Washington: Center for Washington Cultural Traditions

Master traditional Indian artist Deepti Agrawal will teach her apprentice Rohini Mathur the classical visual Indian art of Madhubani painting under the Center for Washington Cultural Traditions Master Apprenticeship Program. All masters and apprentices in the program will attend a job skills-building workshop, in collaboration with the nonprofit Artist Trust. Photo by Kristin Sullivan

The Center for Washington Cultural Traditions (CWCT) is a new collaborative effort of the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA) and its state humanities council counterpart, Humanities Washington. Its mission is to study and support the state’s folk and traditional arts and culture. Housed within Humanities Washington and supported with state funding via ArtsWA, CWCT is building off decades of ArtsWA’s folk and traditional arts programming to cultivate cultural and creative practices expressing community identity and heritage. Through its Cultural Traditions Surveys, CWCT is working with local leaders and culture bearers to document traditions and to develop strategies to help them flourish. Each year, CWCT will begin a new two-year survey project designed to celebrate the cultural diversity and cohesion of a single community. CWCT apprenticeships, meanwhile, will enable Washingtonians to learn and propagate a traditional trade, craft or skill related to the occupational arts, storytelling, dance, culinary traditions, music and more. Last month, CWCT announced its inaugural cohort of 10 pairs of masters and apprentices, whose work over the coming year will culminate in a free public event showcasing their unique cultural traditions. For more information, contact ArtsWA Communications Manager Glenda Carino or Executive Director Karen Hanan.