2022.10.12 - IACA Announces FY23 Master/Apprentice Program

The Illinois Arts Council (IAC) is pleased to announce the opening of the 2023 Master/Apprentice Program. The application is open in the Illinois Arts Council’s online Salesforce system and has a deadline of December 5, 2022 at 11:59pm and the awards will be announced in the spring of 2023.

Master/Apprentice Program

The Ethnic and Folk Arts Master/Apprentice Program (MAP) acknowledges and supports the mentoring relationship that develops between a master artist and their apprentice over time. MAP helps communities preserve their own culture by providing an opportunity for master traditional artists to pass on their skills to a qualified apprentice in a time-honored method.

Master artists are recognized within their community as an exemplary practitioner of their traditional folk or ethnic art form as well as being an important repository for the wisdom and knowledge of their ancestors. Apprentices applying to this program who have no prior experience in the art form will be considered a low priority. The MAP award is a fixed amount of $3,000 that is awarded to the master artist. MAP is made possible with an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Past awards have supported traditional or ethnic art forms as diverse as Guatemalan marimba, hammered dulcimer playing technique, African storytelling, and classical Indian dance styles.

Important to note is that the Master/Apprentice applications will be submitted in IACA’s new online platform: https://arts-illinois.force.com. New applicants should create a new user account. More information on the new online system, including a user manual, can be found on the IAC website.

An Online Webinar will be available for applicants on Wednesday, October 26, 2022, at 1:00pm Central Time. Pre-registration is required. 

Also, IACA staff are available via a drop-in video meeting to answer any questions on the MAP program or the new online grant system. You do not need to pre-register, simply click the link at the time of the meeting to join the call via WebEx: Friday, November 17, 2022, at 1:00pm

For further information about the MAP Program, please contact Program Director Susan Dickson by email: susan.dickson@illinois.gov or by phone: (312) 814-6740. IACA staff are working remotely, it is recommended to contact staff via email for quicker response time.  

The IACA acknowledges ongoing support from the National Endowment for the Arts.