Anthony Belvado, Violin Maker. San Carlos, AZ | 2018 Anthony Belvado is a violin maker from the San Carlos Apache Tribe. Traditional Apache violins are made by hand from a hollowed agave stalk and embody respect for plants and community. Their song is said to be a way of summoning true love, and the tradition—which … Read more
Neneng Babanto Fassler, Philippine Folk Dancer, Tucson, AZ | 2018 Neneng Babanto Fassler is a master performer and teacher of Philippine regional folk dances, which evoke nature, human lifestyle, work, ritual, and urban and rural environments. She learned traditional dance and music from her mother and other family members, growing up in the Philippines. Neneng … Read more
Mine Calik, Paper Marbling Artist, Tucson, AZ | 2018 Mine Calik practices the traditional Turkish art of Ebru, or paper marbling, in which color pigments are brushed onto a pan of oil-treated water then transferred to paper and used for decoration in bookbinding. She learned Ebru from a tradition bearer in Bursa after immigrating to … Read more
Fadi Iskandar, Violin, Middle Eastern Musical Traditions, Tucson, AZ | 2018 Fadi Iskandar is a master violinist from Syria with a deep musical understanding and knowledge of Middle Eastern music, theory, and culture. Trained as a young boy in classical violin, he then learned Middle Eastern music from elders in his community through improvisation and … Read more
Hopi Basket Weaver, Bacavi, AZ 2018 Master-Apprentice Awardee | 2022 Artist at Work Cohort Annetta Koruh is a Hopi basket weaver from the village of Bacavi on the Third Mesa. She represents the fourth generation of basket weavers in her family. From her mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, Annetta learned to harvest and process plants … Read more
Jason Martinez, Flamenco Dancer, Tucson, AZ | 2018 Jason Martinez is a flamenco dancer and cajón player. He was introduced to the artform at the University of New Mexico, with instructors Eva Encinias-Sandoval and Pablo Rodarte, and later studied with Albuquerque’s National Institute of Flamenco, and in Sevilla, Spain. An original member of Yjastros, the … Read more
José Soto, Mexican Folkloric Dancer, Phoenix, AZ | 2018 José Soto is a dancer and teacher of traditional Mexican folkloric dance. He learned the form from his mother, a seamstress and costume maker, during his childhood in Sinaloa, Mexico, where he regularly participated in annual school festivals and community events. He later studied formally at … Read more
Stella Tucker, Saguaro Fruit Harvester, Tucson, AZ | 2018 Stella Tucker was a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation and has been harvesting, processing, and preparing saguaro fruit into syrup, jam, and wine for traditional O’odham ceremony for over 65 years. The tradition has been passed down verbally and manually through songs, stories, and practice … Read more
Louis David Valenzuela, Woodcarver & Mask Maker. Tucson, AZ | 2018 Louis David Valenzuela is one of the last traditional Yoeme cottonwood mask makers in Southern Arizona. From trees that have died, he harvests cottonwood and receives messages from it to guide his creations. He learned the form from traditional Pascola maskmakers from New and … Read more