2024-2025 Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Program Guidelines 

Download as PDF HERE.

Important Dates 
Application Open: March 28, 2024 
Application Closes: May 8, 2024 at 11:59 PM 
Notification of award: June 2024 
For apprenticeships taking place July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025  

APPLY HERE  

About the Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Program 

Washington State is home to a rich collection of cultural traditions carried on by members of its many communities—from the Indigenous peoples in whose homelands this program takes place, to its most recent immigrants. Practitioners of these traditions enliven and enrich the cultural heritage of both their specific communities and the state as a whole.  

Folk and traditional arts and practices are the bedrock of artistic and cultural communities. They provide meaningful ways for individuals to connect with their past and build bridges to others and their surroundings in the present. Because these practices are often learned informally in a one-on-one setting, they often don’t have the same infrastructure for learning and teaching as other art forms. 

The Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Program supports individuals seeking to preserve traditional practices important to their community, heritage, and identity. These may include music, dance, visual arts, language practices, verbal arts, traditional skills, foodways, occupational arts, storytelling and much more. They are learned within communities that share family, ethnic, tribal, regional, occupational, or religious identity. The program provides a supportive mentoring environment, networking opportunities, as well as important professional and leadership skills.  

Humanities Washington and ArtsWA are pleased to co-sponsor the Center for Washington Cultural Traditions and its Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Program (HAAP), with significant support from the Washington State Legislature. To date, over 100 people have participated in the program. Read about previously funded teams here and learn more at www.waculture.org.  

How does the program work? 
Master Artists and Apprentices work together over the course of one year to teach and learn skills related to a tradition in their community to preserve and cultivate it for future generations.  

Applicants commit to spending at least 100 hours of one-on-one time together during the program year (June 2024 – June 2025). Teams also commit to joining a monthly online meeting for the duration of the program. 

What do participants gain? 
The Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Program helps to maintain important cultural traditions and practices in Washington State. The program provides a supportive mentoring environment, networking opportunities, as well as important professional and leadership skills. Apprentices may also gain expertise in collaboration, creative thinking, and organization—helpful skills for building careers in a variety of sectors.  

Funding 

Master Artists receive a $4,000 honorarium for their work and Apprentices receive $1,000.  

Master Artists may also request up to $1,000 for costs related to the apprenticeship. These funds are often used for (but not limited to) materials, supplies, and travel. All funds provided will be subject to federal taxation.  

Half of the funds are disbursed at the beginning of the program year upon receipt of a signed contract. The remaining half of the award is disbursed upon successful completion of the program, including a site visit with CWCT staff and submitting a final evaluation.  

Eligibility  

All current residents of Washington State are eligible and encouraged to apply. Master Artists and Apprentices must apply as existing teams; that is, the CWCT will not pair Master Artists and Apprentices.  

*Thanks to additional funding from ArtsWA’s Wellness, Arts, and the Military Program, the 2024-2025 cohort is guaranteed to fund at least one military or veteran team. 

Master Artists and Apprentices may be from the same family. Intercultural applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis, using application answers and support materials and guides. In these cases, it is important to submit strong support letters from the Master Artist’s ethnic or other cultural community for the Apprentice, along with indication from the Master Artist regarding why the Apprentice is appropriate to carry on their community’s tradition.  

Master Artists who served within the last two cohorts are ineligible to apply in the 2024-25 cycle. Non-Washington residents are ineligible. 

Who is considered a Master Artist?  
A Master Artist is an expert steeped in a tradition, craft, or technique. Expertise is demonstrated through work samples and letters of support (see below). 

  
“Artist” may be broadly defined to include masters of:   

• Foodways and culinary arts (e.g., horticulture, traditional cooking techniques and foods, canning and preservation, beverage making)   
• Fiber and textile arts (e.g., fiber dyeing, weaving, quilting)   
• Occupational arts (e.g., blacksmithing, stone carving, woodworking, leather work, boatbuilding, furniture making, sign painting, dress making)   

• Rare and endangered languages  
• Visual arts (e.g., classical Indian painting, tribal carving, Mexican folk painting)   
• Performing arts (e.g., music, dance, storytelling, spoken word)   
    

The tradition should be a form of expression related to and rooted in community identity and heritage. The tradition does not need to have originated in Washington.   

Who is considered an Apprentice?  
An Apprentice is an individual that will learn a skill or tradition from a Master Artist and make a commitment to carrying it on after the apprenticeship program. The Apprentice usually has some previous training or experience, and is now seeking direct, focused training from a Master Artist. Often apprentices are selected from a larger group of students i.e. Mariachi band members, dance groups, etc. 

Participant Responsibilities   

• Regular Meetings – Master Artists and Apprentices meet in-person over the course of one year and according to the Plan of Work submitted as part of their application. Participants are also expected to join an online orientation and monthly video calls with CWCT staff.  
   
• Site Visit – Site visits consist of informal meetings and interviews that allow the CWCT to learn, document, and share the work of the teams. Participants will be asked to sign release forms consenting to documentation and may opt out of certain aspects if necessary (for example, if recordings should not be created of certain practices due to their religious or spiritual significance).   
   
• Public Event – Teams will work with CWCT staff to participate in an event that demonstrates their work, their tradition, and their community. This may include events already created by the teams. 

• Evaluation – Participants will be required to complete a brief evaluation form to assess progress made, skills learned, and value of participating in the program.   

Apply for the Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Program  
The HAAP application is available via our grants portal, but may be submitted as a video or audio recording if needed. We encourage Master Artists and Apprentices to submit their application together.    

Application materials include (required unless otherwise noted):   

• Master Artist contact information and responses to questions about the tradition/skill to be taught, experience, relationship to Apprentice(s), and goals of apprenticeship  
• Apprentice contact information and responses to questions about the tradition/skill to be learned, relationship to Master Artist, and goals of apprenticeship 

• Parent/Guardian contact information (only for apprentices under 18 years of age)  
• Plan of Work   
• Budget (optional)   
• 2 work samples that showcase the Master Artist and/or Apprentice’s experience in this tradition   
• 1 letter of support for Master Artist (2 letters maximum)   
• 1 letter of support for Apprentice (optional)  
• Master Artist and/or Apprentice Honors and Awards (optional)   
   

Work Samples  
Digital images are encouraged over hard-copy photographs. Hard copy work samples can be mailed to:  

Center for Washington Cultural Traditions  
130 Nickerson St. Suite 304  
Seattle, WA 98109   

If you would like to submit large video and/or audio files, please upload the files online and submit a web link in the application. CDs may be sent to the address above. Please do not email large files.   

Letters of Support  
Support letters for a Master Artist should demonstrate they are recognized as an expert within their community. They should indicate the Master Artist is knowledgeable about and recognized within their own community as someone appropriate to teach the tradition/skill. Support letters for an Apprentice should demonstrate they are dedicated to the apprenticeship and appropriate to learn and continue the tradition.   

Letters may come from community leaders such as Tribal elders, fellow folk artists of a particular genre, the Master Artist’s teacher, religious leaders, or others who are themselves of, and knowledgeable about, the culture represented.  

Application Review Criteria  
A panel of reviewers from across the state and with expertise in a range of traditional art forms will evaluate applications on the following criteria:  

• Relevance and importance of the tradition to the cultural history of a community/ communities in Washington State  
• Expertise of the Master Artist   

• Demonstrated level of commitment by the Master Artist and the Apprentice(s) to the apprenticeship, and appropriateness of the Apprentice(s)   
• Potential impact of the apprenticeship on the continued vitality of the tradition, and/or the vitality of the community from which it comes  
• Feasibility of the Plan of Work    
• Washington State geographic area represented   

The CWCT is committed to equitable grantmaking and considers geographic diversity, audience diversity, and the importance of reaching underrepresented communities in its funding decisions. Due to limited funds, not all eligible applicants may receive funding.  

After award notifications are announced, applicants may request a summary of reviewer comments about their application.   

Application Assistance and Draft Review  
CWCT staff want each application to be as competitive as possible and will aid in assisting the applicants. Please contact us to submit application materials in a recorded video or audio format.  
 
CWCT staff can also offer verbal feedback on a completed application draft, and answer questions. To allow sufficient time for feedback, drafts should be submitted by mid-April 2024.   

Contact Us 

Thomas Grant Richardson, Director  

thomas@humanities.org or 206-682-1770 x 107  

Violeta Martin, Program Manager – Hablo español 

violeta@humanities.org or 206-682-1770 x 111