MSAC's traditional arts program, Maryland Traditions, has awarded $65,000 to artists in the state through the Folklife Apprenticeship grant. The funding supports the sharing of traditional arts skills from a master artist to a learner artist during a one-year teaching period. Thirteen grants of $5,000 each have been awarded for the 2021-2022 granting period to the teams listed below, with master artists named first.
- Samia Mahbub Ahmad (Montgomery County) & Abraar Rafi Ahmad (Montgomery County): Hindustani classical music;
- Karen Ashbrook (Montgomery County) & Chao Tian (Prince George’s County): American hammered dulcimer music;
- Pablo de Oliveira (Prince George’s County) & Ana Cecilia Rocha (Montgomery County): Brazilian cavaco music;
- Janice Greene (Baltimore County) & Naomi Reid (Baltimore City): Black storytelling;
- Gwen Handler (Carroll County) & Winnie Dreier (Baltimore County): Wool work;
- Gertie Hurley (Prince George’s County) & Shannon Jordan (Prince George’s County): Black doll making;
- John Iampieri (Wicomico County) & Michael Seipp (Baltimore City): Baltimore screen painting;
- Deborah Kinsey (Baltimore County) & Brenda A. Lorick (Baltimore City): African American community quilt making;
- Randy Rosso (Montgomery County) & Stephen Bloom (Montgomery County): Bata (Afro-Cuban) drumming;
- Darab Behnam Shabahang (Montgomery County) & Mahvash Vatankhahi (Montgomery County): Persian classical vocal music;
- Kate Spanos (Prince George’s County) & Becky Hill (Prince George’s County): Irish step dancing;
- Catherine Wooten (Howard County) & Suzanne Coley (Baltimore County): Sharecropper-style quilting;
- Dede Wyland (Montgomery County) & Jonathan Vocke (Baltimore City): Bluegrass and country vocals.
Maryland Traditions has offered Folklife Apprenticeship grants annually since 2004. Applications are accepted in winter, with awards disbursed the following summer. Folklife Apprenticeships are distinct from registered apprenticeships offered through the Maryland Apprenticeship Training Program, which supports workforce development.