Program Overview

The Center for Washington Cultural Traditions is now accepting applications for the 2023-2024 Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Program! The program supports individuals interested in learning or teaching a traditional art form, craft, or skill. Click here for more details.

The Center for Washington Cultural Traditions is Washington State’s folklife and traditional arts program, developed and run as a partnership between Humanities Washington and ArtsWA/the Washington State Arts Commission.

What is folklife, and what are traditional arts? They are activities and objects that are inseparable from a cultural community. They are expressions of people’s heritage, and help tell their story: foods, occupations, crafts, traditional medicine, storytelling, music, and more.

Launched in 2018, the Center serves communities throughout Washington State by surveying, studying, and supporting cultural traditions and tradition bearers through research and a wide range of programming.

Want to learn more about the Center for Washington Cultural Traditions—including our Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Program and Cultural Traditions Survey?

• • Visit the Center’s own website, waculture.org.
  • Follow the Center on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
  • Or reach out to the Center’s director, Thomas Grant Richardon, via email at thomas@humanities.org or at 206-682-1770 ext.107.

The Center for Washington Cultural Traditions is run in partnership with ArtsWA/the Washington State Arts Commission. Additional support comes from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation, and generous contributions from other businesses, foundations, and individuals.