Folk Arts Apprenticeship (FAA) Grant Program

Folk Arts Apprenticeship (FAA) Grant Program is sponsored by Wisconsin Arts Board. These awards support respected traditional artists in teaching their skills to committed and talented apprentices, preserving and promoting folk and traditional arts within Wisconsin's diverse cultural communities.

Folk & Traditional Arts Apprenticeship (FAA) Program Folk & Traditional Arts Apprenticeship (FAA) Program ​​FY27 Application Calendar Beginning Date for Apprenticeship Activities* End Date for Apprenticeship Activities​ May 30, 2027 June 30, 2027 ​ ​​​ *While funds should be available on July 1, grant checks may not arrive until as late as October, depending on State Legislative and Administrative action.

*​​​ Do you have Folk & Traditional Arts Apprenticeship related questions? Contact Kaitlyn Berle via email ( kaitlyn. berle@wisconsin.

gov ) or via phone ( 608-266-8106 ). Do you have SmartSimple or accessibility related questions? Amelia Schaetzke via email ( amelia.

schaetzke@wisconsin. gov ) or phone ( 608-264-8191 ). ​​ ​Grant Program ​Description​ ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Folk & Traditional Arts Apprenticeships are designed to strengthen and encourage the continuity of Wisconsin's diverse cult ural traditions by supporting exemplary traditional artists and culture bearers in passing their skills and knowledge on to committed and talented apprentices.

Any form of traditional art - from basketry to old time music, from beadwork to ethnic dance and singing, from instrument building to traditional foodways - as carried on by members of Wisconsin's various cultural groups, is eligible. These cultural groups are communities that emerge from shared ethnicity, language, religion, occupation, recreational pursuit, or geographic region.

Priority will be given to instruction in art forms that are in danger of being lost or that help to preserve an endangered language. Both the instructing artist and apprentice should be committed to preserving and advancing the art form in their shared community. Maximum awards are $3,500 to the instructing artist or a fiscal receiver*.

Successful applicants may use the apprenticeship award to help cover the costs of the instructing artist’s fee, the supplies and materials needed during the apprenticeship, and in some cases, travel expenses. ​ Apprenticeships must involve traditional art forms* that occur in a Wisconsin community* where they have value and a traditional place. See a list of past and current awardees ​​​ for examples of such art forms.

Mentor/Instructing artists should be recognized as exemp la ry practitioners of their ar t form ​within their cultural community - held in high re gard by their peers for their ski ll, knowl edge, and community-based practice.

​ Prospec tive a pprentices sh ould h ave some experience in the proposed art or a related art form , displ ay motivation to enhan ce their skill s and c ultural unders tanding of th e art form, and care about it continuing in thei r commu nity. Apprentices cannot be immediate family members under the age of 18. If the nature of the folk art allows, more than one apprentice may work with the same instructing artist at one time.

Returning applicants are not eligible to apply if they have received an ap​prenticeship award for three consecutive years; they may reapply after waiting one year. should have a conversation with WAB staff to discuss eligibility prior to applying. Contact: Kaitlyn Berle, Folk Arts Specialist, 608-266-8106.

To be eligible, all applications must be submitted by the March 19, 2026 deadline .

Applications to the Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program will be evaluated on the following criteria*: ​Traditionality of the art form Artistic quality of the instructing artist’s work Demonstrated commitment and skill of the apprentice(s) Shared membership of the instructing artist and apprentice in a cultural community Feasibility of the proposed work plan Urgency** related to endangered or marginalized art forms, endangered languages, age of culture bearers, or other relevant circumstances.

guidelines for additional evaluation criteria details. *Priority is given to apprenticeships that will help ensure the continuation of traditional art forms that are in danger of being lost or that help to preserve an endangered language. The Mentor Artist is the applicant.

To access the application, applicants must register and log-in to WAB's Online Application System, SmartSimple . The application asks questions about the instructing artist, the apprentice artist(s), the art form, its connection to a cultural community, and the work plan. You will also be asked about your ideas for a final public presentation of the work created during the apprenticeship, a requirement of the program.

You will also be asked to provide a budget for how you will spend the $3,500. As of FY21, applicants have the option to sub mit their res ponses to the narrative section of the application video or audio recording . Please reach out to Kaitlyn Berle via email ( kaitlyn.

berle@wisconsin. gov ​ ​) or phone ( 608-266-8106) if you are interested in this submission method. Awards will be distributed to the instructing artist in two payments : $2,500 at the start of the apprenticeship and the remaining amount after the public project has been completed and the final report has been accepted by WAB.

All funds go to the Mentor Artist. For the current fiscal year (FY27), the apprenticeship and public presentation can occur during the period July 1, 2026 - May 30, 2027. The final report is due thirty days later, on June 30, 2027.

​*C​ommunity - Communities can be geographic places or groups with shared ethnicity, language, religion occupation, recreational pursuits, or regional affinities. Such groups share customs, heritage, and artistic expressions, which include the traditional arts. ​ *Fiscal receiver - An artist who works closely with a community agency may wish to have that agency serve as a fiscal receiver for the award.

An incorporated, nonprofit, tax-exempt organization that provides administrative and financial services to the instructing artist for the apprenticeship is a fiscal receiver. *Traditional arts - These are artistic practices that are transmitted and engaged as part of the cultural life of a group of people whose members share a common ethnicity, language, religion, occupation, recreational pursuit, or geographic region.

Traditional art forms are often passed down from one generation to the next, or from one community member to another, and express a shared aesthetic, heritage, or tradition of a community. ​ Such traditions will have endured through several generations with creative innovations by skilled practitioners throughout its history. The art form/tradition may have been revived after a cultural break due to the efforts of a committed artist.

​​ If you wish to view the panel’s discussion of your application, you will find that recording in the Grant Review Panel Meetin​gs playlist (​on the Arts Board's YouTube channel.

​ ​ Application Questions (for reference) ​ Resources for Grant Recipients: *please reference program guidelines for registration instructions* Guidelines​ & Info Session FAA Info Session Recording​ Panel meetings are livestreamed on the WI Arts Board's YouTube channel. These meetings are ​open to the public. All applicants are encouraged to observe.

A ccess the panel meetings​ . ​ FY26 D eadline: June 30, 2026 FY25 Deadline: June 30, 2025 FY24 Deadline: June 30, 2024 Final reports can be completed through WAB's online application system, SmartSimple . ​ ​ Prior to FY20, WAB used JotForm for final reports.

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