Carmen Baron, Costume Maker

Carmen Baron, Costume Maker. Tucson, AZ | 2016 Carmen Baron has been sewing since she was a small child. She earned Mexican folklórico dance and costumes from her experiences studying and teaching with the Insituto de Folklore Mexicano in Tucson. Today teaches dance and creates costumes for her students, ranging in age from 1 to … Read more

Gerald Lomaventema

Gerald Lomaventema, Hopi Overlay Jeweler. Second Mesa, AZ | 2016 Gerald Lomaventema will share the tradition of Hopi overlay jewelry, which he observed his father create when he was young. He began a formal apprenticeship at age 19 through the Hopi Guild Co-op on Second Mesa, and later learned to create jewelry in 3D and … Read more

Kevin Lau, Chinese Lion Dancer

Kevin Lau, Chinese Lion Dancer. Phoenix, AZ | 2016  Performer Kevin Lau will teach the traditional Chinese Lion dance, an energetic dance performed traditionally during the Chinese New Year festival by two dancers accompanied by live percussionists. Drawing upon the Chinese martial art of gong fu (kung fu), the dance is said to bring good … Read more

Reuben Naranjo, Potter

Reuben Naranjo, Traditional Tohono O’odham Potter. Tucson, AZ | 2016 Reuben Naranjo first learned Tohono O’odham pottery from his grandmother, Mary Lewis. Later he studied with Alicia Bustamente of S-Gogosik, Sonora, Mexico, and Annie Manuel of Hickiwan, Arizona, to make utilitarian terracotta ollas and white clay friendship pots using colored clay slips and paints. Naranjo … Read more

Peter Rolland, Old Time Fiddler

2016 SFA Master-Apprentice Artist Awardee Peter “Doc” Rolland

Peter Rolland, Old Time Fiddler. Phoenix, AZ | 2016 A professional fiddling entertainer and fiddle teacher for 43 years, Peter Rolland has taught hundreds of students, many of whom have gone on to win fiddle contests and become professional players and teachers. The SFA Award will help support him in teaching traditional, old-time fiddling through … Read more

Ron Carlos, Potter

Ron Carlos, Potter.  Salt River, AZ | 2015 The late Ron Carlos was a member of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. He learned traditional paddle and anvil technique pottery in June 1994 from Phyllis Cerna and her daughter, Avis Pinion. Working with apprentice August Wood, Carlos shared his knowledge of collecting and processing natural … Read more

Mari Kaneta, Traditional Japanese Dancer

Mari “Suzuyuki” Kaneta

Mari Kaneta, Traditional Japanese Dancer. Tucson, AZ | 2015 Founder of the Tucson-based Traditional Japanese Dance group “Suzuyuki-Kai,” Kaneta received her degree and professional training in Tokyo. Kaneta has performed at multicultural events in Phoenix and Tucson for the past 25 years and internationally in Caracas, Venezuela and Nogales, Mexico. Traditional Japanese dance is taught orally, with … Read more

Felipe Molina, Oral Historian & Storyteller

Felipe Molina

Felipe Molina, Oral Historian & Storyteller. Tucson, AZ | 2015 Felipe Molina is a life-long resident of Yoem Pueblo (Marana) and member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. He is an oral historian, a teacher of Yaqui language and culture, an experienced and accomplished deer singer and practitioner of other arts of the pahko, and an … Read more

Adolfo “Zarco” Guerrero, Wood Carver & Mask Maker

Adolfo “Zarco” Guerrero, Wood Carver & Mask Maker. Phoenix, AZ | 2015 Adolfo “Zarco” Guerrero is a member of both the Acjachamen Tribe of Southwestern California and the Opata from Sonora. He began making masks in Mexico in 1975, and later served as an apprentice to Joshun Fukakusa, a master Noh mask carver in Kyoto, … Read more