2021 Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Awards
Each year, Oregon Folklife Network’s Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (TAAP) assists accomplished mentors in passing on their living traditions to promising apprentices of the same cultural community. A prestigious statewide honor, TAAP awards are often a precursor for traditional artists to be nominated for National Heritage Fellowship awards through the National Endowment for the Arts.
Meet Oregon’s 2021 TAAP awardees.
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- José Antonio Huerta taught Mexican Charrería to his apprentice, Rafael Acevedo Reveles.
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- Clair Kehrberg taught buckaroo leather working to her apprentice, Julianna Smucker.
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- LaRhonda Steele taught gospel singing to her apprentice, Lauren Steele.
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- Francisco Bautista taught Zapotec Weaving to his apprentice Daniel Bautista.
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- Alseny Yansane taught Guinean drum making and tuning to his apprentice, Papa Yansane.
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- Jayanthi Raman taught Asian Indian dance to her apprentice, Lavanya Mohanraj.
TAAP offers traditional master artists and culture keepers a $3,000 stipend to teach their art form to their apprentices, plus a $500 stipend to share their project with the public. The program does not fund historic reenactments or cultural appropriation. Applications are due annually by October 1 for projects taking place the following calendar year, and staff will provide feedback on drafts sent prior to Sept 1. To learn more, visit ofn.uoregon.edu, email ofn@uoregon.edu or call 541-346-3820.
TAAP is funded by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and Oregon Arts Commission.