10 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 of Bradford and Darryl Peasley of Contoocook; ash splint Abenaki baskets

• T.J. Wheeler of Hampton Falls and apprentice Isabelle Domingos of Hampton; blues songsters

• Fred Dolan of Strafford and apprentice Bryan Tasker of Center Barnstead; decoy carving

• Hari Maya Adhikari of Concord and apprentice Ajay Darjee of Concord; Eastern classical and vocal harmonium music

• Prem Sagar Khatiwada of Concord and apprentice Samir Darjee of Concord, Eastern folk and classical madal music

• Julia Ferrari of Ashuelot, and apprentice Nick Costantino of North Bennington, Vt.; letterpress printing

• Pam Bartlett of Loudon and apprentice Alice Ogden of West Franklin; rug hooking

• Marina Forbes of Rochester and apprentice Eileen Riggs deCastro, of Boylston, MA; Russian icon painting

Learn more about the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts at nh.gov/nharts.