Individual Artist Grant Programs and Services

Funding for Individual Artist Grant Programs and Services contributes to the cultural life of the state by providing opportunities for creative and professional growth. Artists are a valuable resource for communities. Artists working in communities offer opportunities for the public to participate in the creative process, encourage public discussion and bring diverse groups of people together. Vibrant artistic communities contribute to economic growth, revitalization and the overall well-being of community residents.

TRADITIONAL ARTS APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM

Preserving Cultural Heritage through Collaboration

Tradition is the bridge from the past to the present. The practices, customs, stories and skills that are passed down from one generation to the next influence the ways we live, what we value and our personal and collective identity. Master artists are recognized within their communities as exemplary practitioners of traditional art forms and an important repository for the wisdom and knowledge of our ancestors. The Traditional Arts Apprenticeship program provides awards that allow dedicated apprentices to follow a time-honored method to acquire an understanding of and proficiency in valued art forms. Apprentices should have prior experience in the art form as well as demonstrate significant promise and long-term commitment to practicing the art. The apprenticeship work plan should allow for in-depth learning that encompasses the context of the culture and the development of a mentoring relationship as well as the acquisition of techniques and artistry. Through prolonged and deep interaction over time, the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship program honors Ohio's finest folk and traditional arts practitioners, supports the recognition and continuation of these traditions and enriches the lives of people throughout the state.

Application Deadline: January 15

WHAT THE PROGRAM SUPPORTS

The Traditional Arts Apprenticeship program strives to keep alive folk and traditional arts by supporting collaborations between craftspeople, musicians, dancers, and other traditional artists, and qualified apprentices who want to study with them. The program pairs an experienced master artist with an apprentice in a one-on-one learning experience that helps ensure the continued vitality of a traditional art form. Apprentices learn directly by observing and imitating, and by refining their artistic work based on the critique of the master artist. The apprenticeship must be conducted for a substantial part of the year, preferably 12 months, and include a minimum of 50 hours of direct instruction. The master artist is responsible for monitoring the apprentice's progress as outlined in the application work plan. During the apprenticeship period, a site visit will be made by OAC staff or a folklorist to document the teaching/learning process. Photographs of the session may be taken and tape-recorded interviews may be conducted. In addition, the master artist and apprentice are expected to give a joint community presentation near the end of the apprenticeship period. Examples include performing at a public event, offering a master class, holding an open studio or exhibiting at a local library or gallery.

Traditional arts are part of the cultural heritage of a group of people whose members share a common ethnic heritage, language, religion, occupation or geographic region. These artistic traditions are passed down through generations and reflect the values of their shared culture. Skills are typically learned directly through observation and imitation of someone steeped in the tradition, rather than through classes, books or other means of institutional instruction. The OAC welcomes applications for apprenticeships in all forms of traditional arts-traditional music and instrument making, sacred and secular crafts, occupational traditions, folk and ethnic dance, and traditional arts associated with annual celebrations. One of the goals of the program is to help communities preserve their own cultural heritage. The strongest applications often are those that include the pairing of masters and apprentices who are members of the same ethnic, cultural, religious or occupational group.

Allowable Expenses
Funds are intended to compensate the master artist for teaching time. However, supplies, materials and travel expenses for the master and apprentice may also be included in the application. The OAC is not permitted to support stipends for apprentices and equipment purchases may not exceed $500.

The program is designed to fund more than just lessons; it is intended to support a special, mentoring relationship between master artist and apprentice. It may not be used to support an ongoing class or school.

Funds are not available in this program for apprentices who wish to travel and study with master artists who live outside the United States. Masters and apprentices must be U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens and must have lived in the United States for at least eight months before the application deadline date.

The master artist or apprentice may apply for only one apprenticeship each year.

Grant Awards
The maximum request amount is $4,000 for a master and apprentice(s) to work together, regardless of the number of apprentices. Master artist fees should be at least half of the requested amount.

WHO MAY APPLY

The master artist and the apprentice must apply together. The master artist is the eligible applicant. Master artists have achieved a high level of skill in a particular traditional art form, are regarded as masters by their peers, and have learned and developed their skills within a traditional context. Master artists may be from another state, if there is no suitable master living in Ohio.

Apprentices must demonstrate interest and competency in the art form prior to the apprenticeship, strong motivation to learn the nuances of the tradition, and a commitment to carry the tradition on in the future. Apprentices must live in Ohio.

HOW TO APPLY

Please refer to the Grant Process for Artists for a step-by-step guide on the entire process of applying for and managing an OAC grant for artists.

Applications

Individuals applying for a Traditional Arts Apprenticeship grant, especially those who have never applied before, should contact the Individual Artist Grant Programs and Services office at least eight weeks prior to the deadline. A program coordinator will help applicants by discussing eligibility and addressing any questions about the application process or the OAC Guidelines. Applicants should refer to the OAC Staff Directory to find contact information.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to complete a draft application. The draft application should be submitted electronically via OLGA by 5 p.m. EST on the funding program's draft deadline date, listed on the main page of OLGA. The draft deadline usually occurs 30 days before the final deadline. Please note that if a draft deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or state holiday, the deadline will be extended until the next business day.

To submit a draft application, applicants should follow the directions in OLGA through the last page of the application. On the last page of the application in OLGA (the "Final Submission" page), applicants should check the box next to the statement "Check this box to submit this application for DRAFT REVIEW by the OAC staff. This does not constitute final submission." Then, applicants should click the "Submit" button on the same page in OLGA by 5 p.m. EST on the draft deadline date. No support materials are required for a draft application.

Program coordinators will provide feedback on draft applications via phone, email, fax or a scheduled appointment at the OAC office. Applicants are then permitted to revise their applications based on the program coordinator's feedback. This step helps applicants produce a well-written, thorough proposal that increases the chances of successfully competing with other applicants.

Support Materials

To complete their application for this program, all applicants must submit one complete set of support materials to the OAC along with discipline–specific work samples. Applications that do not include support materials will not be accepted. All support materials must represent the folk or traditional art form in which the master and apprentice will be working.

Support materials should include:

1) Letters of Support for Master Artist. Letters of support should be from community members who are knowledgeable about the traditional art form. A maximum of three letters may be submitted.
2) Letters of Support for Apprentice. Letters of support should be from community members who are knowledgeable about the traditional art form. A maximum of three letters may be submitted.
3) Work Samples. Both the master artist and the apprentice must submit samples of their own work (DVDs, videotapes, cassettes, audio CDs, digital CDs, color slides or photographs) demonstrating artistic quality and technical ability. This enables the selection panel to evaluate both applicants. These samples may be submitted together on a single disk or tape or may be submitted separately. Panelists may review some or all of the submitted material. All audio-visual work samples must be accompanied by a Cover Sheet for Work Samples. Work samples that do not adhere to the guidelines may not be reviewed.

a) Folk Craft: Submit five to 10 images of the work of the master artist and the apprentice—digital images on disk are preferred. If possible, include an image that shows the place in which your work is created.
b) Music/Verbal Arts: Submit one copy of one sound recording (CD, DVD or videocassette) of the master artist and the apprentice. Provide a list identifying performers, instruments and the material being presented. Be sure to describe the typical audience and venue for this music/verbal art form on the Cover Sheet for Work Samples. Indicate the track number(s) or cue tape to preferred starting point.
c) Dance/Ethnic Theatre: Submit one copy of one video (DVD or videocassette) of the master artist and the apprentice that best demonstrates the quality of the work. Label the video with a title and the length of work; provide a list with a description of your dance form or theatre, performers and the typical venue on the Cover Sheet for Work Samples. Indicate the track number(s) or cue tape to preferred starting point.

Support materials such as brochures, newspaper and magazine articles, exhibition catalogues and programs may also be submitted. Slides, audiotapes and videotapes submitted with applications will be returned if a mailer large enough to hold them is included with the application. The return mailer must have the appropriate amount of U.S. postage. Do not send cash, checks or Federal Express mailers for the return of materials. If an addressed, stamped mailer is not included with the application, support materials will be kept for one year and then recycled.

A signature page and support materials must be received in the OAC office no more than seven calendar days after the application deadline date by 5 p.m. (regardless of postmarked date). If the signature page and support materials do not reach the OAC within this timeframe, the application will not be accepted. Your organization will be notified via e-mail when your support materials are received.

Evaluation and Scoring

A panel consisting of folklorists, arts professionals and other community members meets to evaluate and score Traditional Arts Apprenticeship applications and support materials. This panel meeting is open to the public and artists are encouraged to attend so they may hear the panel's comments about their application.

At the panel meeting, an evaluative discussion will take place for each application. Following the discussion, a vote will be taken to determine whether the application advances to the scoring round. If an application moves forward to the scoring round, it will be given a score based on how well the project meets the review criteria. After the panel meeting, this score will be used to determine the panel's funding recommendations to the OAC Board. These recommendations are presented to the OAC Board, who will make the final funding decision.

The review process is competitive; not all applications are funded. Applicants not voted into the scoring round will not be funded. A cutoff point in the scores will be determined and applications below a certain score will not be funded.

The score from the panel meeting will be e-mailed to you within three weeks after the panel meets. A summary of the panelist comments, however, will not be available until after the OAC Board meets and approves grant recommendations. While you are not allowed to participate in the panel meeting discussions, you are encouraged to attend the panel meeting to hear the full discussion of your application and other applications within the same funding program. No formal announcement regarding a funding decision and/ or a grant amount will be sent to any applicant until after the OAC Board meeting.

An applicant that disputes a review panel's recommendation on grounds of procedural errors may request a review of that recommendation by the OAC Board. Procedural errors include miscount of votes and failure of a panelist with a known conflict of interest to leave the room for the discussion and vote on the application. Appeals may not be made on the basis of an applicant's disagreement with the panel's assessment of the artistic quality or merit of the applicant's work. To file an appeal, the applicant must submit a letter to the OAC staff for review. Appeals will be reviewed and acted on by the Executive Committee of the OAC Board after consultation with OAC staff. Such action will be ratified by the OAC Board, whose decision is final.

Review Criteria

A strong application will show that the project meets the criteria described below. Evidence should be demonstrated through the components of the grant application, including OLGA responses and support materials. Applicants will be given a numerical score and can receive a maximum of 100 points across four categories: Artistic/Educational/Cultural Value; Community Participation and Accessibility; Planning, Evaluation and Documentation; and Financial Management.

Artistic/Educational/Cultural Value
The highest score for this category is 30 points.

• Master artist authentically represents the art form and tradition;
• Master has learned his/her skills from a particular ethnic, occupational or regional group or from community or family traditions;
• Master has achieved a high level of artistry and is recognized as a master artist by his/her community and peers;
• Apprentice demonstrates interest and competency in the art form;
• Apprentice shows commitment to learning the art form;
• Match between master artist and apprentice is well-aligned and appropriate to the art form and content to be mastered.

Community Participation and Accessibility
The highest score for this category is 25 points.

• Master shares art form with general community (teaches classes, sells works or appears at community events);
• Apprentice is committed to carrying on the tradition in the community.

Planning and Evaluation
The highest score for this category is 25 points.

• Apprenticeship plan has established goals and learning benchmarks for skills to be mastered;
• Work plan is detailed and will lead to learning benchmarks and the achievement of goals;
• Plan calls for intensive individual study and practice, not simply lessons or class instruction.

Financial Management
The highest score for this category is 20 points.

• Application budget is accurate and sufficient for the implementation of apprenticeship program;
• Application budget supports narrative, with all expenditures noted.