Alaska State Council on the Arts — Master Artist & Apprentice Grant

This grant pays for an apprentice to study seriously with a recognised Master Artist in a traditional Alaska Native art form. The guidelines talk about art forms in general rather than naming music specifically, so song, drum and dance traditions fit where a master is recognised for them by their cultural community.

The apprentice applies, not the master. Both must be 18 or over and meet Alaska residency requirements, and neither can be enrolled as a full-time student during the grant period. You need a master who has agreed to take you on, and you need to show existing experience in the art form. A master can only teach under this scheme once per state fiscal year. The council gives highest priority to apprenticeships within your own cultural tradition, and expects learning inside the immediate family to happen without state funding — family apprenticeships are supported only where the tradition is passed down within families or the art form is endangered.

You can request any amount, though awards don't usually exceed $2,000, and no cash or in-kind match is required. Money can go to the master's fee, part of the raw materials, and travel essential to the apprenticeship — not tools, equipment, tuition, academic credit or local in-town travel. The apprentice isn't paid for their own work, and receipts are required in the final report.

Deadlines are quarterly: 1 June, 1 September, 1 December, 1 March. You submit work samples and résumés for both people, two letters of recommendation each, a lesson plan setting out the skills to be learned and the hours, and an itemised budget. Assessors weigh the quality of both artists' work, the clarity and feasibility of the lesson plan, and whether the budget is complete and realistic.