Celebrate Women's History Month with National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellows

At a time when social distancing, quarantine, and isolation are the guidewords for our daily lives, it feels even more important to focus on the ways in which we can connect. In that spirit—and in the spirit of Women's History Month—we'd like to celebrate five extraordinary women who have been honored with National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowships for their work as artists, as advocates, and, most important, as connectors. As practitioners of folk and traditional arts, these women connect our past with our present and future, they connect communities by teaching their art forms and mentoring apprentices, and they connect us one to another by reminding us that no matter our cultural practices, we are connected by the fact that the arts are at the heart of many of our treasured traditions. As the Arts Endowment's Deputy Chairman for Programs and Partnerships Tony Chauveaux expressed at the 2019 NEA National Heritage Fellowships Concert last September, "To witness the diversity of our nation brought to life through the arts is nothing short of magical. It serves as a reminder of the power the arts have, to bridge our differences and to connect us as neighbors, as humans, and as Americans."  2019 #NEAHeritage Fellow Josephine Lobato, Spanish colcha embroiderer 2019 #NEAHeritage Fellows Las Tesoros de San Antonio, Tejano singers 2019 #NEAHeritage Fellow Linda Goss, African-American Storyteller 2018 #NEAHeritage Fellow Ofelia Esparza, Chicana Altarists (Day of the Dead Altar Maker) 2018 #NEAHeritage Fellow Marion Coleman, African-American Quilter