The Michigan Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Collection
Since 1989 the MSU Museum's Traditional Arts
Program has coordinated an apprenticeship program that encourages the
preservation and perpetuation of traditional arts in Michigan by supporting
apprenticeships for the purpose of passing on folk traditions. Master
artists apply to the program with their selected apprentices and if selected
teach their skills of production as well as cultural knowledge about their
art forms. This program was established and supported initially by the
National Endowment for the Arts; currently it is support by the Michigan
Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.
The collections from this program
represent a wide variety of traditions produced by master artists in Michigan.
For example, the collection includes woven palm fronds, cedar fan carvings,
a range of Native American traditional art forms from quill work to black
ash baskets, rag rugs, braided rugs, quilts, decorative welded gate, Ukrainian
beadwork, Polish and Ukrainian decorated eggs, and much more. The collection
also includes musical recordings, videotapes, field reports, interviews
with artists, and photographs.
Field researchers:
Yvonne R. Lockwood, LuAnne G. Kozma, Marsha MacDowell, C. Kurt Dewhurst,
Sarah Stollak, Rebecca Clark, Janet Gilmore, James P. Leary, Laurie Sommers.
Exhibitions:
"Native American Masters," Michigan Council for Arts & Cultural Affairs,
Detroit, Michigan, January, 1993; Michigan State University Museum, East
Lansing, Michigan, August, 1993 - February, 1994; Gerald R. Ford Museum,
Grand Rapids, Michigan, March - April, 1994; Marquette Mission Park &
Museum of Ojibwa Culture, St Ignace, Michigan, May, 1996 - October, 1996;
Port Huron Museum, Port Huron, Michigan, August 12 - October 22, 2000;
Fort Miami Heritage Society, St. Joseph, Michigan, January - May, 2002.
Publications:
The annual awardees of this program are highlighted in the Michigan
Folklife Annual, formerly the Festival of Michigan Folklife
Program Book.
--compiled by Lynne Swanson and Yvonne Lockwood, 2003
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