Whether Native or imported, the Traditional Art Apprenticeship Program helps communities preserve their own cultural heritage by providing an opportunity for master traditional artists to pass on their skills to a qualified apprentice. Traditional arts reflect a community's shared way of life. Many of these practices are rooted in a longstanding sense of place, community and cultural identity. More than just lessons, Master traditional artists seek to share this understanding of their culture with their apprentices. Such an exchange is usually learned in an informal, "give and take" way, through example or imitation rather than formal academic training and can take many forms including vocal and instrumental music, folk and ethnic dance, instrument making, dance, storytelling, crafts and occupational traditions like boat building, chainsaw carving and sail making.

One additional award is available in Hancock and Washington Counties in 2013 to support master artists working in a traditional functional craft who wish to teach one or more apprentices. These extra awards have been made possible through a partnership with the Maine Community Foundation (http://mainecf.org/), which is funded by the generous support of the Belvedere Fund.

All other Traditional Arts Apprenticeship eligibility and application process requirements apply.

• Deadline: June 14, 2013
• Maximum grant amount: $4,000
• Funding will be available after September 12, 2013

Based on their experience and commitment to the traditional art form they practice, masters and apprentices apply to work together on a one-to-one instructional basis. Up to $4,000 is available for the master artists' teaching fee, apprentices' supplies and travel costs. Grant recipients are eligible to reapply after skipping one application cycle every three years. The master artist and apprentice must submit one joint application. Preference will be given to selecting apprentices who are members of the same ethnic, religious, occupational, tribal or familial group as the master artist.

Eligibility Requirements

A Master artist,recognized by their community for their expertise in a particular traditional art form who has developed his/her skills within a traditional context rather than through classes, books or other means of formal instruction may apply. 

An Apprentice must demonstrate competency in the art form prior to the apprenticeship and shows serious commitment to learning the tradition

Both master artists and apprentice must be full-time residents of Maine at the time of the application and not enrolled as a full-time student in a field related to the application.

All applicants must have completed and filed all final reports required for previous Maine Arts Commission grants.

Review Process

Applications are reviewed by a committee of public members who are selected for their expertise in specific artistic fields. The committee will be chaired by a member of the Maine Arts Commission.

Grant recommendations will be presented to the executive committee or the full Maine Arts Commission, at its next regularly scheduled meeting. The approval of the review process, making the grant official, takes place at that time.

The review process and delivery of funds may take up to four months. This means that grant funds may be used to reimburse costs incurred for the project after the grant has been approved. Please plan accordingly.  

Review Criteria

Grant proposals are reviewed on a competitive basis using the following criteria:

• Artistic quality of master work according to the standards of the traditional community.
• Role of the artist and art form in community life.
• Significance of tradition.
• Skill and commitment of apprentice.
• Feasibility of work plan.
• Likelihood of a successful collaboration between master and apprentice.
• Potential impact of apprenticeship on continued vitality of traditional art.

Examples of Successful Grants

Click here for information on past recipients.

Required Application Materials

Please review the following required materials carefully in preparing your application materials. Failure to comply with these requirements will result in disqualification of your application. Only complete applications will be accepted. Please do not submit work in elaborate file folders or packaging. Make copies of all application materials for your records prior to submitting them.

Preparing your documents for submission - All word documents must be saved as .doc or .rtf files and adhere to the following naming convention: lastname_firstname_TitleOfDocument.rtf (example: shaw_kathy_resume.doc or shaw_kathy_narrative.rtf).

1. eGRANT Application  You will be asked to upload biographical information, application narrative and letters of support through eGRANT.
2. Biographical Information  Include a biographical sketch, letters of support, newspaper articles and other promotional materials that relate to the apprenticeship. Master traditional artists should submit a biography of not less than 350 words providing information about the master's role in the community, family background and how he/she developed their skill. Apprentices should submit a biography of not less than 250 words, providing information about thier connection to the community, their introduction to and progress in the art and current skill levels.
3. Vendor Form (form below)  This is information used by the Treasury to generate a check if the grant is awarded. Applicants should be sure to indicate the address the check should be sent to. You must mail form with your signature to our office. Faxed copies are not accepted.
4. Application Narrative (form below)  Master artists and apprentices must answer several questions as part of the application process. Master artists must complete part A, apprentices complete part B, and both Master and apprentice complete part C.
5. Letters of support  Submit up to three letters of support by a community member stating the qualifications of both the master artist and selected apprentice.

Artist Work Sample Submission Guidelines

There are up to ten opportunities to submit work samples with your application, although not every application will ask for ten samples. Work samples are a crucial aspect of your application and it is essential that they are of professional quality and appropriate representations of your current abilities.

Naming of all files should use the following convention: last name_title_year of work (Eg: Doe_Untitled_2010.jpg). There is a maximum of 72 characters file name limit and the name should NOT contain spaces or characters other than letters, numbers, underscores and hyphens.

A Description of Work Samples must be included to provide an additional reference for the submissions. Information on this document should list the work and include artist name, title, medium, size (if applicable), year of creation, and any other (brief) information that will better inform the reviewers about the artwork.

Represented work must be current; preferably within the past three years.

For Individual Artist Fellowship applications only: The review process is anonymous therefore there should be no evidence of your name anywhere on your actual samples. You are asked to submit a work sample description with your name that only staff will see during the review

FORMAT REQUIREMENTS FOR WORK SAMPLES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

Literary

Preferred format PDF, but WORD documents will also be accepted. Literary samples should be examples of an artists literary creation(s), submitted in the way that corresponds to the application. Manuscripts should include works of prose or up to five poems. Script and playwriting applicants should include one act or scene. Manuscripts in all genres must not exceed 20 pages. Selections from a longer script or work of prose may be accompanied by a synopsis of the complete work. All materials must be legible in 12-point or larger type and double spaced.

Images

Preferred format JPEG, but PDF images will also be accepted.Optimal image size is 1920 pixels on the longest side (to accommodate HD viewing) at a resolution of 72 dpi and a file size under 5mb. Images can be a digital photograph or a digital scan.

Audio

Preferred format MP3, but WAV or AIFF files will also be accepted.Optimal audio submissions should be an audio file under five minutes in length in a file size under 10mb. If the audio file is longer than five minutes listening points should be indicated on the explanatory document about how to listen to the work sample(s). Links to audio files that are housed online can count as audio submissions.

Video

Preferred Format MPEG-4, but MOV and AVI files will be accepted.It is preferred that time-based works submit at least one video work sample. Optimal video submissions should be a video or video clip under five minutes in length in a file size under 20mb. If the video file is longer than five minutes viewing points should be indicated on the explanatory document about the work samples. Links to a video URL that is housed on a hosting site such as Youtube, Vimeo, or the artist’s website can count as a video submission.

If you are unable to upload your materials or you wish to submit files that are copy-protected you may submit the work samples on a CD or DVD. If you do this you must send six copies of the material. Please write the appropriate information to identify the application on the disc itself (not on the case).

Web  

Website URL address in a PDF, but WORD documents will also be accepted.If the artist has their materials in an online resume or some other networked means of exhibition they can direct reviewers to the material by providing a URL. The URL should link to a specific page containing the work sample. An applicant should not assume the reviewers will navigate into the site if directed to the home page. The applicant may suggest preferred web browsers for optimal viewing of submitted materials in the explanatory document about the work samples. Mail or fax (207/287-2725) the assurances form and vendor form (if required) to the Maine Arts Commission, 193 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04333-0025.

under a Creative Commons Attribution/Non-Commercial/Share-Alike license.

Stop!

Each Applicant must speak with Kathleen Mundell, traditional arts specialist, 207/236-6741 or mainetraditionalarts@gmail.com, about the project before submitting an application. Failure to do so will disqualify the application. Please note that it is important that these conversations take place well in advance of the application deadline, in order to be effective in shaping the application and guiding the master and apprentice to a successful proposal.

The master artist and apprentice(s) must meet to discuss the course of study and to complete the appliation. The master artist and apprentice(s) must combine their materials and submit one joint application package under the name of the master artist.

How to Apply

Applicants are required to apply through the Maine Arts Commission e-GRANT system. E-GRANT will accept applications until 5:00 pm, E.S.T. Because of the volume of e-GRANT submissions on the day of any grant deadline, we strongly recommend you give yourself a 24 hour buffer.

Applicants who are unable to apply through e-GRANT must contact Kathy Ann Shaw at 207/287-2750, 877/887-3878 TTY/NexTalk User ID: kathy.shaw or kathy.shaw@maine.gov to discuss an alternative prior to applying. Alternative submissions will not be accepted without prior authorization.

The agency will not accept late or incomplete applications under any circumstance.

Grant information is available in large print format by request. All Maine Arts Commission programs are accessible to people with disabilities. All programs funded by the Maine Arts Commission must also be accessible.

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