Priya Bangal, a 2019 recipient of a Traditional Arts Apprenticeship award to work with master artist Shipra Mehrotra in Odissi dance, recently shared how their work together moved online during the COVID-19 pandemic. My daily practice moved from a large rented studio to a small area of the dining room at home... But the slowdown of pace and shift to the virtual realm opened … [Read more...]
Jesse Marsolais: Letter Carver and Letterpress Printer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPNHaFOGe4I Mass Cultural Council Folk Arts and Heritage Manager Maggie Holtzberg worked with filmmaker Daniel Jacobs to create this short film about Jesse Marsolais, letterpress printer and lettercarver. Jesse Marsolais works in old ways - traditional methods of letterpress printing and lettercarving in stone and wood - to meet … [Read more...]
Harold A Burnham: Master Shipwright
“I don’t want to be the last boat builder” Harold A. Burnham In an age of mass-produced fiberglass hulls, Essex shipwright Harold Burnham has reintroduced the use of locally harvested timber and essentially revived once dormant shipbuilding techniques. National Heritage Fellow Harold A. Burnham is a master of heavy construction wooden boat building, a legacy dating back to … [Read more...]
Announcing Awards in Drawing & Printmaking, Poetry, and Traditional Arts
Mass Cultural Council is proud to announce the 2020 Artist Fellowship awards in Drawing & Printmaking, Poetry, and Traditional Arts. The awards include 19 fellowships of $15,000, and 16 finalist awards of $1,500. See a list of this year's fellows and finalists, to date. The awards are anonymously judged, based solely on the artistic quality and creative ability of the … [Read more...]
Balla Kouyaté In the Spotlight
The National Endowment for the Arts just named Massachusetts Traditional Artist Fellow Balla Kouyaté as a 2019 NEA National Heritage Fellow. … [Read more...]