The Due Date for the 2027 TAAP applications is September 28, 2026. Guidelines and applications are linked below. [as of August 14, 2026]
Missouri hosts one of the oldest, continuous statewide folk arts apprenticeship programs in the U. S., established in 1984-1985. In that first year, the Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program (TAAP) featured Missouri’s musical traditions, from old-time and gospel, to blues and jazz. The project sponsored ten apprenticeships. In the following year, the range of art forms was nearly equally divided between music traditions and material culture (saddle making, chair building, coverlet weaving, basketmaking, joinery, and blacksmithing). Since then, over 500 apprentices–in rural, urban, and suburban communities across the Show Me State–have participated in the project.
With grant funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and Missouri Arts Council, mentoring master artists and their apprentices commit to sustaining their artistic traditions and cultural heritage.
Two ways to apply
Applicants for the 42nd year of the project are invited to complete one of two applications [linked and highlighted below]. All applications require work samples, as described in the guidelines.
In 2027, Missouri Folk Arts will host four (4) one-on-one apprenticeships featuring an exemplary mentoring artist and one intermediate-level apprentice. The application includes forms for the mentor, apprentice, and work plan. The budget is fixed. The team will design its work plan to include a series of lessons between November 2026 and May 2027.
Additionally, this year, our grant from the National Endowment for the Arts will fund two (2) “intensive learning gatherings.” These apprenticeships will meet less often but for lengthier sessions of cultural exchange among up to five tradition bearers of varying levels of experience in a traditional art form. The application includes forms for a Lead Artist, up to four Team Members, a Work Plan, Work Samples from all team members, and a $5,000 budget. Gatherings must be completed by May 1, 2027.
A panel will review each pool of applicants, considering the excellence, traditionality, and commitment of members of the proposed apprenticeship teams.
In the review process, priority is given to team members who share cultural communities and have established relationships. Priority may also be given to living art forms with fewer remaining practitioners. All applicants will be notified of the results in early November 2026.
>>>>One-on-one Apprenticeship, Guidelines & Application PDF to Print<<<<
>>>>Intensive Learning Gathering Apprenticeship, Guidelines & Application PDF to Print<<<<
Missouri Folk Arts intends for the application process to be accessible to all. Please notify staff well before the deadline for assistance per the Americans with Disabilities Act, language translation, or issues organizing work samples.
What Are Folk and Traditional Arts?
The National Endowment for the Arts, this project’s major sponsor since 1984, uses the following definition, which Missouri Folk Arts adopts:
Rooted in and reflective of the cultural life of a community, folk and traditional arts are constantly evolving, shaped by values and standards of excellence passed from generation to generation, most often within family and community, through demonstration, conversation, and practice . . . [a] wide range of genres [include] music, dance, crafts, foodways, regalia/adornment, occupation, ceremony, and oral expression, such as stories, poetry, and language.
Project Support
Missouri’s Traditional Apprenticeship Program, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts since inception, is coordinated by the Missouri Folk Arts Program with generous support from the Missouri Arts Council, a division of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, and the Museum of Art and Archaeology at the University of Missouri.