North Dakota Council on the Arts (NDCA) Awards $137,440 in Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeships for Fiscal Year 2027
BISMARCK, N.D. – North Dakota Council on the Arts (NDCA) has awarded $137,440.00 in grants through its Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program for Fiscal Year 2027, which runs from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027. This year’s funding supports 37 projects involving 91 different artists in 32 cities (click button below for details), including 19 towns with fewer than 1,500 residents, helping keep cultural traditions alive across the state.
The Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program is designed to honor and encourage the preservation of North Dakota’s diverse living traditions. By providing funds of up to $4,500, the program allows master traditional artists to pass their skills and knowledge to apprentices on a one-to-one basis over an extended period. While masters may live outside North Dakota, all apprentices are North Dakota residents, ensuring these traditions continue to grow within the state.
This year’s apprenticeships showcase an extraordinary range of cultural heritage, from Norwegian Hardanger fiddle, rosemaling, woodcarving, weaving, and folk instruments to Blacksmithing, bladesmithing, saddle and cowboy hat making, Native American rawhide and parfleche work, quilt making, and moccasin making. The program also supports the transmission of diverse musical, dance, and storytelling traditions, including Bluegrass, Lakota, Ojibwe, West African, Nepali, Chinese, Mexican, Ukrainian, and South Indian art forms.
Grant awards may be used for a master artist's instruction fee, supplies, and travel costs for the apprentice. Apprenticeships generally last between four and ten months, depending on the project plan.
Over the past four decades, the Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program has grown into one of the nation's most active state-supported traditional arts apprenticeship programs. By investing in one-to-one mentorships, NDCA helps preserve living traditions while encouraging new generations of artists to carry them forward.
For more information on NDCA’s Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, along with all other grant programs, please visit NDCA's Grants at a Glance page or call 701-328-7590.
FY27 Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeships
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North Dakota Council on the Arts is the state agency responsible for the support, development, and preservation of the arts throughout North Dakota and is funded by the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.