NDCA Awards $137,440 in Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Grants

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Grants fund traditions

The North Dakota Council on the Arts awarded $137,440 in grants through its Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program for Fiscal Year 2027.

That funding covers 37 projects across 32 cities. Nineteen of those towns have fewer than 1,500 residents.

Apprenticeships across towns

The program runs from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027. It provides grants of up to $4,500 for one-to-one instruction between master artists and apprentices over a period of four to ten months.

Master artists may live outside North Dakota, but every apprentice must be a resident of the state. The funding covers the master artist’s instruction fee, supplies, and travel costs for the apprentice.

This year’s roster features Norwegian Hardanger fiddle, rosemaling, woodcarving, weaving, blacksmithing, bladesmithing, saddle and cowboy hat making, and Native American rawhide work. Musical, dance, and storytelling traditions are also included, spanning Bluegrass, Lakota, Ojibwe, West African, Nepali, Chinese, Mexican, Ukrainian, and South Indian art forms.

Local project awards

Area recipients span several communities and disciplines across the state:

  • Os, Vadres, and Rogaland rosemaling: master Joan Varty of Minot, with apprentices Sannon Reimer, Molly McLain, and Kayla Schmidt, all of Bismarck, for $3,451.
  • Mexican traditional dance: master Marina Carrillo Prieto of Williston, with apprentices Misael, Fernanda, Victoria, and Santiago Diaz of Williston, for $3,500.
  • Ojibwe beaded puckered moccasin making: master Bradley Defender of Dunseith, with apprentices Tanya, Kiara, and Taveshia Peltier and Julie Trim of Belcourt, San Haven, and Dunseith, for $3,846.
  • Traditional fiber arts processing and felting: master Christi Armbrust of Nome, with apprentice Ashley Echevarria of Alexander, for $3,500.
  • Ukrainian Pysanky: master Joann Defoe of Watford City, with apprentice Oksana Zvyagelskiy of Watford City, for $2,000.
  • Cowboy hat making: master Jack Scholl of Belle Fourche, South Dakota, with apprentice Brianna Kramer of Makoti, for $4,500.
  • Piano accordion: master Gerald Schlag of Minot, with apprentice Clara Zheng of Minot, for $2,985.
  • Norwegian Hardanger fiddle building: master Robert Larsen of Brainerd, Minnesota, with apprentices Riley and Peyton Easling of Stanley, for $4,052.

Previous state funding

The agency managed a similar program for Fiscal Year 2026, distributing $119,500 in grants across 36 communities, according to the North Dakota Council on the Arts newsletter published via GovDelivery.

That prior funding cycle supported 68 artists, including programs in 18 towns with populations under 1,500 residents. The agency uses these grants to preserve living traditions by connecting experienced practitioners with learners in rural and urban areas alike.

Questions about the Fiscal Year 2027 apprenticeship program

When does the Fiscal Year 2027 apprenticeship program operate?

The program runs from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, with individual projects lasting between four and ten months.

How much funding can an apprenticeship project receive?

Grants provide up to $4,500 per project to cover master instruction fees, supplies, and apprentice travel costs.

Must all participants live in North Dakota?

Master artists are permitted to live outside the state, but all participating apprentices must be North Dakota residents.

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