Announcing the inaugural 2024 Taproot Fellows

The Taproot Fellowship, a project of ACTA’s new Taproot Artists & Community Trust, is the first cycle of this new national program and includes artists from Indigenous, immigrant, and other backgrounds. This year, ACTA awarded 25 individual fellowship grants of $50,000; next year, we will award another 25. Our inaugural class of fellows spans diverse artistic mediums and places of origin — a true garland of American cultural tradition, and beyond.

Being a Taproot artist embodies a sacred obligation to nurture cultural and traditional arts that will enrich our communities with enduring health and well-being benefits for generations to come. 

—Gertie Lopez, Tohono O’odham Waila Musician, Taproot Fellow

2024 Taproot Fellows

• • • Adrienne Benjamin | Amikogaabawiikwe, Anishinaabe Jingle Dress Maker, Minnesota  
    • Anwan “Big G” Glover, Go-Go musician, Washington, DC  
    • Bill Harris, Catawba Master potter, South Carolina  
    • Carolyn Mazloomi, Quiltmaker, Ohio  
    • Dani Pikolakitisaata Tippmann, Miami plant tradition bearer, Indiana  
    • Deborah Gourneau, Anishinaabe (Chippewa) culture bearer, North Dakota  
    • Dr. Dwayne Tomah, Passamaquoddy language keeper, Maine  
    • Eva Ybarra, Conjunto accordionist and bandleader, Texas  
    • Gertie Lopez, Tohono O’odham Waila musician, Arizona  
    • Iris Brown, Puerto Rican foodways and agriculture, Pennsylvania  
    • Jesus M. Cepeda Brenes, Afro-Puerto Rican musician and folklorist, Puerto Rico  
    • Jontavious Willis, Blues musician, Georgia  
    • Juan Longoria, Jr., Conjunto accordionist and educator, Texas  
    • King Khazm, Hip Hop artist, Washington  
    • Meklit Hadero, Ethio-Jazz vocalist and composer, California  
    • Ofelia Esparza & Rosanna Esparza Ahrens, Chicana altaristas, California  
    • Pedro Adorno Irizarry, Puerto Rican theater artist and director, Puerto Rico  
    • Roy & PJ Hirabayashi, Japanese American taiko musicians, California  
    • Sami Abu Shumays, Arab musician, New York  
    • Shaka Zulu, New Orleans Black Masking craftsman and stilt dancer, Louisiana  
    • Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto, Japanese koto musician, California  
    • Stan Rodriguez, Kumeyaay culture bearer, California  
    • Theresa Secord, Penobscot basketmaker, Maine  
    • Veronica Castillo, Mexican polychromatic ceramicist, Texas  
    • Willard John, Moko Jumbie stilt dancer, U.S. Virgin Islands

Fellows will also receive an additional $10,000 to dedicate to community-focused projects, totaling a $60,000 investment per Fellow. This additional $10,000 aims to support initiatives that benefit local communities by fostering cultural transmission and enhancing grassroots health and well-being. The Fellow completely directs these gifts, which might include workshops, performances, community festivals, educational programs, or other culturally significant activities that strengthen the community’s fabric. 

The Taproot Fellows embody the living essence of our cultural heritage, each a beacon of ancestral wisdom and contemporary creativity. These artists are the lifeblood of their communities. 

—Amy Kitchener, Executive Director of ACTA

The Taproot Fellowship is structured around three key strategies to ensure a profound and lasting impact on local arts ecosystems nationwide:

1. Direct Support: Each fellow will receive $50,000 in unrestricted funding and an additional $10,000 to allocate for community-focused projects.
2. Sustainability: Artists can participate in a cohort designed to increase opportunities and foster a learning environment tailored to their needs. Customized services grounded in cultural context will be provided alongside multiple opportunities for artists to share and learn from one another and experts in the field.
3. Visibility: ACTA is committed to uplifting the stories and impacts of traditional artists, elevating their visibility, and advancing a national dialogue about the crucial role of grassroots arts and cultural knowledge in community health and wellness.

It is an absolute honor to be a Taproot Fellow. When I think of those who have inspired me and been so vital to the continuation of our cultural life-ways in community, they were elders and knowledge keepers, and people who deeply cared about the survival of our heritage. To be considered for this means that I am continuing the work that those elders entrusted me to do and truly believing in myself the way they believed in me.”

—Amikogaabawiikwe, Anishinaabe Jingle Dressmaker, Taproot Fellow

The Taproot Fellowship is an award dedicated to preserving our nation’s diverse traditions by celebrating storytellers, keepers of sacred knowledge, and innovators. Taproot Fellows are guardians of cultural heritage who connect the past to the present, ensuring the continuity of traditions. This fellowship supports these vital culture bearers, providing resources to sustain their practices and spark social change. By investing in these artists, ACTA nurtures the roots of cultural expression, fostering appreciation and understanding of our shared heritage, and enhancing community resilience. The Taproot Artists embody the essence of cultural preservation and innovation, and their work, supported by this fellowship, underscores the profound impact that traditional arts have on community health and well-being.

For more information about the Taproot Artists and Community Trust program and to learn about the inaugural class of Fellows, please visit taproot.sitecata.com.

VISIT THE Taproot Website

READ THE PRESS RELEASE

The Taproot Artist & Community Trust is generously supported by the Mellon Foundation.