The folk arts are defined as those artistic practices which are community or family based and express that community’s aesthetic heritage and tradition. The learning process is informal and is passed on from generation to generation by word of mouth, apprenticeship and imitation.
Folk Arts Apprenticeships are designed to foster the sharing of traditional (folk) artistic skills between a master and an apprentice who is already familiar with the genre. The program creates this opportunity specifically for individuals who share a common cultural heritage.
Folk Arts Fellowships provide support to individual artists who demonstrate the highest level of skill and accomplishments in their craft.
FY 21 Folk Arts Apprenticeship Grantees
Folk Artist
Amount
Lydia Perez
$3,000.00
Nader Molina Figueroa
$3,000.00
Debbie Spears Moorehead
$3,000.00
Julie Yang
$3,000.00
Carolyn Castro
$3,000.00
Lesly Pineyro
$3,000.00
Patricia Smith
$3,000.00
FY21 Folk Arts Fellowship Grantees
Folk Artist
Amount
Assitan Coulibaly
$1,000.00
Joel Rosario
$5,000.00
For more information on Folk Arts Fellowships and Apprenticeships, contact Elena Calderón Patino.
State Arts Council awards nearly $1 million in grants to RI artists, art educators, arts and culture organizations
The RI State Council on the Arts (RISCA) has awarded close to $1 million in Covid Relief Funds (CRF) to artists, professional arts education associations, and arts and culture organizations. These grants announced today provide badly needed assistance to organizations, artists and arts educators who continue to experience economic hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m immensely proud that we can provide this essential support to artists and nonprofit arts organizations here in Rhode Island. These are difficult times for everyone in the arts sector. The pandemic has closed concert halls, theatres and museums, and put working artists out of work. The ability to pay salaries and help artists pay rent and put food on the table is critical to the lives and livelihoods of these Rhode Islanders, and I’m happy that we are in a position to help.”
–RANDALL ROSENBAUM, Executive Director of RISCA
Red dots show 390 artists throughout Rhode Island received Covid-19 relief grants. RISCA Graphic
For artists, the CRF assistance is being distributed through the Rhode Island Artist Relief Fund, a charitable fund set up by RISCA to help artists who have lost income due to the pandemic. A total of $321,200 was divided up into grants and distributed to 390 artists.
Black dots signify where in Rhode Island arts and culture organizations benefited from Covid-19 relief. RISCA Graphic
For arts and culture organizations, and arts education associations, the funds are being dispersed directly through RISCA.
In addition to artists, and arts and culture organizations, grant recipients include 11 organizations associated with the Rhode Island Expansion Arts Program (RIEAP) and seven culturally specific nonprofits. RIEAP is a partnership among RISCA, RI Council for the Humanities (RICH) and Rhode Island Foundation to support community-based, culturally diverse arts and cultural organizations.
The grants were specifically designed to save jobs, help cover revenue losses and additional COVID-19 costs incurred between March 1, 2020, and December 30, 2020. The recipient categories for this latest round of CRF for the arts and cultural organizations were as follows:
RI Expansion Arts Program’s current cohort and alumni, culturally specific organizations, and arts and culture nonprofits. Total: $118,830.
Nonprofit arts and culture organizations including professional arts education associations, which have been providing support to teachers and students during these unprecedented times. Total: $228,660.
RISCA’s Investments in Arts and Culture (IAC) organizations, which provides operating support to more than 50 key nonprofit arts organizations in our state. Total: $331,380.
