In good hands : a portrait of state apprenticeship programs in the folk & traditional arts, 1983-1995

In Good Hands

A Portrait of State Apprenticeship Programs in the
Folk & Traditional Arts, 1983-1995

by Susan Auerbach

1996
NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

Cover: Maine Indian brown ash basket.
Photo by Cedric Chatterley, courtesy Maine Arts Commission

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2012 with funding from

Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries

http://archive.org/details/ingoodhandsportrOOauer

This report was made possible through a grant from the National Endowment
for the Arts Folk and Traditional Arts Program to The Fund for Folk Culture. For
additional copies, please contact:

Director, Folk & Traditional Arts Program

National Endowment for the Arts

The Nancy Hanks Center

1100 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Room 720

Washington, D.C. 20506

Many thanks to the following for their generous assistance: Barry Bergey, Joey
Brackner, Jon Ching, Jennie Chinn, Keith Donohue, Dana Everts-Boehm, Troyd
Geist, Anne Hatch, Bess Hawes, Theresa Hoffman, Pat Jasper, Jill Linzee, Terry
Liu, Christine Marasigan, Richard March, Lynn Martin, Peter Mattair, Judy
McCulloh, Gordon McKann, Kathleen Mundell, Nancy Nusz, Betsy Peterson,
Sanford Rikoon, Ronna Lee Sharpe, Dan Sheehy, Amy Skillman, and all the pro-
gram coordinators who responded to the survey.

State Apprenticeship Programs in Folk and Traditional Arts, 1995

Plus U.S. districts and territories:

American Samoa

Guam

Puerto Rico Y//A

Washington, D.C

uzz

**

Note: New England Foundation for the Arts supports apprenticeships in the six New
England states.

LEGEND

Y//A Active program

\'///i Active self-supporting program

Discontinued or on hiatus

No history of apprenticeship program

Quilt by master artist Betty Roberts of
the Utah Folk Arts Apprenticeship
Program.

Photo by Anne F. Hatch,
courtesy Utah Arts Council

with the positive attention they bring to little-known, often
languishing traditions and the promise they offer to recon-
nect the generations through cultural hentage. From
lauhala weaving in Hawan to Abenaki traditional dancing in
Vermont, a number of folk arts that might otherwise have
been lost have been handed down to new practitioners.
These partnerships appeal strongly to the American imagi-
nation, especially when they pair an aging master with an
eager young learner. From small towns to inner cities, they
generate "good news" stories in the local media and
tremendous goodwill for folk arts programs.

Folklonsts who run apprenticeship programs are generally
gratified by the built-in advantages the partnerships offer
artists and communities. Because participants appreciate
the programs, coordinators gain entree for further field-
work and outreach, building a pool of high quality tradi-
tional artists for other projects. Politically, the programs
have become important to sponsoring agencies as a way to
serve diverse artists in widely dispersed areas at modest
expense. But fundamentally, coordinators value appren-
ticeships because they promote the transmission of tradi-

tional arts in context, as opposed to simply documenting or
presenting them in public programs. When people learn
the whole process of a craft, from collecting the natural
materials to creating the finished product, observes one
coordinator, "it guarantees the continuation of an art in a
stronger way."

After a dozen years, traditional arts apprenticeships appear
to be in good hands among both artists and the program
coordinators who work with them. Apprenticeship pro-
grams heighten awareness of the need to pass on traditions
from one knowledgeable person to the next, face-to-face
and side-by-side, as it has always been done. Participation
in a formal, publicized program seems to make both mas-
ters and apprentices more conscious of the delicate
process of transmission. For many, the experience deep-
ens their commitment to the tradition. "The art is no
longer practiced on my reservation, and since I have an
opportunity to leam, I feel a responsibility to do so, so that
it doesn't die out," writes a young apprentice in Ojibway
fish decoy carving in Wisconsin. "When my time comes I
can teach my children and my nieces and nephews."
Apprenticeship programs may well be the most potent
tool folk arts programs have for cultural conservation — the
systematic preservation and encouragement of cultural
heritage.

The importance of apprenticeships to folk arts program-
ming nationwide is evident in the results of a 1995 survey
of 35 out of 38 active apprenticeship programs. Four-fifths
of respondents report that apprenticeship programs are
either essential to or among the three most important
aspects of their folk arts programming; over one-third say

Table of Contents

I. Overview '

II. Program Scope 6

Focus on North Dakota 8

III. History and Funding II

IV The Apprenticeship Concept ' 3

V Impact on Artists: Recognition ' 8

Focus on Missouri 2 0

VI. Impact on Artists: Legacy and Opportunity 23

Focus on Howai'i 2 6

VII. Impact on Art Forms and Communities 30

Focus on Maine 32

VIII. Impact on Folk Arts Programs and Sponsor Agencies 35

Focus on Alabama -38

IX. Administrative Issues 4 1

X. Barriers to Participation 50

XI. Prospects for Future Support 51

XII. Conclusion 52

Appendix A: How the Survey Was Conducted 53

Appendix B: Survey Questions and Results 54

Appendix C: Sample State Maps 59

that the programs are a centerpiece of their oper-
ations. For most, the value of apprenticeship pro-
grams has increased over time and had a wholly
positive impact in their state.

Despite these benefits, the future of state folk arts
apprenticeship programs is uncertain. In 1995,
86% of them depended on the NEA for partial
support. Late that year, the NEA budget was cut
by 40% and its many programs reorganized into
four thematic divisions. Organizations seeking
NEA grants will be competing on a broader field
for fewer grants under new restrictions.
Apprenticeship programs will need to diversify
their funding sources if they are to continue their
success.

This report, commissioned by the former NEA
Folk & Traditional Arts Program through a grant to
the Fund for Folk Culture, is based on the 1 995
survey of 35 program coordinators, site visits to
30 teams of artists in five states, and a review of
the literature from a dozen years of state appren-
ticeship programs.

Master artist Bonnie Chatavong (standing)
teaches Laotian ikat weaving to apprentice
Line Saysamondouangdy (right) in Waianae,
Hawai'i.

Plioto oy Lynn Martin.
courtesy State Foundation on Culture and the Arts

and try to make everything perfect," she insists. She makes
the entire saddle by hand, using the sewing machine only
for repairs. It's just one of the old-fashioned techniques
she prefers for making saddles that she feels look better
and last longer.

Langley still gets together with Cook to ride, talk shop, and
joke about their differences. She finds hand-sewing relax-
ing and therapeutic; Cook considers it a waste of time. She
favors long strings for tying gear onto the saddle; Cook likes
them short. While Langley develops her own style and fol-
lows her own perfectionist standards, she defers to Cook
on the basics. "Rex just sticks his swivel knife in the leather
and it flows," says Langley of his freehand leather tooling.
"I'm not there yet, but at least I've got something to look
forward to when I'm older."

In 1995, Langley applied to the apprenticeship program as
a master to teach Brenda Howard, who she met through
4-H activities. An avid horsewoman, Howard, too, wants
to make her own saddles and expand her abilities as a
crafter. "I like a challenge," she says. "I can't wait to get
started."

are deceptive given variations in the states' population dis-
tribution and county configurations (from very few in the
Northeast to scores in other regions). Apprenticeships are
often widely scattered across a state, reaching into remote
areas that are rarely served by state arts programs (see
Appendix C). Patterns of grant distribution are one of the
distinguishing marks of each program, as in Alabama's suc-
cess in engaging rural artists, Maine's concentration on the
state's Indian communities, and Hawaii's promotion of
inter-island artistic exchange.

Many coordinators strive to continually expand their pro-
gram's reach, as in launching fieldwork in underrepresent-
ed regions like the Bootheel in southeastern Missouri.
Program heads agree that there is no optimum geograph-
ic distribution of apprenticeships within states since master
artists and traditional communities are not evenly spread in
all areas. The Alabama staff and panel are typical in seek-
ing out "the best master artists" wherever they may be.

Figure 2: Apprenticeships by Genre, 1983-1995

■

Crafts

n

Music

□

Dance

□

Narrative

■

Other

Kitson's experience reflects some of the unique traits of the
Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program of the North
Dakota Council on the Arts. The program gives prionty to
apprenticeships in rare, endangered art forms that might
otherwise vanish with their last practitioner. It recognizes
that before many applications come in, "a really rigorous
selection process has already taken place informally within
the community," according to program coordinator Troyd
Geist. And it respects the rules of protocol among the
people it serves, such as those surrounding the custom of
purchasing nghts to teach an art form. "Flexibility is the
key," says Geist.

His philosophy appears to be working well. The state has
supported nearly 1 00 apprenticeships since 1986, expand-
ing from mostly occupational traditions in the western
region to a varied roster from throughout the state. In
supporting a growing variety of genres, the program has
helped broaden the public understanding of folk arts to
encompass traditions such as Ukrainian ntual breadmaking.

"The apprenticeship program has a great impact on a rural
state like this," says Council member, panelist, and story-
telling master Mary Louise Defender-Wilson (Dakota-
Hidatsa). "We've done a lot to recognize the art forms of
the diversity of North Dakota people, many of whom
were never recognized before." Geist finds that the pro-
gram frts well with the state's independent, populist spirit
and dispersed, isolated communities that often lack an arts
infrastructure: "The money goes right to the people, it's
one-on-one, they do it themselves. You give them guid-
ance, but you don't put all these hoops in the way to make
them jump through."

increased demand for the elaborately decorated breads.
One of the town's masters of pysanky (ritually decorated
eggs) keeps her own chickens to supply quality eggs to the
many practitioners in the area. Another local pysanky mas-
ter has traveled to the Ukraine to help revive the art in its
homeland.

Geist believes that funding apprenticeships is a wise, long-
term investment in cultural conservation compared to
other types of programming. "We're looking at a lifetime
of benefits," he explains. "When it's one-to-one, your
money is very well spent because that tradition will keep
on going and become part of someone's life, versus just
two hours of enjoyment for some audience members."
By contrast, classes in the traditional arts lack the time to
expose students to "the real beauty of an object, its deep-
er meaning" through the stories, lore, and language associ-
ated with it.

Just as he believes traditions must be part of people's daily
lives to thrive, Geist thinks apprenticeships should be inte-
grated with other folk arts projects for maximum benefit.
Masters such as Peggy Langley of Sheyenne and Kitson of
Bismarck have been brought into the Folk Artist-in-
Residence program, enjoying the chance to teach leather-
work to schoolchildren or beadwork to Indian hospital
patients. Armenian metal bas relief worker Norik
Astvatsaturov of Wapeton and Kurdish lute player Luqman
Maii of Fargo have been guest speakers at the annual Folk
Arts Institute, introducing North Dakota teachers to the
new cultures in their midst. Master artists are also high-
lighted in the state's recent exhibit and accompanying book
"Faces of Identity, Hands of Skill."

The program has left its imprint in places like Dickinson,
which has a strong Ukrainian communrty. "Things have just
ignited here, partly with the help of the apprenticeship
program." says Agnes Palanuk, director of the Ukrainian
Cultural Institute. A performing group was able to embroi-
der regional costumes after sessions with a master artist
from Canada; a ritual breadmaking apprenticeship sparked

Their connections with the apprenticeship program have
been a milestone m the lives of some artists. Langley saved
the tape from her answering machine on which Geist first
left a message suggesting an apprenticeship. New immi-
grants like Astvatsaturov are grateful for the interest the arts
council takes in them and their culture. "We feel we are
not alone," he says. "I will never forget that." Similarly,

History & Funding

One of the country's oldest programs,
Alabama has long supported old-time
fiddling apprenticeships like that of
master Arlin Moon and granddaughter
Tina Ray.

Photo by Joey Brackner,

courtesy Alabama State

Council on the Arts

Although the NEA began funding individual apprenticeship
pairs in 1978 and three states (Alaska, Louisiana, and
Illinois) started their own folk arts apprenticeship programs
in the early 1980s, it was the NEA Folk Arts Program's
pilot project in I 983 that prompted the growth of state
apprenticeship programs around the country. NEA sup-
port spread from an initial three states (Florida, Mississippi,
New York) to I 5 states and territories in 1 985 up to a peak
of 30 in 1991.

Most current apprenticeship programs were begun in the
1 980's, especially between 1985 and 1989. Predictably.it
is the states with the oldest programs that have supported
the most apprenticeships. The top-ranking five states with
over 1 30 apprenticeships each are, in order from the high-
est, Missouri, Kansas, Alaska, Alabama, and Wisconsin.

The basic mission of apprenticeship programs has held

steady over the years: to support intimate, informal coach-
ing in the traditional arts by an experienced master work-
ing with a less experienced apprentice. Consensus around
this mission has grown with the spawning of each new
state program. The main benefits of apprenticeship pro-
grams were as evident to coordinators ten years ago as
they are today. A 1985 report cited cost effectiveness,
direct support for artists, broad geographic and ethnic cov-
erage, potential for preserving tradition, and flexibility in
administration as key advantages.

With time, further benefits have become apparent. The
longer an apprenticeship program has been in place, the
more likely artists are to gain recognition, the more likely
communities are to feel the impact, and the more folk arts
programs tend to create spin-off projects. Over time, the
roster of program participants also tends to get more
diverse.

Longer experience administering apprenticeships does not
necessarily mean fewer problems. In 1985, 1991, and
again in 1 995, coordinators noted problems that appear to
be inherent to this sort of program. These include labor-
intensive administration, lack of time for fieldwork or site
visits, and the challenges of dealing with inappropriate
applicants and ensuring the necessary state funding (see IX.
Administrative Issues).

Over the years, coordinators have shared a remarkable
basic consensus around how the programs should be run,
in spite of variations in program structure and priorities.
For example, the 1985 report noted that apprenticeships
work better if they are solicited through fieldwork and
extend upon a prior relationship between master and
apprentice — observations echoed by many today.

Another striking continuity in a dozen years of state
apprenticeship programs is in funding levels — a sign that

1 1

The Apprenticeship
Concept

Apprenticing oneself to a master is a time-honored way to
learn many crafts and trades. Current folk arts apprentice-
ships in shop trades such as blacksmithing, instrument
building, pottery, and glassblowing are a reminder of this
tradition. Yet most folk arts apprenticeships are not so for-
mal, intensive, and long-term as those of the preindustnal
era, nor are they mainly intended to initiate someone into
a livelihood.

Folk arts apprenticeships "repre-
sent a particular kind of creative
marriage," wrote folklorists Bess
Lomax Hawes and Barry Bergey
in 1993, "a joining together of the
experienced hand and the eager
learner to ensure that the tradi-
tion is maintained as accurately as
can be and that the old ideas get
a respectful hearing." No mere
lessons, apprenticeships are ide-
ally personal and cultural relation-
ships.

These pairings seek to pass on
not only skills but the sense of
style and meaning that sustain the
quality of a tradition. A black-
smith learns the communication

system of taps on the anvil, just as an Amencan Indian artist
learns the ceremony required before cutting a tree for use
in a basket. "Ola Belle shared her banjo style, her incredi-
ble repertoire, her life history and her family history, her
political and religious outlooks and her recipes, her famous
chicken soup, and her strength of mountain-bred charac-
ter," writes apprentice Judy Marti of Pennsylvania. It is this

Detail of Palestinian embroidery by
master artist Feryal Abbasi-Ghnaim and apprentices

Wafa and Fida Ghnaim.

P/iofn by Eliza Buck.

rtnirh'sij Onyan Folk Arts Prufjrum

l :3

style, going far beyond what can be learned in a class.
The master-apprentice pair is still the most common
arrangement. But most states also allow group appren-
ticeships, especially in group traditions such as gospel quar-
tet singing.

The two essential ingredients in a successful apprenticeship
are a highly skilled traditional master artist willing to teach
and an apprentice willing to learn — what Hawes and
Bergey call "a timely convergence of aptitude and attitude."
Saddlemaker Martin Bergin of Missouri offers a definition of
the term "master artist": "Basically what it comes down to
is acceptance of the quality of your work by your peers and
by those that use your saddles that know what a good sad-
dle is." Another distinguishing trait of master artists who
become involved in apprenticeships is their generosity of
spirit and eagerness to pass on their knowledge. "It gives
me much satisfaction when I have created something
beautiful, durable, and useful," says quilter Mary Ann
Norton of Mississippi, "and even more satisfaction and
pleasure when I have helped someone else to learn how."

Paired with such artists are others, often younger people,
who have taken a special interest in a tradition or pro-
gressed to an intermediate stage. They may be hesitant at
first, like Harriet Allen who used to be intimidated watch-
ing her grandmother make cradleboards on the
Shoshone/Paiute reservation in Nevada, but later became
determined "to learn to do this while there are still people
around to teach it."

What exactly gets accomplished in an apprenticeship? The
answer vanes with each partnership and program. In West
Virginia, master weaver Leota Davy and granddaughter
Susan McDonald "wove on a bam frame loom with old-
style threaded hettles that has been used by the family for
1 50 years, and in 60 hours covered all the steps necessary
to produce traditional rag rugs." In Florida, an old-time fid-
dling apprentice learned 30 new tunes and now accompa-
nies her teacher at performances. In American Samoa,
several apprenticeship teams constructed a traditional

'As far back as we can trace, they made
[white oak] baskets in our family, " says
Marjorie Westfall Prewitz of Missouri. "All
of us children had to learn to make bas-
kets. When we got big enough to hold
one on our knees, then we started to
work on them. And I think all of them
felt like I did. I thought when I grew up
and married and moved away, I would
never make another basket. " but 25
years later, she found herself enlisting her
brother to help collect basketry materials
and sitting down again to do the weaving.
Prewitt took on her nephew as an
apprentice, and he, in turn, plans to
teach his son the family tradition.

1 S

The ripple effect of the programs reaches more people as
artists find new outlets for their work and folk arts pro-
grams create spin-off projects like exhibits. Perhaps most
importantly, many traditional art forms that might have died
with their last practitioners are passed on to the next
generation.

Apprentices often bring together

seasoned masters like African

American tap dancing legend Edith

"Baby Edwards" Hunt (left) and

enthusiastic younger apprentices like

Germain Ingram.

Photo by .lane Leuine.

courtesy Pcnnsyluaniu Heritage. Affairs

Commission

A certain community of taste is affirmed in
the bend in a note, the blend of a harmo-
ny, the beat of a tune, or in the texture of
a surface, the tint of a fiber, or the tight-
ness of a form. These subtle cultural val-
ues and the artistic skills associated with

them are still best taught
one-on-one. This represents the core of
the apprenticeship concept.

— Barry bergey,
The Masters:
Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program
Missouri. 1 984- 1 986

shops as part of the Utah Opera's education program or
Cambodian American classical dancers are invited to per-
form amidst modern dancers at Jacob's Pillow in
Massachusetts, traditional artists gain crucial new audi-
ences. Likewise, when Hmong American embroiderers in
Rhode Island sell their work to the International Museum
of Folk Art in Santa Fe and when a Wasco Indian sallie bag
maker from Oregon is invited to an Indigenous Arts
Conference in New Zealand, important boundaries are
crossed.

Still another form of recognition, cited as important by
three-quarters of respondents, is apprentices' promotion
to the level of master artist within the program. Geronimo
Olivas of Colorado apprenticed himself to master santero
Ruben Jaramillo in 1990. Five years later, he had created a
santero class at a vocational school, become a master him-
self (taking on the program's first female apprentice in this
art form), and become "an articulate spokesman in the San
Luis Valley about the value of the traditional arts in pro-
moting self-esteem in adults and children," according to the
program coordinator.

It's become a real status thing for Native
Hawaiians to be part of the apprentice-
ship program. People took the master
artists for granted before; now they look
up to them. It's done wonders for their
spirit.

Nathan Napoka,

panelist

State Foundation on Culture

and the Arts, Hawai'i

1 O

were in a homemade wooden johnboat," says Cecil
Murray, a third-generation craftsman who has built more
than forty boats. Though aluminum boats have since taken
over, Steve Cookson, a high school teacher who grew up
in the Current River area, cherishes a love for the old boats
and has "fooled around" during summers as a boatmaking
demonstrator for the National Park Service. "I knew I
could learn a lot from a master craftsman," Cookson says.
"I also wanted to learn more about the history and lore of
the Current River and pick up fishing tips and techniques."

received state arts awards. But the real sign of the success
of an apprenticeship, Everts-Boehm suggests, is whether
the relationship — and the tradition — continue after the
end of the grant. As johnboat apprentice Steve Cookson
says, "I'll always be coming back to help Cecil build boats,
or if I can't find another reason, just to pester him."

Cookson had to be persistent to convince Murray to take
him on as an apprentice, but once approved, it became
Cookson's job to keep up with Murray. Without the
apprenticeship, the men agree, they would not have been
motivated to set up a regular schedule for visits and take on
a long-term project. Nor would Cookson have been
exposed to the changes in tools and design that Murray has
adapted to modem needs in this living tradition.

Every year, Everts-Boehm documents one program team
in the essay series "Missouri Masters and Their Traditional
Arts." The attractive 12-page booklets educate people
around the state about the deep connections between
artists and their communities. They are illustrated portraits
not only of a master's life and work but of the local histo-
ry, group customs, and artistic tradition from which they
spring. A 1993 essay on Mexican American manachi trum-
peter Beto Lopez takes a wide sweep, from Mexican
traders on the Santa Fe Trail to contemporary barrio
murals on Kansas City's Westside. "By choosing to become
a mariachi musician — a choice that he made over other
styles of music at which he is equally adept — Mr. Lopez is
satisfying a personal as well as a community need," writes
Everts-Boehm Lopez' teenage apprentice Antonio Sierra,
Jr. may be choosing a similar path as he takes time out from
a Latino pop band to learn sones and rancheras.

Apprenticeships have brought unprecedented recognition
to traditional artists around the state, including six masters
who received National Heritage Fellowships and two who

Handmade johnboats were almost
extinct on Ozark streams until
revived by apprenticeships like
that of master boatbuilder Cecil
Murray (left) and apprentice Jon
Murray.

Photo by Dana Euerts-Bnehm.

courtesy Missouri Traditional Arts

Apprenticeship Program

Impact on Artists:
Legacy &

Opportunity

Artists are eloquent about how apprenticeships have made
an impact on their lives and work. In letters, interviews,
evaluation meetings, and final reports, they testify to the
legacies they have given and received. "I've been search-
ing for a teacher for years and she is the one," says Donna
Lee Cockett of her master in a Hawaiian lauhala weaving
apprenticeship. "Aunty Jane believes that if you have a gift,
you must pass it on."

"I have to give these secrets away," African American mas-
ter gardener Blanche Epps of Pennsylvania declares.
"Otherwise, who's going to keep doing it after I am gone?"
Even masters initially skeptical about taking on an appren-
tice seem to become more aware of the part they play in
sustaining a tradition. Tex-Mex accordionist Cruz Rangel in
Washington state finally decided, "Why not? Other people
passed rt on to me when I was a young child, and if I don't
[do the same], there might not be anyone else." The
young members of El Grupo Sueho now practice at
Rangel's house and get frequent bookings that include their
teacher. In Wisconsin, some American Indian artists have
used their involvement in the program as a way to official-
ly designate a successor.

Both masters and
apprentices speak
of the strong per-
sonal bonds that
emerge from the
experience. "Of
all the things I
learned," writes
one typical

apprentice, "I
mostly treasure
gaining a friend
like my teacher."
Says Francis

Whitaker, an 87-
year-old master blacksmith in Colorado, "Gordon has pro-
vided me with a rare opportunity to pass my skills on to
someone who will use them the rest of his life. He has
mastered every assignment given to him." Says his
apprentice, Gordon Stonington, "The apprenticeship has
been a wonderful opportunity for me, as a teacher, to be
a student. . [Francis] has been gracious, helpful, demand-
ing, and many other things. He has become my friend."

^:3

Master Cleo Salazar (left)
weaves Rio Grande cultur-
al history and lore into
apprenticeship with
daughter Maxine Jacquez.

Photo by Claude Stephenson.

courtesy New Mexico Arts

Diuision

other islands in Hawai'i to teach or learn. Though job train-
ing is not the primary purpose of apprenticeships, it can be
a much-appreciated benefit that makes the difference in
whether others are able to sustain their involvement with
a tradition.

Apprenticeships are living testimony to the value of lifelong
learning. Masters at the top of their field find challenges in
teaching. Mississippi fiddler Charlie Smith, for one, is grate-
ful to an apprenticeship for "shaking me out of my rut.
It gave me back some things I'd almost forgotten because
nobody had asked me about it for so long," he says.
Apprentices of varied ages discover their natural talents
while rediscovering their cultural roots, especially in middle
age. "People in my area have seen what an ordinary
housewife has been able to
learn and do without having to
leave home," observes Helen
Cole, a Pennsylvania weaving
apprentice.

Apprenticeships have also
done much for the self-esteem
of participants and the regard
in which they are held by oth-
ers. A blind Hawaiian musician
who has Hansen's disease was
inspired with the confidence to
begin a professional storytelling
career, drawing on his own
family history of growing up in
the leper colony on Molokai.
Ukrainian American embroi-
derer Claudia Kropywiansky
had almost abandoned her art
when she became a master in
the Colorado program; her
dubious neighbors and hus-
band were impressed. Some
masters are surprised at how
others value what they have to

offer, like a Franco American fiddler in New Hampshire
who felt shy about teaching a lawyer or a Mexican
American harpist in Colorado who plays by ear and was
wary of taking on an apprentice who reads music.

For some master artists, apprenticeships offer a way to
instill key cultural values in youth, especially those who
seem adrift and in need of a caring mentor. In Wisconsin,
Jim Razer (Ojibwa) immersed his three young apprentices
in the preparation of powwow regalia by taking them with
him to gather materials, visit elders, and attend powwows.-
Razer hoped to "turn one young man's life just enough" to
ensure his continued cultural involvement. The same con-
cerns drive master Cambodian dancer Chamroeun Yin in
Pennsylvania. "I want the children born here in the U.S. to

learn about their own culture
and ways of respect and disci-
pline," he say of his young stu-
dents. "I believe this can keep
them away from bad influences
such as drugs and cnme."

Detail of Nez Perce cornhusk bag by
master artist Rose Frank of Idaho.

Photo by Bluntot) Owen,
courtesy Idaho Commission or, the Arts

potential of the arts of her heritage, her teacher was grati-
fied that Shiroma's extensive training prepared her to take
on the challenges of the dance theater form.

Like Shiroma, guitarist Harry Koizumi was versatile in sev-
eral styles before he began studying Hawaiian slack key gui-
tar with master Raymond Kane in Waianae. "I never paid
attention to Hawaiian music before; I thought it was all
Waikiki [commercial] stuff," Koizumi says. "When I heard
slack key, it blew me away, because it's more difficult than
you would have imagined." He appreciated the chance to
learn directly from one of the most important authentic
sources of the tradition.

"The apprenticeship gave me purpose," Koizumi says, "it
just brought me back home. I want to teach the locals
about this music because a lot of them don't know." Kane
is proud that his students are teaching others and encour-
ages them to take all opportunities to perform and com-
pose the sweet, relaxing finger-picking style. "If you can't
give it from the heart, don't give it at all," he advises.

Slack key guitar, steel guitar, and Hawaiian chant are regu-
lars on the program roster, thanks in part to support from
the Hawai'i Academy of Recording Arts. So are lauhala
weaving and other traditional Hawaiian crafts. About 80%
of the program's 106 apprenticeships in the past ten years
have been in Native Hawaiian art forms. Program director
Lynn Martin says this is a reflection of who applies to the

program, which is shaped, in turn, by the well-organized
network of Hawaiian civic clubs that spread the word and
strong awareness of the need for Native Hawaiian cultural
conservation.

Panelist Napoka has seen the impact of the program in
places like Ni'ihau, where the Hawaiian language is still reg-
ularly spoken. "It's become a real status thing to be part of
the apprenticeship program," he observes. "People took
the master artists for granted before; now they look up to
them. It's done wonders for their spirit." Similarly, on the
Big Island, where many Native Hawaiian artists live and
where the program has spawned a renaissance in lauhala
weaving, people are waiting in line for the chance to work
with masters. And the program's commitment to provid-
ing vouchers for inter-island travel has helped ensure a
level of quality work on islands less steeped in a particular
tradition.

One who has shared her knowledge in several appren-
ticeships is Minnie Ka'awaloa, a wise and gentle lauhala
weaver of 73 . Her students gather in her open-air garage
in Puna around good food, coils of lauhala (pandanus
leaves), and hat molds. "You weave slowly," says appren-
tice Irene Perry, "so you can hear more stories."

Auntie Minnie takes her apprentices through the arduous
process of harvesting and preparing the fiber long before
she shows them how to start the piko (navel/center) for a

Hawaiian lauhala weaving master
Minnie Ka'awaloa (second from right)
flanked by apprentices (from left)
Loretta Hera, Irene Perry, and Noelani
Ng, modeling lauhala hats.

Photo by Lynn Martin,
courtesy Slaw Foundation on Culture and

the Arts

:^Tr

a renewed appreciation for the art form while it has
brought his apprentice. Randall Ho, a new discipline in his
life and work.

With its impressive variety of genres and inter-island scope,
the Hawai'i program has become increasingly visible over
the years. Five masters have been awarded the National
Heritage Fellowship, and many were featured in the
restaging of the Hawai'i portion of the Smithsonian Folklrfe
Festival in 1 990. Coordinator Lynn Martin can rely on her
informal "deputies in the field," including former partici-
pants, to help new applicants through the process. As a
result, she says, "I no longer have to sit in people's kitchens
filling out applications." This growth and stability have led
Martin to try to organize a gathering of program partici-
pants to discuss mutual concerns and enjoy visits to muse-
ums and botanical gardens. Meanwhile, she and her com-
mittee seek to continually refine the program, disqualifying
some genres that proved too controversial, imposing a
minimum age on apprentices ( 1 6) and a maximum limit on
repeat apprenticeships (three years).

Will apprentices in Hawai'i pass it on, as the program

intends7 The prospects look good: Agnes Chan wants to
train more young people in Cantonese opera; Loretta
Hera has led a group of young Native Hawaiians in the
production of hand-woven baskets for the reinterment of
ancestral bones; Harry Koizumi is working on an instruc-
tional video for slack key guitar. Martin concedes that a few
less successful apprenticeships are "leaps of faith. We take
the risk," she explains, "because once you lose something
entirely and it has to be resurrected, so much gets lost.
Apprenticeships are a quiet, steady way to continue stab-
bing away at making sure that something makes it from one
generation to the next."

Back in Kalena Silva's house in Hilo, Lehua Matsuoka
descnbes her first lesson in Hawaiian chant as "intense."
But she is keen to go on, having heard from a previous
apprentice that after the experience, "I will sound different,
chant different, and feel different." Silva hopes that his
apprentices, like their ancestors, will find a place for chant
in occasions like greeting a long-lost friend. "If a tradition is
just up on a stage, it's not strong," he believes. "I think it's
possible to retrieve it and revive it for everyday life.' Then
it will seem natural for the next generation of kids."

Apprentice

Lehua

Matsuoka

(right), at

her first

lesson in

Hawaiian

chant with

master

Kalena

Silva.

Photo by
Lynn Martin.

courtesy

State.

Foundation

on Culture
and the Arts

^O

apprenticeship projects stimulate cultural pride, as with the
revived Abenaki Adult Dance Group that is now in great
demand for performances in Vermont. Among the other
endangered Indian art forms that might have been lost
without apprenticeships are Wasco sallie bag full-turn twin-
ing (Oregon), Winnebago finger beadwork (Wisconsin),
Goshute basketweaving (Utah), Hidatsa bird quillwork
(North Dakota), and Kiowa hymn singing (Oklahoma).

One Oklahoma apprenticeship

mushroomed when passersby

overheard Ralph Kotay and

Richard Tsartsah working

on Kiowa hymns every week

before church.

At first, the others would just listen

or suggest songs; gradually,

they joined in.

"By the end of the apprenticeship,"

the coordinator reports, "Mr. Kotay

had a class full of students.

When we attended

a practice session, many of those

attending came up to tell me what

an impact the

program had had on their little church

group. One lady said that she had

always sung the words but had

never had the songs translated for her. "

3. 1

1

Master Clara Neptune Keezer (left) from a
renowned Passamaquoddy family of
basketmakers, works with son Rocky

-!;ri9

Pifev ^^sssfH

Keezer, now a full-time professional.

Bc-^-^^^^

Photo by Cedric Chatterly.
councsy Maine Arts Commission

'Megg&J

"If basketmaking isn't done in the household, then a kid
can't learn any time he wants to," notes Richard Silliboy
(Micmac), who has worked with the program as a master
artist and panelist. "That's what I didn't understand about
our traditions being passed down orally. I'm afraid the
brown ash basket is going to fall right down the same line
as language and many other things." Silliboy taught his
nephew how to select, harvest, and prepare the ash in a
1 994 apprenticeship, getting lots of help with tree hauling
in the process.

The Neptune family, which has been especially active in
the program, is notable for its fancy baskets in the
Passamaquoddy style. Clara Neptune Keezer did an
apprenticeship with her 40-year-old son Rocky, who
intends to teach his daughter "every step, from scraping to
splitting, gauging, how to cut the standards . . . everything.
That's how it should be," he says. Rocky Keezer makes
baskets full-time, averaging two a day and attracting the
interest of out-of-state collectors. With greater recognition
for Indian baskets has come an inflated market, with bas-
kets selling for $50- 1 50 or more.

The ripple effect of the apprenticeship program and the
Alliance continues to swirl around Indian artists and com-
munities in Maine. Spin-off projects such as the traveling
exhibit "Basket Trees/Basket Makers" have brought atten-
tion to the sorry state of brown ash trees and the flourish-

ing state of the art. Recognition for artists has expanded
with the awarding of a National Heritage Fellowship to
Mary Gabriel and a Maine Arts Commission Individual
Artist Fellowship to Clara Keezer, as well as a lavish article
on the Neptune family in Native Peoples magazine.
Basketmaking workshops have become a popular feature
of the intertribal Wabanaki Confederacy gathering.

As program coordinator Mundell looks back on five years
of success, she also looks forward to a day when 'basket-
making apprenticeships might be run by the Alliance or
partially funded by tribal councils. Indian art forms, partic-
ularly basketmaking, have accounted for 70% of Maine's
apprenticeships, and Mundell thinks it may be time for the
program to evolve in new directions. She is especially
interested in making more contacts in the Franco American
community, where the program has supported appren-
ticeships in fiddling and Acadian home songs.

Meanwhile, the Maine program helps beginners get start-
ed and helps masters keep going in a basketmaking tradi-
tion that appears to be in no danger of a "dieback." "It's a
little thing that keeps them going," says Rocky Keezer,
speaking of the program's effect on Indian artists. "All it
takes is a little nudge."

:3:3

Impact on Folk

Arts Programs k
Sponsor Agencies

Several coordinators call apprenticeships the "foundation"
or "cornerstone" of their state folk arts program. "You
cement a relationship much better with apprenticeship
program participants than you do with your typical slash-
and-burn folk arts survey," observes Bob Stone of the
Florida Folklife Program. "The artists come back year after
year at the festival and do other presentations. They
become our allies." Apprenticeship programs give coordi-
nators the chance for deeper friendship with and advocacy

The annual Traditional Arts
Apprenticeship Program exhibit
at the Oregon History Center
displays work made by
participants.

Photo by Eliza Buck,
courtesy Oregon Folk Arts Program

for artists while building archives and a roster of quality par-
ticipants for other projects. Apprenticeships pave the way
for further fieldwork with families and communities that
have benefited from the program.

Two of the most popular spin-offs of apprenticeship pro-
grams are showcase events at state capitols and traveling
exhibits. "We have found that artists particularly like the
opportunity to come to the capitol, meet the Lieutenant

"Tricks of the Trade: Apprenticeships in the Traditional Arts, "
curated by Amy Skjllman for the Pennsylvania Council on the
Arts and the Pennsylvania Hentage Affairs Commission as
part of a I Oth Anniversary Celebration, is one of the most
recent and intriguing exhibits to emerge from an apprentice-
ship program. The traveling exhibit uses documentary photos
and quote-laden text to profile 19 master/apprentice pairs
out of the more than 1 00 that have passed through the pro-
gram. A survey of participating artists and sponsoring organi-
zations suggested the exhibit's organizational themes
("Learning Together, " "Sharing Secrets, " "Mastering the
Tncks, " and "Passing It On").

Tricks of the Trade

The exhibit is unusual for its aim to engage the interest of chil-
dren, whose support it views as crucial for the future of tradi-
tional arts. (A few children were even part of the advisory
committee!) Children are drawn in through simple text
addressed directly to them; hands-on 'Can You Do This?'
activities, such as practicing a strenuous Asian Indian classi-
cal dance posture before a mirror, and a focus on learmng-
by-doing that children can grasp from their own experience.
"Have you ever had a teacher that became a good friend?"
asks one exhibit panel, and another, "Did you ever make a
drum out of things you found around your neighborhood?" An
accompanying "Treasure Hunt Guide" has child viewers iden-
tify the parts of a musical instrument, draw
a Hmong textile pattern, and explain why
certain techniques take so long to learn. At
the end, viewers are invited to wnte in
something they would like to learn or teach
through a method like an apprenticeship.

A "Rhymes and Rhythms" concert tour
extends apprenticeship concepts to per-
forming arts and artists. Winning rave
reviews in its travels so far, the exhibit's
organizers hope it will bnng in more appren-
ticeship applications.

Exhibit images of Bharathanatyam classical Indian

dance lessons with master Shoba Sharma (center)

urged young visitors to mirror the movements.

Photo by Jane Lcuinti.

courtesy Pennsylvania Hcritanc. Affairs Commission

and sing all day, and then get back home." To accommo-
date modem work schedules, Deason now holds schools
on five consecutive evenings and ends early, with a culmi-
nating community sing and social time as well as a final
summer sing for all his schools together. Churches that
have invited Deason to hold a school often go on to spon-
sor their own singings. Without support from the appren-
ticeship program, coordinator Brackner believes, Alabama
would not have the more than 300 singings it has today,
and masters like Deason would be less able to publish
hymnals, publicize schools, travel to other counties, and
train new leaders.

30

Administrative

Issues

Organization & Operations

Apprenticeship programs operate within broadly similar
lines in a variety of administrative structures. By far the
most common arrangement, as with folk arts programs in
general, is to be housed within a state arts agency or other
public institution such as a historical society (Kansas), muse-
um (Michigan), or university (Missouri). In Colorado, the
state arts council provides most of the support for three
regional coordinators in a unique public-private partnership
(see page 42). A few apprenticeship programs are run by
private nonprofit organizations.

The organizational profile of each apprenticeship program
is shaped by local conditions as well as the limitations and
opportunities of their host institution. In keeping with gen-
eral arts council guidelines, for example, the Pennsylvania
and New York programs allow only organizations (rather
than individuals) to apply for apprenticeships, and the New
England Foundation for the Arts program encourages
regional partnerships that cross state lines. To maximize its
resources, the New Hampshire program collaborates with
the state Fish and Game Department, which helps publi-
cize and document apprenticeships in the "outdoor arts."
Targeted programs have evolved distinctive policies and
procedures. For instance, Wisconsin asks masters (often
elders) to initiate the applications. Idaho solicits represen-
tatives from each tribe for its panel, and Oklahoma has an
unusual community evaluation (see page 47). The adapt-

The New Hampshire program's
partnership with the state Fish &
Game Department promotes
apprenticeships like that of mas-
ter Fred Dolan (left) and Shawn
Gillis in duck decoy carving.

Photo by Jill Linzee.

courtesy New Hampshire State

Council on the Arts

ability of apprenticeship programs to distinctive needs and
populations is often cited as one of their strengths.

Despite variation in the structure and operations of
apprenticeship programs, they share a number of basic
administrative characteristics. Typically, state apprenticeship
programs award 5- 1 0 or 10-15 apprenticeships a year for
periods of 6- 1 2 months. About half specify the amount
that should go to the master artist as a lump sum. a per-
centage of the total award, or an hourly rate; only one-
quarter require a minimum number of meetings or hours.

-4- 1

Apprentice Norma Mendoza watches
master Maria Guadalupe Barajas sew a
charro hat, one result of the Oregon
program's outreach to Mexican
Americans.

Photo by Eliza Buck,
courresy Oregon Folk Arts Program

same for apprentices with a prior working relationship with
the master. Other selection criteria include relevance of
the art form to the state's cultural heritage (Florida), repre-
sentative balance of program needs (Missouri), and the
potential of the apprenticeship to strengthen a sponsoring
organization's presenting capabilities (Pennsylvania).

Coordinators express regret about having to reject quali-
fied applicants due to lack of funds. "The artists take it hard
and they often don't apply again," says Lynn Martin of
Hawai'i. "They don't have the same buffer for rejection as
a nonprofit organization." Kathleen Mundell of Maine
agrees that making apprenticeships competitive "defeats
the original purpose" and seeks participant ideas on how to
most fairly distribute limited funds.

Eligibility Issues

There is greater variety among programs when it comes to
the fine print of who is eligible for apprenticeships and who
ultimately gets selected.

Because art forms often cross state or even national bor-
ders, most programs allow study with out-of-state master
artists; others prohibit these arrangements due to state law.
Masters from Guam have coached Chamorro apprentices

in California, Ukrainian American embroiderers have
worked with teachers from Canada, and several American
apprentices in Asian Indian dance have studied with
internationally-known masters overseas. In each case,
apprenticeships brought distant sources of a tradition clos-
er to students who might otherwise not have had access
to them.

Many programs have struggled with the question of
apprenticeships among family members. On the one
hand, folklorists want to support the traditional transmis-
sion of art forms through families. With the dispersion and
economic pressures of contemporary family life, family
members often need an incentive to take the time away
from jobs and daily chores to concentrate on an art form.
On the other hand, if family members are likely to learn
the tradition anyway, why have a grant? The consensus
seems to be that the benefits outweigh the risks. Virtually
all programs allow apprenticeships within families, and the
Utah program considers such teams among the most suc-
cessful. As a precaution, some programs impose restric-
tions on apprenticeships with immediate or co-resident
family members, such as requiring an additional unrelated
apprentice (Wisconsin) or limiting support to expenses
rather than honoraria (Florida).

Similar caution prevails in programs that allow group
apprenticeships (89%), repeat apprenticeships (91%), and
apprentices under age 1 8 (89%). Apprenticeships are

^:3

master status? Varying levels of mastery are inevitable
among different art forms and cultures, suggests panelist
Nathan Napoka of Hawai'i. Members tend to rely on
those who know the most about a given tradition or com-
munity to reach consensus. The cntical factors seem to be
whether the person is recognized as a master, is ready to
teach, and has freely chosen to work with a given appren-
tice. Most programs have witnessed the appropnation of
the term "master artist" by participants on their business
cards and promotional literature, and at least one program
has turned down the request to issue certificates of mas-
tery to artists.

Presentations and Evaluation

About one-third of programs require or strongly encour-
age a final public presentation by participants. Such events
give apprentices a goal to work towards while affording
both artists greater recognition and helping administrators
to assess the team's success, a Utah coordinator suggests.

The most common way to monitor the progress of
apprenticeships is through site visits (9 I %), generally one
per year by staff. A small number of programs manage two
visits per year or contract with outside experts. Such visits
are important not only for evaluation purposes but for
cementing relationships and documenting the program. "I
used to think the visit was something of an intrusion," notes
one coordinator. "But most people welcome site visits and
want to have the opportunity to show the progress they
have made."

About two-thirds of programs require a final report from
participants, some making payment contingent on this.
Others encourage apprentices to keep a log or journal of
their learning experience and request copies for program
files. The few states that have sponsored reunions or
meetings for the purposes of group evaluation have found
these gatherings helpful.

Cross-Cultural Apprenticeships?

Should apprenticeships between artists of
different cultural backgrounds be allowed or
encouraged in ethnic traditional arts? The
NEA and most state apprenticeship pro-
grams give pnohty to artists from within the
same culture since their mission is mainly
cultural conservation.

A notable exception is the state-funded
Pennsylvania program, in which a Romanian
fddler taught a non-Romanian fiddle afi-
cionado and an African American gardener
passed on her skills to a recent Vietnamese
immigrant. Such working relationships can
be just as intense and fruitful as apprentice-
ships within the same culture, advocates
believe, especially when there are no inter-
ested learners within a community. Cross-
cultural apprenticeships can also make sense
in a "chop suey, " racially mixed society like

that of Hawai'i, where a dedicated

Portuguese-Hawaiian master jokes about

teaching Japanese mmgei pottery to his

Chinese American apprentice.

Some programs have been pleased to see

spin-offs that enhance the cross-cultural

awareness of apprenticeship participants, like

jam sessions between African and Japanese

American taiko drumming teams in Nevada

or joint performances of Irish American step

dancers and African American tap dancers in

Missouri. But cross-cultural learning is not

the point of apprenticeships, critics argue,

and can be pursued more effectively through

other projects.

state match for federal funds. Half of all programs have
also had problems dealing with inappropriate or ineligible
applicants, such as the team that wanted to airbrush
American Indian images onto T-shirts. Only a handful of
the more than 2,500 apprenticeships awarded over the

Site visits allow program staff to see com-
pleted apprentice work like these Alaska
Native mukluks by Beverly Cloud.

Photo by Beverly Cloud,

courtesy Alaska State Council

on the Arts

years have involved misuse of funds, according to the sur-
vey. Other problems cited include justifying support for
religious traditions (from American Indian ceremonial
objects to Hmong shamanistic ritual); justifying the pres-
ence of cultural specialists on panels; and paying artists who
live out of state or who are on public assistance. When

A Community Evaluation

In Oklahoma, where most apprenticeships
involve Amehcan Indians, teams choose a
venue to present their work as part of a
community evaluation. "Because many of
the traditional artists do not engage in 'per-
formances' outside of their communities, the
evaluation process has proved to be one of
the most interesting aspects of the appren-
ticeship process," writes Dayna Lee of the
State Arts Council of Oklahoma.

"Last year, Jimmy Lee Sanders and Lewis
Johnson, his apprentice, demonstrated hide-
tanning at Mr. Sanders' home. It was
almost like a family reunion. Mr. Sanders
and Mr. Johnson are distantly related, and
members of both of their families brought
sandwiches, gathered their lawn chairs, and
watched while Mr. Johnson talked about
what he had learned and took us through
the process of tanning deer hides. The
observers even engaged in the evaluation
process, pointing out that hide used for cer-
tain ceremonial items must be handled dif-
ferently than hide used for secular materials.
They also contnbuted ideas about dying
hides by using different types of smokes or
smudges. "

^T

Tricks of the Me tor Coordinators

Some tips from past and present coordinators on successful administrative practices are listed below. These are not
models but suggestions that may or may not be adaptable for use in other programs.

Fieldwork/Outreach

• Utilize regional coordinators to expand program's reach
(Colorado).

• Collaborate with other state agencies to get more mileage
out of the program (New Hampshire).

• Offer technical assistance funding to past participants
who plug program at their public presentations (Flonda).

• Cultivate close working relationship with tribal leaders or
heads of tribal cultural programs (Idaho, Maine, Wisconsin).

• Tap into state 4-H and senior citizen networks for refer-
rals, and publish postcards of teams at work (West Virginia).

• Do annual targeted fieldwork or regional surveys to broad-
en base of applicants (Vermont).

• Arrange participants in database sorted by zip code; send
press releases and/or clippings to local media and politicians
around state (Washington).

• Feature photo illustration of traditional artist at work on
cover of program brochure or application form to attract
attention in traditional communities (Alaska).

Guidelines/Application

• Keep it clear and simple (various).

• Show artists a sample application (Kansas).

• Offer short- and long-term options (e.g., 3-month v. 8-
month apprenticeships) to attract different types of projects
(Florida, New Mexico).

• Require support material, including letters of support and
audio-visual documentation, from both masters and appren-
tices and assist applicants in preparing such materials (vari-
ous).

• Document artists' work for them to level out quality of
applications (Alabama).

• Convene annual meeting to discuss new issues and poten-
tial guideline changes (Hawai'i).

Payment

• Pay in two installments, with payments dependent on
receipt of reports (vanous).

• Pay awards as honorana to masters to use at their discre-
tion, including giving some to apprentices (Michigan).

• Set standard award amounts for all apprenticeships
(Illinois, Wisconsin).

• Use customized software ("Hobie") to streamline paper-
work and payments (Hawai'i).

Panels

• Involve panelists in eliciting applications and evaluating
existing apprenticeships; brief them on program pnonties to
ensure representative roster of participants (Missoun).

• Have folklonst present applications to panel (Colorado).

• Retain a core of expenenced pane! members to ensure
consistency in selection (vanous).

Monitoring/Evaluation

• Have apprentices keep and submit a log of all meetings
(Mississippi).

• Contract with documentation assistant (Hawai'i) or cul-
tural specialists in specific genres (Michigan) for quality site
visits.

• Encourage apprentices to keep a journal by giving them a
sample form to jot down stories and terms to remember,
questions to ask, and plans for the next session (Hawai'i).

• Sponsor reunions or gathenngs of participants for group
evaluation and fellowship (Maine, Kansas).

4-0

Prospects for
Future Support

For 12 years, the National Endowment for the Arts,
through its Folk & Traditional Arts Program, has given cru-
cial support to state folk arts apprenticeship programs.
Recent changes at the NEA have profound implications for
the future of these programs.

In late 1995, the NEA budget was cut by 40%, severely
reducing both grant monies and staff. Discipline-specific
programs such as Folk & Traditional Arts were eliminated
and the agency was reorganized into four theme areas:
Heritage & Preservation, Creation & Presentation, Planning
& Stabilization, and Education & Access. State agencies and
other organizations are still eligible to apply for grants to
support folk arts apprenticeship programs. However,
applicants must compete on a broader field for fewer
grants, with less staff time available to deal with requests.
New restrictions apply, such as a limit of one NEA grant
request per agency or organization per year. Requests

may have to be framed in terms of special projects rather
than ongoing programs and positions. Additional NEA
funds may become available through state arts council
monies set aside for underserved populations. (For further
details, see the NEA Grants to Organizations Application
Guidelines or contact the Folk and Traditional Arts Specialist
at 202- 682-5428.)

Apprenticeship programs have a record of high artistic
quality, public popularity, and cost-effective productivity.
State folk arts programs face the challenge of publicizing this
success and making a case for increased state support of
apprenticeships in tough economic times. NEA staff
encourage organizations to explore innovative public/pri-
vate partnerships and seek funding from a wide variety of
sources to ensure the continued success of apprenticeship
programs.

The Hawai'i Academy of Recording

Arts supports apprenticeships like

those of Hawaiian slack key guitar

legend Raymond Kane (center) with

Bobby Moderow, Jr. (left) and Harry

Koizumi (right). More such

partnerships are necessary to

sustain state programs.

Photo by Lynn Martin.

courtesy State Foundation on Culture.

the Arts

urvl

Appendix A

How the Survey Was Conducted

The survey was conducted by Susan Auerbach, a freelance writer
and arts consultant who was formerly Folk Arts Coordinator for the
City of Los Angeles, on behalf of the former NEA Folk & Traditional
Arts Program through a grant to The Fund for Folk Culture. After
reviewing two previous reports on state apprenticeship programs
and NEA apprenticeship grant application files and literature,
Auerbach designed a five-page questionnaire to elicit comparable
quantitative information from each state on the impact and admin-
istration of apprenticeships. Questionnaires and county outline
maps were sent to approximately 40 states and territories with
folk arts apprenticeship programs in April, 1995, with a 92%
response rate (35 out of 38 active programs). All statistics in this
report were compiled from 1995 survey results. Other sources of
information include site visits to five states (Alabama, Hawai'i,
Maine, Missouri, North Dakota), including interviews with more than
30 artist teams by Auerbach as well as Jill Linzee of New
Hampshire and Sanford Rikoon of Missouri; telephone interviews
with selected program coordinators; state program literature such
as booklets, guidelines, newsletters, and reports; and supporting
materials such as letters from artists and news clippings.

Do you require a minimum number of meet-
ings? NO, 74%

If so, how many? 50-130 hours; 12-25 meet-
ings

Total amount your program granted for
apprenticeships in most recent fiscal year:

less than $10,000

$10,000-14,999

$15,000-19,999

$20,000-24,999

$25,000-29,999

$30,000-34,999

$35,000+

17%
14%
17%
20%
14%
11%
6%

Is your program currently supported by:

NEA Folk & Traditional Arts Program

plus state funds 86%

State or local funds 9%

Other 6%

ADMINISTRATION, SELECTION,
EVALUATION

What percentage of a staff person's time
is spent coordinating the apprenticeship
program?

80-100% time 6%

50-79% time 17%

30-49% time 43%

less than 30% time 31%

varies, depends

on year 3%

Has the program targeted for participation
any:

special populations (e.g.,

Native Americans, refugees) 35%

cities, counties or regions 15%

art forms (e.g., basketmaking, fiddling) 21%

percentages of programs that have targeted each of

these

What are your most effective forms of out-
reach?

media press releases/advertising 46%
specialized mailings 43%

fieldwork/personal visits 91%

orientation meetings/workshops 29%
publications/events 40%

other: word of mouth 20%

percentages of programs that ranked these as one of

their top 3

Size of selection panel: N=34

3 or less 9%

3-5 members 47%

6-8 members 32%

9-12 members 12%

Panel generally includes:

cultural specialists 100%

folk artists 74%

arts administrators 60%

out-of-state members 54%

IMPACT

How central is the apprenticeship program
to your folk/traditional arts programming?
N=34

37% essential, centerpiece of

operations
47% among 3 most important
projects/programs
9% among 5 or more most important

projects/programs
6% other: "all programs of equal
importance"

Since its founding, has your apprentice-
ship program's value generally: N=32

53% increased a great deal for artists,
communities, and sponsor
agency
34% increased somewhat
9% stayed about the same, but still

valuable
3% lessened somewhat

What kinds of recognition have partici-
pants received during/after apprentice-
ships? N=34

97% media coverage
76% honors within community
62% state honors or awards
50% national honors or awards:
(41% National Heritage Fellowship)
97% invitations to present work
publically in exhibition,
performance, workshop
79% apprentices' elevation to master
status

How important do you think the appren-
ticeship was in prompting such recogni-
tion?

54% essential

34% somewhat influential, gave

exposure
6% artists would have been honored

anyway

6% depends on artists

Please list 2 notable specific examples of
recognition for your program participants:

see Impact on Artists: Recognition

What kinds of spin-off events or programs
have resulted from the apprenticeships?

77% festival participation

74% performances

83% exhibits/demonstrations

57% public workshops/classes

60% artists-in-education projects

54% directories/rosters/referrals

57% publications

51% media documentaries

49% state/local awards programs

Please list 2 notable specific examples of
spin-offs:

see Impact on Folk Arts Programs
and Sponsor Agencies

How have the apprenticeships made a dif-
ference for individuals and communities?

91% enhanced cultural pride and

identity
85% raised awareness of folk arts
83% brought significant new

recognition to artists
74% stimulated broader interest in

learning a traditional art
77% revived or helped preserve a

particularly endangered

traditional art
91% passed on tradition to younger

generation
83% enhanced existing learning

process within a family or
community
71% led to the development of more

master artists
see Impact on Artists,
Impact on Art Forms and
Communities

Appendix C

Sample State Maps*

Alabama: Distribution of Apprenticeships by
County, 1985-1995

0 10 70 30 40 SO

1 I I 1 =fc=d

* Note: Most maps show distribution by location of mas-
ter artist. Some programs have had inactive years during
the time span documented; others have been discontin-
ued since 1995. A complete set of state maps showing
the distribution of apprenticeships by county for active
programs as of Spring 1995 is available on request from
the NEA Heritage & Preservation Division.

SO

Nevada: Distribution of Apprenticeships by County,
1988-1995*

0 '0 20 30 «> 50 60

•Note An additional six apprenticeships involved artists from out of state

O 1

New Hampshire: Distribution of Apprenticeships
by County, 1994-1995

C>3