We're excited to announce that Massachusetts Cultural Council 2014 Artist Fellowship guidelines, dates, and deadlines are now available. The Artist Fellowships are unrestricted, anonymously judged, competitive grants for individual artists in recognition of artistic excellence (please note the Traditional Arts category is not anonymously judged and has additional … [Read more...]
Lowell Folk Festival and Food Carver Ruben Arroco
MCC Folk Arts & Heritage Program Manager Maggie Holtzberg recently paid a visit to Ruben Arroco, an artist working in a fascinating tradition: carving works of art from fruit and vegetables. In the following post, re-published from her blog Keepers of Tradition, Maggie shares the experience, in preparation for the Lowell Folk Festival this weekend, July 26-28, … [Read more...]
What Makes a Work of Art New?
Artist grants (such as Mass Cultural Council's fellowships) often require that submitted work be original, not a translation, adaptation, or interpretation of work by another artist. But where the dividing line resides between original and interpretation is not always so clear. What about art that begins as an adaptation or interpretation but then veers into entirely new … [Read more...]
Announcing 31 Awards in Drawing, Painting, Traditional Arts
Mass Cultural Council is honored to announce the 2012 Artist Fellowship awards in Drawing, Painting, and Traditional Arts. Fifteen artists will receive fellowships of $7500 and another 16 will receive $500 finalist awards. See a complete list of this year's fellows and finalists. The awards are anonymously judged, based solely on the artistic quality and creative ability … [Read more...]
Gallery Glimpse: Balla Kouyate
Your browser does not support the audio element. Today's glimpse from our gallery of past MCC Fellows/Finalists: Ma Ya Ye Hakili Ye by Balla Kouyate (Traditional Arts Fellow '10). Balla is a master of the West African balafon, and he comes from a musical family whose artistic lineage dates back 800 years. Read more about Balla in the Keepers of Traditional blog. … [Read more...]