We’re excited to announce the eight apprenticeship pairs for the 2023-24 Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program. Since 1989, our Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program has supported a rich multitude of traditional artistic expression in the Beehive State. For more than 30 years, we have supported numerous apprenticeships in traditional dance, craft, music, and other art forms.
Over a period of several months, a mentor recognized for their mastery of a traditional art form will pass on their knowledge to an apprentice or apprentices through intensive, in-person education. The apprentice(s) will not only learn more about the art form itself, but they will receive a wealth of skills that can grow their business, teach them how to present their tradition to others, and train them to become the next generation of mentors themselves.
The apprenticeship program also provides a means of staying connected to one’s culture and traditions. As more folk and traditional arts are taught informally in the homes and workshops of artists across the state, folk arts provide a means of bridging the past while building toward the future, both within traditional communities and with others.
Keep up to date with the progress of apprenticeship participants on our Chase Home Facebook and Instagram pages. Learn more about the Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program, as well as other programs and activities of our agency, at our Folk Arts and Chase Home Museum of Utah Folk Arts webpages.
2023-24 Folk Arts Apprenticeship Pairs
Mau Rakau
Mentor: Mitchell Rudolph
Apprentice: Dezhane Te Hira Ika
Maya Tseltal Weaving
Mentor: Maria Elena Lowe
Apprentice: Virginia Lowe
Samoan Tuiga Regalia
Mentor: Jacob Fitisemanu Jr.
Apprentice: Aryanna Penina Brown
African Hair Braiding
Mentor: Yvonne Nsabimana
Apprentices: Eloha Baraketse & Masey Frazier
Pacific Island Patterns & Designs
Mentor: Haviar Hafoka
Apprentice: Kalani Tukuafu
Bharatanatyam Dance
Mentor: Srilatha Singh
Apprentices: Chandana Palukuri & Shritha Sudhini
Southern Paiute Basket Making
Mentor: Richard Graymountain
Apprentice: Autumn Gillard
Horsehair Hitching
Mentor: Jeffrey Freeze
Apprentices: Kennedy Richards & Annie Walker
Image: Maya Tseltal Weaving by Mentor Maria Elena Lowe