FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky Arts Council has awarded Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship grants to four master artists to encourage the continuation of Kentucky’s living traditional arts. The grants enable master artists to teach their skills, practices and culture to less experienced artists within their communities.

The following master artists and apprentices will work together to conserve their art forms:

• Old-time string musician Sue Massek, Willisburg, will teach Erin Fitzgerald, Louisville.
• Storyteller Pam Holcomb, Putney, will teach Gwenda Johnson, Sandy Hook.
• Jazz pianist Jay Flippin, Morehead, will teach Elise Melrood, Richmond.
• Blacksmith Lewis Meyer, Louisville, will teach Karine Maynard, Lawrenceburg.

For the past 20 years, the Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship program has supported a wide variety of traditional art forms practiced in Kentucky, including square-dance calling, Chinese traditional dance, fiddling, drumming and basket making.

A multimedia exhibit chronicling master artists and apprentices is currently traveling the state. “The Makings of a Master: Kentucky Folk Art Apprenticeships,” is on display through Sept. 2 at the Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center in Bowling Green. The exhibit, created in partnership with the Kentucky Historical Society, explores the relationships between masters and apprentices, with artifacts, videos, concerts, classroom visits, demonstrations and workshops. For more information, including a travel schedule, YouTube videos and an educator’s packet, visit the Folk Art Program’s Web page.

For more information about the Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship program or the
“Makings of a Master” exhibition, contact Mark Brown, folk arts program director, at mark.brown@ky.gov or 502-564-3757.

The Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, creates opportunities for Kentuckians to value, participate in and benefit from the arts. Kentucky Arts Council funding is provided by the Kentucky General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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