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    Apply for a Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship

    Apprenticeships in Folk and Traditional Arts are grants that support the learning of traditional arts within cultural communities across the state. 

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    Program Overview

    Apprenticeship grants provide funding for a one-year partnership between a master artist and a qualified apprentice, in order for them to engage in in-depth learning around the acquition of techniques and artistry as well as the context of the culture.

    • Apprenticeship grant amounts are a maximum of $4,000.
    • Apprenticeships may may receive a maximum of four grant award.
    • Apprenticeship grants are offered annually in both performing or craft traditions.

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    How to Apply

    Please note: The application period for 2024-2025 Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeships is closed. The 2025-2026 guidelines and application will be available in January 2025.
     
    Before completing the application, the master artist and apprentice must talk through their ideas for the apprenticeship and arrive at a clear understanding of what is to take place and why. The application form and required attachments are essential in guiding this discussion.

     

    What are Folk and Traditional Arts?

    Folk and Traditional Arts are artistic traditions characteristic of specific ethnic, religious, linguistic, occupational, or regional groups. Folk and Traditional Arts are typically shaped and shared within families, neighborhoods, and communities.

    These arts and traditions are passed down from one generation to another and learned through ongoing participation in community-based activities, and through observation, practice or apprenticeships with elders and masters rather than through classes, books or other means of institutional instruction. 

     

    About the Folk and Traditional Arts Partnership

    The goals of the Council on the Arts' (PCA) Folk and Traditional Arts Partnership are to investigate, document, present, sustain, and promote the folk and traditional art of Pennsylvania in order to celebrate our diverse heritage.

    The Folk and Traditional Arts Partnership is composed of local and regional organizations that form a mutually supportive network and specializes in, or includes, a focus on folk and traditional arts. The Folk and Tradiitional Arts Partners collectively serve 40 PA counties by:

    • Promoting the creation and documentation of folk art;
    • Engaging the public in understanding the quality, breadth, and diversity of folk and traditional arts across the state;
    • Conducting critical discovery fieldwork in under-represented communities; and
    • Providing technical assistance for folk and traditional artists through workshops and gatherings.