Topics Related to NC Heritage Award Recipients

Since 1989, the North Carolina Heritage Awards have honored artists statewide for their contributions to the cultural lives of their communities. The Folklife program of the North Carolina Arts Council is pleased to announce the five artists/groups who will be presented with the 2025 awards on June 7, at a public ceremony in Raleigh. For tickets and more information, visit pinecone.org.

Images courtesy of the artists and Zoe van Buren. Clockwise from top left: Herman Oxendine, Loretta Oxendine, Chester McMillian, Gaurang Doshi, Helen Gibson, and The Glorifying Vines Sisters. The North Carolina Arts Council is proud to share the six artists/groups who will receive the 2025 North Carolina Heritage Awards for their lifetime contributions to our state’s cultural vitality. The N.C. Heritage Award is our state’s highest honor for traditional artists.

ince 1989, the North Carolina Heritage Award has honored our state’s most eminent traditional artists and practitioners. Recipients of the Heritage Awards range from internationally acclaimed musicians to folks who quietly practice their art in family and community settings. Awardees receive a cash award and are honored in a ceremony that draws large and enthusiastic audiences. Several North Carolinians have gone on to receive the National Heritage Fellowship Awards presented by the National Endowment for the Arts.

In November 2018 the Oxford American launched its North Carolina Music Issue with a series of concerts across the state. In this video, North Carolina Heritage Award Recipient Sister Lena Mae Perry leads a group of musicians from Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill in a rousing rendition of "This Little Light of Mine," at the Fletcher Opera House in Raleigh. Performers include: Sister Lena Mae Perry, Tift Merritt, H.C. McEntire, M.C. Taylor, Chatham County Line, Brian Horton, Phil Cook, Big Ron Hunter, Alice Gerrard and Brevan Hampden.

Since 1989, the North Carolina Heritage Award has honored our state’s most eminent traditional artists and practitioners. Recipients of the Heritage Awards range from internationally acclaimed musicians to folks who quietly practice their art in family and community settings. Awardees receive a cash award and are honored in a ceremony that draws large and enthusiastic audiences. Several North Carolinians have gone on to receive the National Heritage Fellowship Awards presented by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Sister Lena Mae Perry says music is like medicine. She would know. At 80-years-old, Sister Perry has helmed the Branchettes, a celebrated gospel group from Johnston County, North Carolina, for decades. To see her perform is to witness the healing powers of music, and, at risk of cliché, to be taken to church. Born in Johnston County in 1940, she grew up in a farming family that deeply valued education, faith, and music. 

After a two-year hiatus owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the North Carolina Heritage Awards will return. The North Carolina Arts Council’s Folklife Program is accepting nominations for eligible artists and tradition-bearers now through May 2, 2022. Recipients will receive a fellowship and participate in a public ceremony in Raleigh.

Since 1989, the North Carolina Heritage Award has honored our state’s most eminent traditional artists and practitioners. Recipients of the Heritage Awards range from internationally acclaimed musicians to folks who quietly practice their art in family and community settings. Awardees receive a cash award and are honored in a ceremony that draws large and enthusiastic audiences. Several North Carolinians have gone on to receive the National Heritage Fellowship Awards presented by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Since 1989, the North Carolina Heritage Award has honored our state’s most eminent traditional artists and practitioners. Recipients of the Heritage Awards range from internationally acclaimed musicians to folks who quietly practice their art in family and community settings. Awardees receive a cash award and are honored in a ceremony that draws large and enthusiastic audiences. Several North Carolinians have gone on to receive the National Heritage Fellowship Awards presented by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Since 1989, the North Carolina Heritage Award has honored our state’s most eminent traditional artists and practitioners. Recipients of the Heritage Awards range from internationally acclaimed musicians to folks who quietly practice their art in family and community settings. Awardees receive a cash award and are honored in a ceremony that draws large and enthusiastic audiences. Several North Carolinians have gone on to receive the National Heritage Fellowship Awards presented by the National Endowment for the Arts.