The South Dakota Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program encourages the continuation of South Dakota's traditional arts and cultures by providing grants to master folk artists to teach qualified apprentices. Strengthen the resources of South Dakota folk artists through a guiding system in which recognized master artists teach and counsel apprentice artists. Strengthen the commitment of South Dakota folk artists to their long-term work. Most folk arts have endured through several generations.
Typical communities are ethnic, tribal, occupational, regional or religious groups.
The skills are usually learned informally and passed on from one generation to the next by observation and imitation rather than through academic or formal means. Prospective apprentices should have some prior experience in the traditional art form they wish to learn and have a serious long-term commitment to the continuity of the art form. Eligible The apprentice applicant must be a South Dakota resident for at least two years prior to application. The master artist may be a South Dakota resident or reside in a nearby state. Examples of eligible art forms include, but are not limited to, cowboy saddlemaking, Native American and European style quilting, rawhide and buckskin work, quill work, traditional music and dance such as Czechoslovakian accordion music or pow wow songs and dances, basketweaving, whittling, rug braiding, lace making and other needlework.