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Georgetown College Awarded Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Grant from the Kentucky Arts Council


Submitted on August 1, 2024

Professor of Art Daniel Graham and art major Jackson Albensi ’25 were recently awarded the Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Grant from the Kentucky Arts Council. Albensi will participate in a year-long apprenticeship with Graham to learn how to make traditional fiddles and banjos.

The Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Grant honors traditional artists and encourages the continuation of Kentucky's living traditional arts by funding mentor artists who teach skills and practices vital to their cultural heritage to less experienced artists within their communities. The apprenticeship grant will cover travel expenses and supplies for Albensi and a small stipend for Graham.

“We are excited about this opportunity from the Kentucky Arts Council. It is an opportunity not only to continue the traditional crafts of our region but also to model the long-standing tradition of mentorship,” says Graham “I know both of us will grow greatly in this process, and I hope this will inspire others to invest in the community and the crafts that are so valuable to Kentucky’s past and future.”

Graham is currently an art professor at Georgetown College and directs the Prototype Program for art students who wish to pursue their artistic endeavors further. He earned his bachelor’s degree in printmaking from the University of Florida and his master’s degree in printmaking from the University of Georgia. He also trained as a custom woodworker under Dennis Sitka. Since then, Graham has created and exhibited his work in hundreds of exhibitions, most recently at the Smithsonian Craft Show in Washington, D.C.

 Albensi is a senior art major from Georgetown, Kentucky. Through his business, Albensi Woodcraft, he makes and sells wood furniture and crafts.


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