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For Immediate Release
January 8, 2008
Media Contact
- Allison Tratner
- 609.292.4524
- allison@arts.sos.state.nj.us
Grants for Traditional Folk Arts Available
NJ State Council on the Arts Announces FY09 Grant Opportunities and Application Workshops
(Trenton, NJ) The New Jersey State Council on the Arts (NJSCA) announces the availability of Guidelines and Applications for its 2008-2009 Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program (www.njartscouncil.org). The deadline for submission of applications is April 4, 2008 and workshops conducted by NJSCA staff intended to furnish prospective applicants with technical assistance and guidance will be offered in various locations around the state. (See schedule below).
“The Council has long recognized that cultural diversity is one of New Jersey’s most significant and valuable characteristics,” explains NJSCA Chair Carol Ann Herbert. “This state is home to 144 ethnic groups whose traditional arts are valued ways of expressing identity, strengthening group ties and enriching the larger community around us. Support for these traditional arts preserves important authentic cultural traditions, nurtures artists and celebrates what it means to live in New Jersey, a state that embraces diversity.”
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. According to NJSCA Executive Director Steve Runk, “These awards help preserve and sustain the traditional arts that have been 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 authentically and consistently.”
Over the last ten years, the Council’s Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program has assisted more than a hundred artists who comprise a fascinating spectrum of traditional arts and crafts. Some of these cultural apprenticeships have included Filipino, Native American, Ukrainian, NJ Pinelands region, Japanese, African American, Puerto Rican and many other forms of art.
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:
February 28, 2008, 11:00 A.M.
New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Trenton
Directions: www.njartscouncil.org
February 29, 2008, 4:00 P.M.
Down Jersey Folklife Center
Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center, Millville
Directions: www.wheatonarts.org/downjersey
March 1, 2008, 11:00 A.M.
Northeast NJ Folk Arts Program
Park Performing Arts Center, Union City
Directions: www.parkpac.org/pp_fol.html
March 2, 2008, 2:00 P.M.
Jersey Shore Regional Folklife Center
Tuckerton Seaport, Tuckerton
Directions: www.tuckertonseaport.org/jerseyshorefolklifecenter.html
March 9, 2008, 12:30 P.M.
Folklife Program for New Jersey
Middlesex County Cultural & Heritage Commission, New Brunswick
Directions: www.co.middlesex.nj.us/culturalheritage/folklife.asp
To reserve a space at a workshop, contact the Council at 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).
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