Folk & Traditional Arts Apprenticeship (FAA) Program
Forecasted
The Folk & Traditional Arts Apprenticeship (FAA) Program supports Wisconsin traditional artists teaching committed apprentices to sustain community-rooted art forms, cultural knowledge, and endangered languages.
Funder: Wisconsin Arts Board
Due Dates (Anticipated): March 2027 (first-time applicant intent notice) | March 2027 (application)
Funding Amounts: Up to $3,500 per apprenticeship
Summary: Supports Wisconsin traditional artists teaching apprentices to sustain cultural practices in their communities.
Key Information: The Mentor Artist applies and must complete a public presentation with the apprentice(s).
Description
The Wisconsin Arts Board’s Folk & Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program supports exemplary traditional artists and culture bearers as they pass skills and knowledge to committed apprentices. It aims to sustain traditions rooted in Wisconsin communities connected by ethnicity, language, religion, occupation, recreational pursuit, or geography. Eligible practices include basketry, beadwork, music, dance, instrument building, and traditional foodways.
The program prioritizes instruction that helps keep an art form from being lost or preserves or revitalizes an endangered language. It also considers urgency involving marginalized art forms or aging culture bearers. Mentor Artists and apprentices work toward sustaining the practice in their community and present their work publicly at the end of the apprenticeship.
