Folk & Traditional Arts Program

In partnership with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

The Folk & Traditional Arts Program offers two types of grant opportunities designed for individual Arts & Heritage:

• Fellowships in Performance and Craft Traditions
• Apprenticeships in the Traditional Arts

Performing arts ensembles and troupes operating as non-profit organizations may be eligible to apply for funding through other PCA funding tracks. See Folk Arts Funding for Organizations under the services offered by ICP to Community-based Organizations.

Fellowships in Performing and Crafts Traditions
Folk Arts Fellowships are designed to honor and recognize excellent practitioners of traditional arts. They are awarded to individuals for their outstanding contributions to the practice and conservation of their art form within their community. Though artistic excellence is the primary criteria for selection, the applicant’s relationship to their community is of fundamental importance in the evaluation process.

Fellowships are available to individual Arts & Heritage who have been residents of Pennsylvania for 2 years prior to the application due date and who are not enrolled in a degree granting programs in a related arts field. The program provides awards of up to $5,000 and inclusion in the annual catalogue of fellowship recipients. Yearly grant awards alternate between two categories: Performing Traditions (even years) and Craft Traditions (odd years). Deadline for the 2003 Craft Traditions Fellowship grant applications is August 1, 2002.

To obtain program guidelines and an application form, please contact us. You may also obtain a downloadable version of the guidelines and form by visiting PCA's website! For more information or assistance in preparing your application, please call us at (717) 238-1770 and ask to speak with Carlos Fernandez, program coordinator.

Arts & Heritage outside South Central Pennsylvania may also obtain information and technical assistance through their nearest Regional Folk Arts Support Center, a network of folk arts agencies developed in partnership with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

Apprenticeships in the Traditional Arts (ATA)
Apprenticeship grants are available to support master traditional Arts & Heritage and an apprentice practicing traditional arts found in communities across the Commonwealth. To be eligible, the apprentice must be a resident of Pennsylvania and have demonstrated competency in the basic skills in the specific tradition of the apprenticeship. Multiple apprentices may apply to work with a single master. Preference is given to apprenticeships involving a master residing within Pennsylvania; masters from outside Pennsylvania may be sought if no master in the tradition is available within the Commonwealth.

Funding of up to $4,000 is available to compensate a master's time (the time of an apprentice cannot be paid); to compensate travel for a master or apprentice, to purchase supplies, or to document the apprenticeship through film or tape.

Deadline for the 2003 ATA grant applications is August 1, 2002. For more information about the program or to obtain an application form, please contact us or click here to obtain a downloadable version of the form in Adobe PDF format.! Or call us at (717) 238-1770 and ask to speak to Amy Skillman, Director of Folklife Programs.