Wyoming Arts Council

Wyoming Arts Council Announces FY25 Folk Art Mentoring Grant Recipients

Featured News, Grant News, Program News | June 6, 2024

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The Wyoming Arts Council is pleased to announce the six recipients of the fiscal year 2025 Folk & Traditional Arts Mentoring Project Grants. The recipients are: 

• Nicole Cordova, teaching Valeriana Gracia, both of Cheyenne, the art of Peruvian Ballet Folklorico.
• Mikala SunRhodes-Harry (Northern Arapaho/Jemez Pueblo), teaching Mikaylee Oldcoyote (Northern Arapaho/Jemez Pueblo/Crow), both of Ethete, the art of Beadwork.
• Lisa Sherrodd, teaching Paige Gustafson, both of Laramie, the arts of Swedish Dalmåling and Norwegian Rosemaling.
• Cherokee Brown (Northern Arapaho), teaching Donna Gambler (Northern Arapaho), both of Riverton, the art of Star Quilt Making. 
• Jasmine Pickner-Bell (Crow Creek Dakota Sioux), teaching Aliyana Joyresa Bell (Crow Creek Dakota Sioux/Northern Arapaho/Oglala Lakota), both of Riverton, the art of Hoop Dancing. 
• Mark Barcus, teaching Cayle Kremer, both of Cody, the art of Western Leatherwork.

Folk Art Mentoring Project Grants are designed to support the continuation of Wyoming’s folk and traditional arts through the process of in-person, hands-on instruction. A mentor artist works with a dedicated apprentice from their community to mentor over the course of the project in order to advance the skills of the apprentice in their traditional art form. Projects will run from July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025.

“Folk and traditional arts are typically learned through informal processes such as observation, imitation, and one-on-one apprenticeships, and this grant is designed to support those types of learning opportunities,” said Josh Chrysler of the Wyoming Arts Council. “We’re really excited by the wide range of traditions we are supporting through the grant this year. Many are first time grant recipients, and together they represent the wide range of cultural communities who call Wyoming home and maintain their traditional arts here.” 

Applications are made jointly between mentor and apprentice, and reviewed by a panel of experts. This year, the panelists were Rose Pecos-SunRhodes (clay artist, previous mentor artist); Violeta Martin (Program Manager, Center for Washington Cultural Traditions); and Trisha Martinez (American Studies, University of Wyoming).

For more information contact Josh Chrysler at joshua.chrysler@wyo.gov or 307-256-2010, or visit the grants tab at wyomingartscouncil.org.

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