Folk Arts Apprenticeship
Folk Arts Apprenticeship supports Mississippi master artists and emerging artists through one-on-one teaching that sustains community-based traditional arts and foodways for future practice.
Funder: Mississippi Arts Commission
Due Dates: March 1, 2027 (application deadline)
Funding Amounts: $3,000 per apprenticeship
Summary: Supports one-on-one teaching between master traditional artists and emerging artists to sustain Mississippi’s community-based art forms and foodways.
Key Information: The master artist and apprentice must apply together and participate in a public showcase if awarded.
Description
The Mississippi Arts Commission’s Folk Arts Apprenticeship program supports one-on-one instruction in traditional arts practiced within Mississippi communities. A master artist teaches specific skills to an apprentice who already works in the same tradition. The goal is to help community-based art forms survive, develop, and continue evolving through the people who practice them.
Supported traditions can include boatbuilding, quilting, pottery, basket making, music, and other material or performance arts typically learned informally. Foodways practices also qualify when dishes or techniques are tied to Mississippi’s soil and climate or to a family’s or community’s ethnic or regional heritage. Each funded team shares its work through the commission’s annual Folk Arts Apprenticeship Showcase.
