NEA National Heritage Fellowships

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

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Publications

NEA National Heritage Fellowships 30th Anniversary

Profiles of many of the NEA National Heritage Fellowship recipients from 1982 to 2011. In all, 80 Fellows are profiled, including the 12 Bess Lomax Hawes Award recipients. Also included...

Masters of Traditional Arts Education Guide

Created by Paddy Bowman, Betty Carter, and Alan Govenar, this guide presents meaningful instruction for learning about a diverse array of traditional artists and art forms for students in grades...

Video

NEA National Heritage Tribute Video: Josephine Lobato

Podcasts

Headshot of a man.

Clifford Murphy

NEA Director of Folk and Traditional Arts

In this podcast, Clifford Murphy, National Endowment for the Arts Director of Folk and Traditional Arts, introduces the recently announced 2020 NEA National Heritage Fellows. This is the country’s highest honor—a lifetime achievement award—for folk and traditional artists whose life’s work includes both artistic excellence and efforts to sustain cultural traditions for future generations. As Murphy says in the podcast, folk art has been described as “something learned knee-to-knee.” All nine recipients of the Heritage Award serve as exemplary mentors as well as inspired artists.

Photos