WA Cultures

09/24/2026

🎉 2026-2027 Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Pairs announced! The 10 projects include traditions such as Palestinian embroidery, Persian and Filipino folk dance, Native weaving traditions, and—in a first for the program—a traditional game. These projects were selected from over 50 applications representing the diversity of community-based art across the state.

👉🏽Read more: https://mailchi.mp/arts/2026-heritage-arts-apprenticeship-pairs-announced

WACultures is Washington State’s organization dedicated to documenting and preserving traditional skills.

ID: Master artists Larry Alik of Federal Way and apprentice Rimus Marston Nena of Ocean Shores show models of traditional Kosraean canoes.

WA Cultures Humanities Washington

08/12/2026

Come out for this!

Zje Mongol is three Seattle siblings keeping Mongolian musical traditions alive – and this Thursday may be one of your last chances to hear them perform together for a while!

Anu-Ujin, the eldest, is heading to college next week. She’s also the youngest Master Artist ever to participate in Humanities Washington’s Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Program.

Along with her siblings Temuulen and Temuujin, she’ll perform on traditional Mongolian instruments such as the morin khuur (horsehead fiddle), yochin (Mongolian dulcimer), tovshuur (two-stringed lute), and limbe (Mongolian side flute), along with the deep resonance of khöömii (Mongolian throat singing).

Come hear them play, learn more about these traditions, and stick around for a chance to ask the young artists your questions!

Join us this Thursday, August 13, at Black & Tan Hall in Seattle.

RSVP for this free public event at https://www.humanities.org/event/in-person-underrepresented-traditions-in-wa-mongolian-folk-music/

Zje - Зээ WA Cultures Washington State Arts Commission

07/24/2026

05/24/2026

🎉 WACultures is at Northwest Folklife Festival this weekend! Stop by WACultures’ table at the Makers’ Space to try your hand at Peruvian retablo-making, Japanese calligraphy, or both! Free and open to the public.

Saturday, Sunday, and Monday only
📆 May 23-25, 2026, 12 noon – 7 p.m.
🌎 Makers Space near the Artists-at-Play Playground
👉🏽Learn more: https://www.humanities.org/story/catch-humanities-washington-and-wacultures-at-the-2026-northwest-folklife-festival/

ID: 1) Image of artists, 2) Two calligraphers holding up a poster of calligraphy, 3) Map of Seattle Center and where to find the Makers Space during Folklife.

WA Cultures Humanities Washington

05/15/2026

Catch WACultures’ Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Program teams at the 2026 Northwest Folklife Festival!

Experience living traditions and amazing artistry at the Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Program (HAAP) showcase on May 22, Friday, 4 p.m. at the Bagley Wright Theater in Seattle Center.

Members of the Lao Senior Outreach Musical Ensemble will be playing the khaen and other traditional Lao musical instruments while HAAP Master Artist Sirichanh Sisavatdy and her Apprentice Keira Gan perform Lao classical dance.

All the way from Walla Walla, HAAP Master Artist Saraí González, her Apprentice Mariana Ruiz-González, and the rest of their group, El Color de México, will dazzle as they perform danza folclórica or Mexican folkloric dance.

Last but not least, HAAP Apprentice Amatra Jagannathan, under the mentroship of Grammy-award winning HAAP Master Artist Ganesh Rajagopalan, will perform Carnatic music on the Indian violin. She will be accompanied by Krishna Srikanth on the double-headed drum.

Don’t miss this unique gathering of Washington state’s traditional artists!

To learn more about WACultures’ Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Program (HAAP), go to wacultures.org

To learn more about Northwest Folklife, go to nwfolklife.org.

Hope to see you all there!

.elcolordemexico

05/08/2026

WACultures is seeking a qualified fieldworker to document the folk and traditional arts of North Central Washington during the summer of 2026. This project involves conducting ethnographic fieldwork and documenting 5–8 cultural practitioners through interviews and photography. The materials collected will help highlight the diverse heritage of the region and may be featured in public online content or future heritage programming. Conversational Spanish is highly desirable for this role. 
  
Deadline: Friday, May 22nd 
Contract Amount: $6,500 contract (includes honorarium and travel expenses) 
Location: North Central Washington (Douglas, Chelan, and Okanogan Counties) 
  
To apply, please submit a resumé and a letter of interest detailing your experience with traditional arts and your familiarity with the region to [email protected] with the subject line “Cultural Traditions Survey Application”.  
 
Questions? Contact [email protected]. 
 
Go to wacultures.org to learn more. 
 
WACultures is a partnership between Humanities Washington and ArtsWA.  
 
     

05/07/2026

Are you a veteran interested in learning or teaching a traditional trade, craft, or skill? WACultures invites you to apply for the 2026-2027 Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Program. The program provides financial support to a Master Artist and an Apprentice (or two) who want to preserve a cultural tradition important to their community.  
 
WACultures believe in supporting veterans in creative pursuits after their military service. This program is in special collaboration with the Wellness, Arts, and the Military Program of ArtsWA to best serve military communities and their needs.  
 
📆Deadline to apply: May 10, 2026, Sunday, 11:59 pm  
 
👉🏽 Learn more:  https://wacultures.org/heritage-arts-apprentice-program/ 
 
Questions? Contact [email protected].  
 
WACultures is a partnership between Humanities Washington and ArtsWA.  
 
     

04/30/2026

📣DEADLINE EXTENDED! WACultures is accepting applications for the 2026-2027 Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Program through May 10! The program provides financial support to a Master Artist and an Apprentice (or two) who want to preserve a cultural tradition important to their community.

📆Deadline to apply: May 10, 2026, Sunday, 11:59 pm

👉🏽 Learn more: wacultures.org

Questions? Contact [email protected].

WACultures is a partnership between Humanities Washington and ArtsWA.

ID: Japanese calligraphy HAAP team. L to R:  Lisa Maria d’Aquila and Chiyo Sanada.

04/24/2026

Heritage Arts Apprenticeships pave the way for community and connections that preserve and uplift important cultural traditions and practices in the state of Washington. 
 
This Saturday, April 25 at 7 p.m., two former Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Program (HAAP) teams will be at the Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center for an evening full of music and lively conversation. Yesenia Hunter (master artist, son jarocho), “A” Hunter (apprentice, son jarocho), and the rest of the Hunter family will be in conversation with Daniel Cedeño (master artist, mariachi), Yajayra Ramirez (apprentice, mariachi), and the rest of Mariachi Noroeste. Dr. Christopher Mena of The Rhapsody Project will serve as the moderator.  
 
The event is free and open to the public but please register here to reserve your spot: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/by-the-people-traditions-in-dialogue-mexican-music-tickets-1986030629074?aff=oddtdtcreator 
 
This is the first of three events sponsored through By the People: Conversations Beyond 250, a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils across the U.S., its territories, and the District of Columbia in collaboration with local partners. Together, these programs explore 250 years of the nation’s cultural life and imagine its shared future. The initiative was developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage as a complement to the 2026 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. 
 
Stay tuned for more events featuring HAAP teams in July and August! 
 
Interested in applying to become part of the Heritage Arts Apprenticeship Program? Click here to learn more: https://wacultures.org/heritage-arts-apprentice-program/
 
.r.mena  

04/24/2026

Really good things are brewing in Wenatchee this weekend! Come join us to get next level on Mexican Musics.