Introducing the 2022-2023 Heritage Arts Apprenticeships!
From Taiko drumming and Mariachi music to bead weaving, ancient food preservation, Yakama nation cradleboard making, and much more, The Center for Washington Cultural Traditions is excited to announce selections for the 2022-2023 Washington State Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Program.
Created to encourage people to learn a traditional trade, craft, or skill, the Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Program conserves and helps carry on cultural traditions important to Washington’s communities. Program participants may teach or study music, visual art, occupational arts, dance, culinary traditions, storytelling and other verbal arts, and much more. The program is a partnership between Humanities Washington and ArtsWA.
Through the Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Program, a skilled and experienced master artist mentors an apprentice, spending at least 100 hours of one-on-one time during the program year. The master artist will teach skills related to a tradition in their community, conserving that tradition and allowing it to thrive in future generations. Each year, the program culminates in a free event to introduce the public to these unique cultural traditions.
“Because these practices are often learned informally in a one-on-one setting, they are at risk of getting lost,” said Langston Collin Wilkins, director of the Center for Washington Cultural Traditions. “This program helps ensure not only that a new generation of folk and traditional artists preserve their crafts, but they also gain ways to connect to their history and community.”
Now going into its fifth year, over 100 people have participated in the program since its inception. Check out information about participants, their traditions, and their progress throughout the year at waculture.org.
The Center for Washington Cultural Traditions is a program of Humanities Washington, presented in partnership with the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA). The Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Program is generously supported by funding received from ArtsWA, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Washington State Legislature.
The 2022-2023 Apprenticeships
Tradition: Abhangs: Marathi Songs of Devotion
Abhangs are a form of worship music from Maharashtra in Western India dating back to the 17th century. They are often exuberant expressions of community experience, as people join in the refrain with raised voices, cymbals, and drums. The master artist will teach a collection of 20 such songs, including those written by lesser-known female poets.
Master: Srivani Jade, Kirkland
Apprentice: Suchitra Iyer, Sammamish
Tradition: American Native Shell and Stone Arts
This apprenticeship will focus on some of the oldest arts of the Americas: tools and jewelry made of stone and shell—an art that relies on the connection between nature and the native peoples of the Americas.
Master: Jim Baugh, Ellensburg
Apprentice: Klairyssa Aronica, Ellensburg
Tradition: Bharatanatyam Kalakshetra Dance
Bharatanatyam, sometimes known as the “dance of India,” is a dance style used to relay stories of historical significance from generation to generation. Storytelling using this ancient dance form allows a connection to Indian culture, especially to those who no longer live in India and don’t have access to a large Indian community.
Master: Devika Gates, Mead
Apprentice: Naya Gates, Mead
Tradition: Plateau/Yakama Cradleboards
The Yakama Tribe has traditionally used cradleboards to safely carry their babies, whether it be on horseback or for protection from the elements. Cradleboards also provide a sense of security, since the cradleboard’s snugness imitates the way babies feel within their mother’s wombs. While there are several styles of Native American cradleboards, this apprenticeship focuses on the style of the Yakama Nation.
Master: Janice Anne Whitefoot, Harrah
Apprentice: Alexandria Whitefoot, Harrah
Tradition: Los Matachines
Los matachines is the term for a traditional religious dance as well for those who participate in it. It traces its roots to a popular sword dance in Medieval times called a morisca. This apprenticeship aims to create a spiritual praxis, a way to build awareness of history and social constructs of settler colonialism while rerooting traditional medicine and mental health.
Pedro Meza Madera, Master, Zillah
Pedro Jr. Meza Avila, Apprentice, Seattle
Tradition: Bharatanatyam
Bharatanatyam is an ancient Indian classical dance style rooted in Natya Shastra, the first-ever literature on dance and drama from between 500-200 BCE. The hallmark of this dance form lies in the beautiful confluence of rhythmic footwork, graceful lines, stylized facial expressions, soulful music and emotional connection between the artist and audience, who share a spiritual experience.
Master: Anwesha Das, Bothell
Apprentice: Nidhi Achanta, Newcastle
Tradition: Japanese Taiko Drumming
Taiko drumming dates back to the 6th century, where it was introduced to Japan through Chinese and Korean cultural influences. Since then, Taiko drumming has been used in Japan for various occasions including religious ceremonies, entertainment, and even military actions. The current popular form of “kumi-daiko,” or ensemble taiko, started taking shape in 1951 by Master Taiko drummer Daihachi Oguchi and was made popular by groups like Ondekoza and Kodo.
Master: Ringtaro Tateishi, Lynnwood
Apprentice: Eugene Arai, Anacortes
Tradition: Blues, Soul and Gospel Singing
Singing and music is a vital part of Black culture, and they are powerful tools that bring communities together for storytelling, celebrating, mourning, healing, and more. By mastering a wide variety of vocal techniques, this apprenticeship will pass down the historical significance and cultural heritage of this music to another generation.
Anita “Lady A” White, Master, Seattle
Patricia Miller, Apprentice, Seattle
Tradition: Nattuvangam Techniques
Used in Indian classical dance recitals, Nattuvangam is the art of reciting syllables and playing cymbals to follow the footwork of a dancer. The cymbal on the right hand is made of brass material and makes the treble sound, while the one held in the left hand is made of iron and makes the bass sound.
Master: Sandhya Kandadai Rajagopal, Sammamish
Apprentice: Vibha Krishna, Sammamish
Tradition: Natural Color and Dyeing
This apprenticeship focuses on revitalizing traditions of creating color from natural sources in a contemporary context. The pair will explore universals and methods of natural dyeing, including accessing local sources of color, and connecting these to heritage dye traditions with a focus on Cherokee (Elena) and Indigenous Sámi/Finnish (Marja) traditions.
Master: Marja Eloheimo, Olympia
Apprentice: Elena Haas, Seattle
Tradition: Old World Techniques for Preserving the Harvest
This apprenticeship explores traditional old-world methods for preserving high-acid foods to create products such as jams & sauces, pickles, and lacto-fermentations. Focused primarily on water-bath and pressure cooker canning methods, the pair will create old fashioned natural pectin jams, sauces, and a variety of other preserves.
Master: Lora Lea Misterly, Rice
Apprentice: Amber Coeyman, Rice
Tradition: Madhubani/Mithila Painting
For centuries, women in the heart of an ancient kingdom of Mithila, now part of the state of Bihar in India, painted vibrant wall murals. These murals contained narratives based on their social, emotional, personal, and spiritual experiences. These artworks became known as Madhubani paintings or Mithila paintings, and decorated the walls of almost every home in the region.
Master: Deepti Agrawal, Bothell
Apprentice: Prisha Mundra, Bothell
Tradition: Bead Weaving and Applique
Focusing mainly on beadwork design, this apprenticeship explores the fundamentals within bead weaving and various stitches, through advanced techniques like design, types of supplies, and how to express a narrative through beadwork.
Master: Megan McDermott, Mukilteo
Apprentice: Marina McDermott, Everett
Tradition: Mariachi Music
Mariachi is a traditional form of Mexican folk music that plays a huge part in celebrating moments in the lives of Mexican people. This apprenticeship will shed light on this vibrant musical form and bring it to Central Washington communities.
Master: Matteo Cortez, Wenatchee
Apprentices: Oscar Licon, Miranda Rivera, Martina Ramirez, Emilie Jimenez, Raul Mendoza, Kevin Garibay, Wenatchee
Tradition: West African Drumming
Drumming is a traditional art form ingrained in daily life throughout Africa and the African diaspora, transmitting and preserving the rich history and traditions of African
culture. This project focuses on traditional West African drumming with sabar (hand-and-stick), djembe (hand-drum), and djun-djun (big-barrel bass).
Master: Thione Diop, Seattle
Apprentice: Monique Franklin, Seattle
Tradition: Trinidadian Steel Pan
This apprenticeship focuses on the native performance practice of the steel pan instrument from Trinidad & Tobago. Special consideration will be given to performance technique, and the musical and rhythmic idioms most closely associated with the steel pan instrument and its related musical genres of Trinidad and Tobago: calypso and soca.
Master: Obejsanjo (Obe) Quarless, Tacoma
Apprentices: Clarence (Mitch) Mitchell, Jr. and Tashie LeMaitre
Read more about the Heritage Arts Apprenticeship program and the Center for Washington Cultural Traditions on the Center’s website.
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- Tags: center for washington cultural traditions, Folk Art, Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Program, traditional art