The Traditional and Folks Arts Program provides support to build awareness, involvement, and the preservation of Traditional and Folk Arts in Montana.
Donor Name: Montana Community Foundation
State: Montana
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 04/01/2025
Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
Traditional Arts are creative expressions that originate within a distinct and identifiable group, such as those defined by ethnicity, tribe, geography, language, religion, or occupation. These arts can also emerge within familial traditions. They are deeply connected to the group’s identity, reflecting the values, beliefs, and aesthetics of the community from which they arise. Often passed down through generations, traditional arts serve as symbols of heritage, conveying a group’s cultural values both internally and to the outside world.
Traditional arts include Indigenous Traditional Arts. Traditional Indigenous art refers to creative works that originate from the cultural practices, beliefs, and values of Native American tribes in Montana. These arts are deeply rooted in the history, customs, and spiritual traditions of the specific tribes, passed down through generations. These art forms serve as powerful expressions of identity, heritage, and connection to the land, preserving the cultural narratives of Montana’s Indigenous peoples.
Folk Art refers to artistic creations that are deeply rooted in cultural traditions but often reflect an idiosyncratic style unique to the individual artist. Unlike art created within formalized institutions, folk art is grounded in personal statements or visions that express the artist’s connection to their community, heritage, or personal experience. It is often crafted using traditional methods, passed down informally, and reflects a direct link to the artist’s way of life, beliefs, and environment.
Traditional and Folk arts forms may include:
- Fine handcraft
- Decorative arts
- Dance
- Poetry
- Instrumental and vocal music
- Storytelling and oral literature
- Foodways
- Local architecture.
Funding Information
Grants will range from $500 to $2,000. Small grants requests less than $750 can apply using a simplified application form.
Eligible Projects
- Exhibits, performances, apprenticeships, festivals, community celebrations, in-school and after school community learning programs, and print or audio/visual documentation, which involve recognized Traditional and Folk artists.
- Eligible costs include fees, honoraria, and associated program costs for the involvement of recognized Artists.
- Projects must involve Living Traditional or Folk Artists.
- Living traditional art refers to cultural expressions that are actively practiced and passed down within communities, maintaining a connection to their historical roots while evolving with contemporary influences.
- Projects requesting funding for festivals or event must use that funding for the educational component of the festival or event (performance, lectures, demonstrations etc.) as opposed to the marketing or commercial elements of the event and specify when and where (community and venue) event will take place.
- Capital expenditures: Funding the involvement of artists is of primary interest. However, funding of temporary exhibit design or preparation costs, materials, stabilization, and construction may be considered, especially if it involved other costs such as insurance for exhibit objects or materials relating to the exhibit, e.g., signage, brochure, audio-video presentations, etc.
- Cooperative projects or initiatives that are within the intent of the programs purpose and aim to improve the field of Traditional and Folks Arts, may be considered on a case-bycase basis. These projects or initiatives may include the creation of local, regional or statewide traditional arts associations, offering technical or business assistance for traditional artists, or encouraging arts organizations to offer traditional arts programming.
Eligibility Criteria
- Grants will be made exclusively to support public projects that support Montana Traditional and Folk arts. Projects must include an educational component that highlights the art form and its cultural significance.
- Eligible applicants include 501(c)(3) Organizations and governments including local, state, and tribal governments. Individual artists and other entities may apply under a fiscal sponsorship.
- Each organization may submit one application per year. However, organizations serving as fiscal sponsors for one or more artists may submit multiple applications, including an application for the organization’s own programmatic purposes.
- Applications are encouraged that involve professional artists who are women, tribal members, rurally based, or are from populations that can be considered underserved.
- Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to contact MCF staff to discuss their project prior to applying.
For more information, visit MCF.
