Folklife Apprenticeships

About

The North Carolina In These Mountains Appalachian Folklife Apprenticeship program supports 12-month apprenticeships in the folk and traditional arts of the many cultural communities within North Carolina’s Appalachian Regional Commission counties. The apprenticeship program application will focus on the traditional folk arts and culture of North Carolina’s Appalachian communities as part of the In These Mountains initiative sponsored by South Arts. 

About folklife and traditional arts

Folklife is the expressive arts, practices, and lifeways that emerge from within a community. Folklife that is passed through generations grows into the traditional arts of that community. Traditional arts are often deeply rooted in a geographic location and its religious, ethnic and occupational groups, or they are carried with immigrant and migrant communities as they establish themselves in new homes. Folklife and Traditional Arts are typically taught through one-on-one interaction in a community setting. Folklife is an essential and enduring part of how communities form their identity, learn from their pasts, and decide their futures. Folklife is a living and dynamic experience expressed through art, music, dance, celebration, work, story, dress, sense of place, and belief. No community is without it, and we are all its carriers.

What is a mentor artist and an apprentice?

A mentor artist is a tradition bearer committed to the perpetuation of a traditional art form or practice of his or her cultural heritage. Mentor artists are recognized by fellow artists and their own community members as skilled and dedicated practitioners. Applying mentor artists should demonstrate expertise, teaching experience, long engagement with their art form or practice, and deep knowledge of their tradition.

An apprentice is a dedicated student who has been chosen by a mentor artist for a sustained period of study in the mentor’s art form or practice.  The apprentice should have some past experience with the mentor’s tradition before beginning an apprenticeship, so that the time together will help develop the apprentice on their own path to mastery. Apprentices and mentors may be family members, and apprentices may have studied under the mentor artist previously. The strongest pairings will share a common community or religious, ethnic, or occupational group. The strongest applicants for apprenticeships will also have the intention to continue the transmission of their art form by training others in the future. Teams of two or three apprentices are eligible to study with one mentor artist if such a learning style is preferable within the tradition.

Application dates

• Application deadline: Friday, July 17, 2026 by 11:50 p.m. EST
• Awardee announcement: August 2026

Grant amount

• Mentor: $7,000
• Apprentice: $3,000

Alternative distributions of funding may be considered upon request.

Who may apply

The In These Mountains NC Folklife Apprenticeship program is designed to encourage the continued transmission, practice, and development of the region’s many folklife traditions, especially those that face endangerment. Only apprenticeship pairs within Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) counties are eligible to apply. In North Carolina, these counties are: Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Davie, Forsyth, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, McDowell, Macon, Madison, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Stokes, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin, and Yancey Counties. 

Ineligible art forms and activities include the work of contemporary studio craft artists and revivals by mentor artists from outside of the activity’s originating cultural community. While mentors must represent a tradition known and practiced within their North Carolina community, apprentices may come from different backgrounds or cultural communities. 

Requirements

• Mentors must represent a tradition known and practiced within their NC community. Please consult with NC Folklife Institute staff about eligibility of art forms and activities before applying.
• Master and apprentice must both reside in a North Carolina Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) county, and be able to provide proof of US and NC residency. Please contact NC Folklife Institute staff directly to discuss possible exceptions for residents of ARC counties outside of NC. 
• Pairs must submit a work plan as part of their application that sets clear and achievable goals that can be completed within the 12-month grant period.
• Pairs should meet on a regularly scheduled basis. Most pairs meet weekly.
• Pairs must track their meetings and progress through either written evaluations, a photographic record, audio recordings, or video clips. NC Folklife Institute staff are available to discuss appropriate tracking methods.
• All pairs must share their accomplishments in a public presentation within their community at the end of the apprenticeship. Presentations may take the form of performances, exhibits, demonstrations, web and social media presentations, or other formats appropriate to the tradition. NC Folklife Institute staff can assist in preparations for such presentations.
• Applicant pairs are welcome to receive assistance from family members, advocates, translators, or other collaborators in preparing application materials. However, all mentor and apprentice applicants must review and approve the final application contents before submission. 
• If an application is submitted online by a collaborator on behalf of the mentor and/or apprentice, the mentor and apprentice must sign the Application Review & Signature Form by hand, and the fully completed form must be uploaded with the application submission. Applications completed directly by mentor and apprentice applicants may use electronic signatures in the online application portal. 
• Mentors and Apprentices must be 18 years of age or older.

Scope and allowable expenses

The mentor receives a grant award of $7,000. The apprentice receives a grant award of $3,000. Alternative distributions of funding may be considered upon request. Multiple mentor artists or multiple apprentice artists are permitted. In such a situation, the grant award is shared among the recipients (for example, if there are two apprentices, each would receive $1,500). Applicants will describe who is responsible for any supply costs. Typically, the apprentice is expected to cover the cost of supplies. 

Project period

Apprenticeships will take place from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027.

While the application deadline is July 17, 2026, and award notifications will be made in August 2026, any mentorship activity that takes place on or after July 1 will be counted retroactively toward fulfilling the grant requirements. Apprenticeship pairs are encouraged to begin working together during this window if appropriate, and should document any early activity accordingly. 

How funding decisions are made

Applications will be reviewed by a panel, and three mentor/apprentice pairings will be selected in this FY26-27 application cycle. 

Application information

Submit your application at: https://form.jotform.com/261265938756168 The mentor(s) and apprentice(s) must submit all materials as a single application. If you are not able to access Jotform and need to submit a hardcopy through mail or email, please contact the NC Folklife Institute at (336) 223-5956 or apprenticeship@ncfolk.org. 

What Makes a Strong Application?

When your application is reviewed by a panel, they will consider both your application materials and the context of your proposed apprenticeship.

• Is the mentor artist well regarded in their community as a practitioner of this tradition?
• Is the apprentice committed to living and practicing among the regional, cultural, or artistic community from which this tradition comes?
• Is there a sense that the apprenticeship will lead to an ongoing relationship between the mentor and the apprentice?
• Is there interest among others in your regional, cultural, or artistic community in seeing this tradition practiced and taught?
• Is this grant a unique opportunity for the mentor and the apprentice to do something not otherwise possible?
• Is there urgency in supporting this mentorship opportunity (for example, age or health of mentor artist, timing of participant schedules, convergence of other opportunities?)
• How culturally specific is the knowledge being passed on? Will this time together allow for deep transmission of knowledge? For example, a proposal to teach the specific nuances of a music style from your community, accompanied by teachings about that community’s history, will be stronger than a proposal to learn the basics of a commonly practiced instrument, even if that instrument is part of your music tradition. If the tradition is endangered and not widely practiced, however, beginner instruction can make for a strong application.

Sending Support Materials

Please submit work samples for each individual included in this application. Select work samples that clearly demonstrate the nature of your practice. Applicants are welcome to submit supporting video of themselves at work or in conversation together. For all individual work samples, indicate which artist each sample refers to.

• For audio and/or video work samples and website links: In the JotForm application, upload a Word (.doc, .docx) or PDF document to provide links to online audio and/or video samples, and provide links to articles, websites, or other online materials. Provide descriptions and indicate time markers for which portions of longer audio and/or video samples the panel should view; up to 10 minutes of total listening and viewing time per artist. Audio and video samples must be submitted as URL web links. Maximum PDF/doc size for links to documents is 10MB. 
   
• For image work samples: Use the upload field in your Jotform application to provide image work samples, with descriptions. For visual art forms, please provide at least 5 images per artist that clearly show examples of your finished work. Maximum image size is 1000x1000 px. Formats accepted: .pdf .jpeg .png 

If you need assistance uploading work samples, or need to provide work samples through email or mail, please contact the NC Folklife Institute at (336) 223-5956 or apprenticeship@ncfolk.org. 

The NC Folklife Apprenticeship Program is supported by SouthArts and in partnership with the North Carolina Arts Council.