Folk and Traditional Arts Fellowships and Apprenticeships

Activity Period: January 1 through December 31. All Fellowship funds must be expended during this period.

Award Amounts: PCA awards these Fellowships in amounts up to $5,000 for Fellowships and amounts up to $4,000 for Apprenticeships and the inclusion of the artist's profile on the Institute for Cultural Partnerships (ICP) Website

Description:

Folk and traditional arts are defined as those artistic traditions characteristic of specific ethnic, religious, linguistic, occupational, or regional groups. In Pennsylvania, as elsewhere, they are shaped and shared within families, neighborhoods, and communities.  They are passed down from one generation to another and learned through on-going participation in community-based activities, and through observation or imitation of master practitioners.

Folk and traditional arts take such forms as dance, song, music, craft, storytelling, and oral poetry.  While they continually evolve through time, traditional arts reflect a sense of shared aesthetics and the values of their respective community.  Moreover, folk and traditional arts are integrated into community life and often serve as symbols of that community's identity or heritage.

Folk and traditional arts have their own community-based systems of training and education through which individual artists learn and attain mastery.  Folk arts are generally learned informally within a community, through careful observation and practice, or through apprenticeships with elders and masters.

Traditional artists, through their creativity, excellence, and dedication, reflect each community's history, practices, beliefs and values.  Individual artists may be recognized for their excellence, their extensive repertoire, or their particular style of performance.  Their work thrives because it is a powerful expression of their community's experience.

Folk and Traditional Arts Fellowship:

Traditional Arts Fellowships are designed to honor and recognize excellent practitioners of traditional arts who are known as masters within their cultural communities.  Though artistic excellence is the primary criteria for selection, the depth of the applicant's knowledge of the tradition and their contribution to the preservation and/or development of the art form within their cultural community are of fundamental importance in the evaluation process.

Yearly Traditional Arts Fellowship awards alternate between two general categories:  Performing Traditions (even years) and Craft Traditions (odd years). Performing Traditions include music, dance, drama, puppetry, storytelling, and other verbal arts whose presentation unfolds in time.  Craft Traditions include handmade artifacts -- or processes intended to create a finished product -- that have both functional and decorative purposes.

The program provides awards of $5,000 and the inclusion of the artist's profile on the Institute for Cultural Partnerships (ICP) Website.

Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships in Traditional Arts grants are designed to support the learning of traditional arts within cultural communities across the state.  Grants provide funding to partnerships between a master traditional artist and a qualified apprentice that enable a master to train the apprentice in more advanced techniques or repertoire.

Apprenticeships in Traditional Arts grants are offered annually in BOTH performing or craft traditions.  The program provides award of up to $4,000 and the inclusion of the artists' profiles on the ICP Website.

Application Review Process

ICP Processes the applications and prepares them for review by a panel of qualified jurors in the fall.

The juror is comprised of up to five arts professionals, residing out of state.  Jurors are chosen on the basis of their highly-regarded professional achievements and broad knowledge of the arts to represent a wide range of artistic styles and aesthetic concerns.  Juries are assembled with consideration given to providing a balance of geographical representation, cultural diversity, age and gender.  New juries are selected each year, in every category, and are approved by the PCA.

The review process is not anonymous; jurors will review the artist narratives, biographical information, and work samples.  Jurors use a numerical scale to evaluate each application according to the set criteria and aid them in making their award recommendations.  Once the jurors complete their review and make award recommendations, the PCA presents the results to the Council for final review and action in December.  All applicants are notified by mail on or about January 31.

Notification

To receive notification of the Council's receipt of your application, include a self-addressed postcard with your application packet.  The PCA recommends that you send your application return-receipt.

The jurors' recommendations are sent to the Council for review and action at the December Council meeting.  On or about January 31, all applicants will be notified by mail of the Council's decision.  Checks should be distributed by April, upon review and approval of the applicant's Award Agreement and artist profile submissions.

Use of Funds

Funds can be used for:

• Time and creative work.
• Supplies and materials related to artistic development
• Activities that directly benefit artistic development and recognition.

Funds cannot be sued for:

• Capital expenditures, including equipment costing $500 per item or more.
• Activities for which academic credit is given.
• Activities that have already been completed.
• Activities that have a religious purpose.
• Performances and exhibitions not available to the general public.
• Performances and exhibitions outside Pennsylvania.
• Cash prizes and awards.
• Benefit activities.
• Hospitality expenses, i.e. receptions, parties, gallery openings.
• Lobbyists' payments.
• Competitions.