Image: Maurice Habimfura, 2025 Traditional Arts Fellow
The Traditional Arts Program of the Maine Arts Commission works with communities to strengthen and present their cultural traditions through apprenticeships, fellowships, program development, and project support. Through direct support for artists as well as community-based projects, the program brings recognition to traditional practices that are an important part of Maine’s cultural landscape, whether it is Wabanaki basketry, Franco fiddling, Rwandan dance, or Downeast boat building.
Traditional arts hold great meaning in the everyday lives of individuals and communities. Passed down from one generation to the next, traditional arts are often learned informally through observation, participation, and example rather than through classes or formal instruction. For decades, the program has helped honor cultural knowledge and tradition bearers while encouraging new generations of artists to learn, practice, and pass these skills forward.
The Maine Arts Commission’s Traditional Arts Program is offered in partnership with Cultural Resources.
For questions about the program, contact Kathleen Mundell at moc.oohay@1002secruoserlarutluc or 207-236-6741.
Funding Opportunities
The Maine Arts Commission and its partners offer several funding opportunities that support traditional artists, the continuation of cultural practices, and the sharing of traditional arts within Maine communities.
Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program
At the heart of the Traditional Arts Program is the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program. It began in 1990 with the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts as a way of encouraging master traditional artists to teach the next generation.
Based on experience and commitment to their art form, master artists select an apprentice to teach for an extended period of time, one-on-one, usually for a year. Preference is given to apprentices who are members of the same ethnic, religious, occupational, tribal, or familial group as the master artist.
Maximum Award: $3,000
Funds May Support: Master artist teaching fees, supplies, and travel costs
Applications are reviewed using the following criteria:
- Artistic quality of the master artist’s work according to the standards of the traditional community
- Role of the master artist and art form in the community
- Significance of the tradition
- Skill and commitment of the apprentice
- Feasibility of the work plan
- Potential impact of the apprenticeship on the continued vitality of the traditional art
Maine Artist Fellowship Program
Another way in which the Maine Arts Commission recognizes traditional artists is through the Maine Artist Fellowship Program. This annual award honors a traditional artist whose excellence and lifetime contributions, primarily through teaching, cultural advocacy, and sustaining important traditions, have benefited their artistic tradition and community.
Award: $5,000
Artist Project Grant
Individual traditional artists may apply for project support to help sustain and present their cultural traditions. Project grants can support artists’ fees for presentations in community settings including festivals, gatherings, museums, and libraries. Funding may also support professional development for traditional artists, including research and documentation of specific traditions.
Maximum Award: $2,500