We’re so thrilled to announce this year’s Master-Apprentice Artist Awardees, who were nominated by community members and selected by a panel of cultural leaders and peers.
Congratulations to all the artists! They are:
Bryce Antone, a weaver of traditional Tohono O’odham “giho,” or burden baskets, who will mentor his son, Terrence J. Antone.
Deborah Brooks of the Indian Township Reservation in Maine, now a resident of Chandler, AZ, who will teach the Passamaquoddy tradition of basket weaving to her grandson, apprentice Josh Brooks.
Modesto Bule, a member of the Yaqui Tribe of Sonora, is a recognized Yoem Yo’owe, or Yaqui Elderacross Arizona and Mexico, who will mentor Daniel Vega, sharing ceremonial knowledge.
M. Fumie Craig, a lifelong origami artist and co-founder of the Tucson Origami Club, who will mentor her daughter Stephanie Mariko Rojas.
Tammy Kelly, a quilter and fiber artist living in northern Arizona, who will mentor her former quilting student and longtime friend, Tina Largo.
Dr. Ihor Kunasz, who learned to make pysanky eggs from his Ukrainian mother and will mentor his apprentice, Rebecca Lennon.
Raymond Malelo and Georgette Tabu, Congolese gospel singers now living in Tucson who say music sustained them during 19 years in a Tanzanian refugee camp. They will mentor their son, Wilondja Raymond, an emerging choir leader and songwriter.
David Olarte, a dancer based in Phoenix specializing in Afro-Latin salsa forms who will mentor his apprentice, Shayla Eshelman.
Lorenzo Shirley, Navajo silversmith from the Wide Ruins Chapterhouse area who will mentor his younger sister Larissa Shirley in soldering, inlay, and casting.
Delwyn Tawvaya, a Hopi silversmith from the Snow Clan of Soongöpavi Village, Second Mesa, who carries forward the tradition of Hopi Overlay silverwork taught to him by his mentor, Gerald Lomaventema. He will mentor apprentice, Justin Secakuku of the BearStrap Clan.
Read their full bios and learn more about the program here.
The award provides $5,000 each to Arizona-based artist/tradition bearer and $500 to an emerging-artist mentee to support the transmission of traditional knowledge for one year. The first award program of its kind in Arizona, it joins over 20 similar award programs across the nation and affirms the organization’s commitment to individual heritage-based artists, economic development, and the transmission of cultural knowledge. Since 2015, the program has provided awards to almost 100 master artists.
“We’re excited to highlight artists from rural and urban communities across our state who represent a wide range of disciplines,” says Denise Uyehara, SFA’s Program Manager of Artist Services. “Now in its eleventh year, the program honors artists as they pass along traditions to the next generation, a transmission that strengthens the cultural fabric of their communities and allows continuous knowledge to enrich people’s lives.”
The award program is made possible by a partnership with the Arizona Commission on the Arts (ACA), supported by the National Endowments for the Arts Folk & Traditional Arts through a State Partnership Grant. Funding also comes from individual gifts from local donors. In addition to the awards, SFA will promote work by Master-Apprentice artist teams throughout the year.