December 16, 2024
Tucson, AZ— Southwest Folklife Alliance (SFA) is proud to present its 2024 Master-Apprentice Artist Award to a Hopi basketmaker, a White Mountain Apache basketmaker, a maker of White Mountain Apache traditional buckskin regalia, a potter and culture bearer from the Kwat’saan tribe of Ft. Yuma, a Hawaiian Kumu Hula master dance teacher, a Bulgarian folk dancer, a hip-hop artist, a Flamenco guitarist, a Hammond organ player, and a keeper of traditional Indigenous Mexican foodways.
The annual award offers direct support to master traditional artists living in Arizona to pass on art, culture, and heritage practices to apprentice learners. The recipients are nominated by community members and selected by a panel of cultural leaders and peers. SFA assists nominees and applicants during the application process, to ensure an equitable and competitive process.
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 nearly 90 master artists.
Denise Uyehara, SFA’s Program Manager of Artist Services, says the program serves artists throughout the state. “We are elated that we are able to recognize artists in rural communities as well as larger cities this year. We continue to shed light on new regions where traditional artists practice their work.”
“The Master-Apprentice Award stands as a national model for delivering direct support to master artists in transferring traditional knowledge, skills, and cultural practices to future generations,” says Christina You-sun Park, Executive Director of the Arizona Commission on the Arts, a partner in the award program. “This intergenerational program strengthens Arizona’s communities and fosters a deep connection to the state's rich cultural traditions.”
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.
This year’s awardees are:
- Jessica Lomatewama, Hopi basketweaver in the traditional Third Mesa style or “Yungpyapu,” using rabbit brush and dune bloom. She will work with her daughter, Stephanie Marie Lomatewama-Kayquoptewa.
- Marilyn Hume, White Mountain Apache basketmaker, who will mentor her grandson, Michael Benito.
- Mylyle Ethelbah, maker of traditional White Mountain Apache traditional buckskin used in the Sunrise Ceremony, a coming-of-age initiation for girls. She will mentor Jayda Alchesay.
- Richard Montague, potter and culture bearer for his tribe, the Kwat’saan tribe of Ft. Yuma, Arizona. His apprentice is niece Cornelia Ann Montague.
- Nālani Kaho’onei, a native Hawaiian kumu hula (master dance teacher), who oversees her hālau in Chandler. She will work with her son, Kainoa Kaho’onei.
- Tanya Dimitrov, a Phoenix-based Bulgarian folk dancer, will work with apprentice Megan Vesellinova.
- J. Edson "House" Magaña, a hip-hop artist who works to empower young people in Phoenix toward greater visibility. His apprentice is Ruby Morales.
- Misael Barraza Diaz, a Tucson-based Flamenco guitarist, who will mentor Tofan Rofati.
- Royce Murray, a Phoenix-based master of the Hammond organ, which is used in many genres of Black music: Gospel, the blues, R&B, and jazz. His apprentice is Dominique Holley.
- Sewa Yuli, ancestral foods cook and advocate, uses culinary medicine to promote healing, connection to tradition and health. Her apprentice is Paloma Martinez.