2023 Folklife Apprenticeship Teams

Meet the eleven artists in this year’s cohort who are practicing traditions that are meaningful to Virginia communities in 2023 and worth evolving for the future.

Greg Galbreath, left, is training apprentice Peter Keller in the art of old-time banjo making and the intricate inlay Galbreath is known for. The pair photographed at Buckey Banjos in Eggleston, Virginia on 8/11/17.

Whether sung or told, hand-crafted or performed, Virginia’s rich folklife refers to the “arts of everyday life” that reflect a sense of traditional knowledge and connection to community.

Virginia’s folkways are rich with traditions that have been rooted in the Commonwealth for centuries, as well as those that more recently have been carried here and nourished by Virginia’s diverse immigrant communities.

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