:: 2010 NEA National Heritage Fellows

Yacub Addy Ghanaian drum master Latham, NY	Jim "Texas Shorty" Chancellor Fiddler Rockwall, TX	Gladys Kukana Grace Lauhala (palm leaf) weaver Honolulu, HI
Mary Jackson Sweetgrass basketweaver John’s Island, SC	Del McCoury Bluegrass guitarist and singer Nashville, TN	Judith McCulloh Folklorist and editor Urbana, IL
Kamala Lakshmi Narayanan Bharatanatyam Indian dancer Mastic, NY	Mike Rafferty Irish flute player Hasbrouck Heights, NJ	Ezequiel Torres Afro-Cuban drummer and drum-builder Miami, FL

In 1982 the National Endowment for the Arts established the NEA National Heritage Awards as a way of honoring American folk artists for their contributions to our national cultural mosaic. Modelled after the Japanese "National Living Treasures" concept, the idea began with Bess Lomax Hawes, then director of the Folk Arts Program.

Profile materials for 1982-2007 courtesy of Documentary Arts. Use of some photographs courtesy of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives & Collections

NEA Heritage Fellows
1982-2012: 
BY YEAR | ALPHA

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