TRENTON – The New Jersey State Council on the Arts announces the availability of Guidelines and Applications for its Fiscal Year 2010 Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program. The application deadline is April 3, 2009 and workshops conducted by Arts Council staff will be offered in various locations around the state for individuals and teams seeking assistance with the application process. (See schedule below).
Folk Arts Apprenticeships support the traditional arts and crafts of New Jersey's many different cultural communities, helping talented apprentice artists further hone their skills by working directly with a master artist of a shared community.
"New Jersey is home to more than 144 ethnic groups as well as diverse communities of people defined by region, occupation, religion or language, whose traditional arts are valued ways of expressing identity and sustaining authenticity," Arts Council Chair Carol Ann Herbert explains. "The Council has long recognized that support for these artists has broad impact on New Jersey's communities helping to sustain important cultural traditions, strengthen group ties, and promote cross-cultural understanding. This program brings together some of the most remarkable artists who help us celebrate what it means to live in New Jersey, a state that embraces diversity."
Over the last 12 years, the Council's Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program has assisted more than 160 artists who comprise a fascinating spectrum of traditional arts and crafts. Some of these apprenticeships have included Filipino, Native American, Ukrainian, New Jersey Pinelands region, Japanese, African American, Puerto Rican and many other forms of art. According to Arts Council Executive Director Steve Runk, "These awards help preserve and sustain the traditional art forms that have been continually practiced in New Jersey and around the world for many generations. It is of paramount importance that these unique customs and ways of life get passed forward accurately and consistently."
Apprentices may request up to $3,000 to support an intensive regimen of study with a master artist for up to 12 months. The application process requires that each interested folk arts apprentice apply with a master artist as a team by providing comprehensive, detailed information of their shared artistic cultural backgrounds and their planned scope of work together.
The technical assistance workshop schedule is as follows:
Thursday, Feb. 26, 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Trenton
Friday, Feb. 27, 4 to 5:00 p.m.
Down Jersey Folklife Center, Millville
Saturday, March 7, 11 a.m. to noon
Northeast NJ Folk Arts Program, Union City
Sunday, March 8, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
Folklife Program for New Jersey, New Brunswick
Saturday, March 14, 2 to 3:30 p.m.
Jersey Shore Regional Folklife Center, Tuckerton
To reserve a space at a workshop, contact Kim Nguyen at kim@arts.sos.state.nj.us or 609.292.6130. All workshop sites are accessible to persons with disabilities. Those in need of special assistance should call the Council office two weeks prior to the workshop date at 609.292.6130 or 609.633.1186 (TTY).
The New Jersey State Council on the Arts is a division of the New Jersey Department of State. It receives funding through direct appropriations from the State of New Jersey and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Since 1966, its volunteer members and professional staff have worked to improve the quality of life for New Jersey, its people and communities by helping the arts to flourish. For more information about the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, please visit www.njartscouncil.org. Further information regarding the arts is found on an interactive web site (www.jerseyarts.com) and available on a toll-free hotline (1-800- THE ARTS).
Folk Arts Apprenticeships support the traditional arts and crafts of New Jersey's many different cultural communities, helping talented apprentice artists further hone their skills by working directly with a master artist of a shared community.
"New Jersey is home to more than 144 ethnic groups as well as diverse communities of people defined by region, occupation, religion or language, whose traditional arts are valued ways of expressing identity and sustaining authenticity," Arts Council Chair Carol Ann Herbert explains. "The Council has long recognized that support for these artists has broad impact on New Jersey's communities helping to sustain important cultural traditions, strengthen group ties, and promote cross-cultural understanding. This program brings together some of the most remarkable artists who help us celebrate what it means to live in New Jersey, a state that embraces diversity."
Over the last 12 years, the Council's Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program has assisted more than 160 artists who comprise a fascinating spectrum of traditional arts and crafts. Some of these apprenticeships have included Filipino, Native American, Ukrainian, New Jersey Pinelands region, Japanese, African American, Puerto Rican and many other forms of art. According to Arts Council Executive Director Steve Runk, "These awards help preserve and sustain the traditional art forms that have been continually practiced in New Jersey and around the world for many generations. It is of paramount importance that these unique customs and ways of life get passed forward accurately and consistently."
Apprentices may request up to $3,000 to support an intensive regimen of study with a master artist for up to 12 months. The application process requires that each interested folk arts apprentice apply with a master artist as a team by providing comprehensive, detailed information of their shared artistic cultural backgrounds and their planned scope of work together.
The technical assistance workshop schedule is as follows:
Thursday, Feb. 26, 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Trenton
Friday, Feb. 27, 4 to 5:00 p.m.
Down Jersey Folklife Center, Millville
Saturday, March 7, 11 a.m. to noon
Northeast NJ Folk Arts Program, Union City
Sunday, March 8, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
Folklife Program for New Jersey, New Brunswick
Saturday, March 14, 2 to 3:30 p.m.
Jersey Shore Regional Folklife Center, Tuckerton
To reserve a space at a workshop, contact Kim Nguyen at kim@arts.sos.state.nj.us or 609.292.6130. All workshop sites are accessible to persons with disabilities. Those in need of special assistance should call the Council office two weeks prior to the workshop date at 609.292.6130 or 609.633.1186 (TTY).
The New Jersey State Council on the Arts is a division of the New Jersey Department of State. It receives funding through direct appropriations from the State of New Jersey and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Since 1966, its volunteer members and professional staff have worked to improve the quality of life for New Jersey, its people and communities by helping the arts to flourish. For more information about the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, please visit www.njartscouncil.org. Further information regarding the arts is found on an interactive web site (www.jerseyarts.com) and available on a toll-free hotline (1-800- THE ARTS).
