2009-2010 Apprenticeship Teams Announced
The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities has announced the recipients of the 2009-2010 Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship awards.
2009-2010 Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Teams:
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Master Artist: Ali Reza Analouei
Apprentice: Behnaz Bibizadeh
County: Fairfax
Folkway: Persian Tombak and Daf Drumming -
Master Artist: Olin David Bare
Apprentice: Brian Watts
County: Rockbridge
Folkway: Traditional Hunting Methods -
Master: John Buck
Apprentice: James R. Lumpkins, Jr.
County: Pittsylvania
Folkway: Gunsmithing -
Master Artist: Jay Eagle
Apprentice: Tyler Eagle
County: Highland
Folkway: Maple Sugaring & Syrup Making -
Master Artist: Maggie L. Ingram
Apprentice: Cheryl Marcia Maroney-Beaver and Almeta Ingram-Miller
County: Richmond
Folkway: Traditional Gospel Storytelling and Singing -
Master Artists: Chuck and Bill Shelton
Apprentice: Rob Shelton
County: Albemarle
Folkway: Vintage Apple Harvesting and Cider Pressing -
Master Artist: Thomas "Mac" Traynham
Apprentice: Robert "Bob" Browder
County: Grayson
Folkway: Old Time Banjo Making
The Master-Apprentice Program pairs an experienced master artist with an eager apprentice for a one-on-one, nine-month learning experience, in order to help ensure that a particular art form or folkway unique to Virginia is passed on in ways that are conscious of history and faithful to tradition. The nine month period of exchange already underway will culminate in a showcase at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, when each group will share the creative and inspiring results of their apprenticeship with the public.
The apprenticeships accomplish much more than the teaching and learning of a particular craft or skill. During the apprenticeship period, the master artist and apprentice enter into a mutually enriching relationship which is both cultural and personal, connecting to lessons and memories from the past and shared visions for the future.
The first five years of the Folklife Apprenticeship Program is chronicled in In Good Keeping: Virginia's Folklife Apprenticeships. Written by Jon Lohman, with 224 pages of evocative photographs of Virginia Master Folk artists and their apprentices, In Good Keeping celebrates a wide variety of folk traditions both old and new to Virginia. Order your copy today!