Announcing the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program 2020/21 Cohort
Apprenticeship project sites
The Vermont Folklife Center is pleased to announce the cohort of master artists and students comprising the 28th year of the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (VTAAP). Thirteen projects will be supported this year. With funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Center initiated the program in 1992 to support the continued vitality of Vermont's living cultural heritage. VTAAP provides stipends of up to $2,000 to master and apprentice pairs to cover materials and travel expenses. Under the auspices of the program, traditional arts such as blacksmithing, Somali-Bantu embroidering, Franco-American singing, and Nepali folk dancing have received support.
A traditional arts apprenticeship brings teachers and learners together who share a commitment to sustaining these art forms. It pairs a community-recognized master artist who has achieved a high level of expertise in their art form with a less-experienced apprentice. The master and apprentice jointly plan when, where and what they expect to accomplish during the apprenticeship. Apprenticeship schedules reflect the time constraints of both master and apprenticeship, and range from short-term, intensive sessions to meetings spread over a year.
More than 350 apprenticeships have been supported since 1992. The 13 successful applicants of the 2020 - 2021 program cycle are listed here:
Traditional Gaelic Harp - Dominique Dodge / Ellie Freebern
Piano accompaniment for contra dance - Pete Sutherland / Emmett Stowell
Anglo-American Folk Singing - Tony Barrand / Amanda Witman
Stone Carving - Heather Milne-Ritchie / Crystal Faye-Marie "Wolf" Whitney
Burundian Song - Diane Gitchel / Aline Mukiza
Franco-American Fiddle - Pete Sutherland / Isabella Rottler
New England/Vermont Song and Fiddle Repertoire - Pete Sutherland / Maeve Fairfax
Traditional Nepali Singing and Harmonium Voice Accompaniment - Gopal Niroula / Isika Niroula
Nepali Sarangi Basic Education - Shyam Nepali / Brian Perkins
Nepali Sarangi Basic Education - Shyam Nepali / Ronisha Tamang
Nepali Sarangi Basic Education - Shyam Nepali / Sajal Dahal
Traditional French Canadian Weaving - Kate Smith / Jude Poor
Tibetan Dranyen, Singing and Dancing - Migmar Tsering / Students of Rolyang Lobling
In the coming months VFC will share documentation and news related to these extraordinary projects. Stay tuned on our website, podcast, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to follow their progress.