Announcing the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program 2026/27 Cohort
Vermont Folklife is pleased to announce the latest cohort of master artist/apprentice pairs comprising the 35th cycle of the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (VTAAP)! Fifteen projects from around the state were successfully funded and we look forward to following the artists and their work throughout the upcoming year.
With funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Vermont Arts Council, Vermont Folklife initiated the program in 1992 to support the continued vitality of Vermont's living cultural heritage. VTAAP provides stipends of up to $2,000 to master and apprentice pairs to cover materials and travel expenses associated with their apprenticeship, and to compensate the master artist for their time.
Apprenticeships are face-to-face learning opportunities where instruction addresses both the skills and techniques of an art form, as well as its meaning and use within the communities in which it is practiced. They pair a community-recognized master artist who has achieved a high level of expertise in their art form with a less-experienced apprentice.
The master artist and apprentice jointly plan when, where, and what they expect to accomplish during the apprenticeship. Apprenticeship schedules reflect the time constraints of both master artist and apprentice, and range from short-term, intensive sessions to meetings spread over a year.
More than 400 apprenticeships have been supported since 1992. The successful applicants of the 2026 - 2027 program cycle are listed here:
Ballet Folklorico - Anna Rodriguez / Yareli Leon
Weaving - Kate Smith / Devon Smolca
Rolyang Lobling: Traditional Tibetan Music, Dance and Singing - Migmar Tsering / Rolyang Lobling Students
Stone Carving - Heather Milne Ritchie / Arielle Edelman
Swedish Nyckelharpa - Alex Kehler / Lienna Monte
Stone Sculpture - George Kurjanowicz / Mark Padlo
Nepali Harmonium and Song - Januka Dhungana / Ayush and Arvin Basnet
Nepali Folk Music - Bikash Rai / Seyeenghang Rai, Bachan Rai, Bisasta Rai, Prakant Kuikel, and Saskriti Manger
Afghan Traditional Music - Arson Fahim / Asmanullah Ashna
Islamic Calligraphy - Hedayat Sulieman / Annabi Sanowbar and Khalida Ibrahimi
Traditional Bhutanese Nepali dance - Urmila Chhetri / Nepali Youth Group
Bollywood Dance - Susmita Dhakal / Nepali Youth Group
Traditional Dance Forms for AALV Youth Group - Urmila Chhetri and Guest Artists / AALV Youth Group
Burundian Music and Igiseke basketry - Marcel Mapoka and Georgette Niyokindi
English Glove Puppetry - Stoph Scheer / Leslie Ruster
In the coming months Vermont Folklife will share documentation and news related to these extraordinary projects. Stay tuned on our website, podcast, Facebook, and Instagram to follow their progress.
More about VTAAP
Want to learn more about the Vermont Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program? VTAAP provides the backdrop for a recent audio series produced as part of Vermont Public’s Made Here program: The Arts that Shape Us.
Each episode features longtime participants in VTAAP and through their work, introduces an art form being practiced in Vermont, exploring its relationship to the communities and places where it's rooted.
You'll meet people who are teaching and sustaining these arts, learn what these practices mean to them, and look at the ways that tradition is actually a dynamic process happening in the present while also maintaining ties to the past.