CHEYENNE, Wyo. – February 12, 2025 – The Wyoming Arts Council is now accepting applications for Folk & Traditional Arts Mentoring Project Grants. The deadline to apply is April 7, 2025. The application is available online here: https://forms.gle/
Folk & Traditional Arts Mentoring Project Grants are designed to assist masters of folk and traditional arts in passing on their knowledge to apprentices from their community through the natural process of in-person, hands-on instruction. A mentor artist teaches their apprentice over time to advance the apprentice's skills in their traditional art form.
Projects must take place between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026 (fiscal year 2026), for no less than six months. The grant amount is $5,000 ($4,000 for mentor artist honorarium and $1000 for materials and/or travel). Applications will be reviewed by a panel, and up to five projects will be selected for funding. Applications are to be completed jointly between the mentor artist and apprentice.
"We're looking forward to supporting artists across the state who are interested in teaching and learning folk and traditional art forms," said Josh Chrysler of the Wyoming Arts Council. "This grant provides opportunities to learn traditional skills that are best learned directly from somebody else in your community rather than through school or online. I encourage anybody who is planning to apply to reach out to me if they have any questions or need help with the application."
To provide prospective applicants with insights into the types of projects that have received funding, recent grant recipients have pursued diverse art forms such as Peruvian Ballet Folklorico, Western Leatherwork, Beadwork, Star Quilt Making, Hoop Dancing, and Swedish Dalmåling and Norwegian Rosemaling.
For more information, contact Folk and Traditional Arts Specialist Josh Chrysler at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 307-256-2010. You can also visit the grants tab at wyomingartscouncil.org for more information.
Image Caption: Mentor artist Justine Nelson-Graham, of Weston, taught Carson Martinson, of Gillette, Rawhide Braiding through the WAC Folk Art Mentoring program.