Announcing the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program 2021/22 Cohort
The Vermont Folklife Center is pleased to announce the cohort of master and student artists comprising the 29th cycle of the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (VTAAP)! Thirteen projects will be supported this year. With support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Vermont Arts Council, 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 Abenaki fiber arts, Tibetan dranyen playing, stone carving, Franco-American fiddling, and traditional Nepali dancing and sarangi music 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 apprentice, and range from short-term, intensive sessions to meetings spread over a year.
More than 400 apprenticeships have been supported since 1992. The 13 successful applicants of the 2021 - 2022 program cycle are listed here:
Piano accompaniment for contra dance - Pete Sutherland / Emmett Stowell
Anglo-American Folk Singing - Tony Barrand / Amanda Witman
Timber Framing - Sean Dalton / Trish Fernweh
Burundian Dance and Song - Club culturel Indangaburundi/Mukiza / Aline Mukiza
Franco-American Fiddling in Vermont: The Legacy of Louis Beaudoin - Lisa Ornstein / Hadley Stockwell
Western Abenaki ash splint and sweetgrass fancy basket making - Sherry Gould / Vera Sheehan
Knotting (Abenaki fiber art) - Vera Sheehan / Sherry Gould
Nepali Percussion: Madal and Tabla - Purushottam Niroula / Maitreya Gurung
Traditional Nepali Singing and Harmonium Voice Accompaniment - Ram Hari Pudel / Isika Niroula
Nepali Sarangi Basic Education - Shyam Nepali / Sajal Dahal et al
Traditional Weaving - Kate Smith / Jude Seo
Textile Weaving - Kate Smith / Moyerbrailean
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, and Instagram to follow their progress.