Thank you for your interest in the Southern New England Apprenticeship Program! Our application window is now open until August 1, 2025!

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The Southern New England Apprenticeship Program (SNEAP) helps communities preserve their cultural knowledge by supporting teaching relationships between a mentor and apprentice. The program provides funding to cross-state apprenticeship teams from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, or Connecticut. The teaching and learning of traditional arts, trades, practices, and crafts helps sustain culture that is important to a community.

This program supports the learning of living cultural heritage forms that are important to communities. These traditional forms are expressions of community identity and values and are usually taught informally. These traditional forms can include performing arts, crafts, trade/occupational skills, and religious, seasonal, or ceremonial traditions. (In most cases, reenactments, recreations, and historic reproductions are not eligible under this program).

EXAMPLES

Some examples of communities and traditional forms might include:

The Southern New England Apprenticeship Program has developed a regional network of excellent traditional and occupational artists who actively practice their art forms. For over 27 years, 205 apprenticeships have taken place with more than 500 folk artists participating. A full list of previous apprenticeships can be viewed here.

The Department of Cultural Sustainability at the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History manages the program in collaboration with the Mass Cultural Council, the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, independent folklorist Winifred Lambrecht, and the Afro Caribbean Cultural Center. Funding for the 2025-2026 program comes from the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation and the Connecticut Office of the Arts/DECD.

IMPORTANT 2025 – 2026 UPDATES

Due to a delay in notification of federal grant funding, we have had to modify portions of the apprenticeship program. This year, we anticipate fewer available awards, so the applications will be competitive.

At the time of this application being released, we are required to change the “Who Can Apply For This Program?” criterion to have at least one of the participating artists reside in Connecticut, whether mentor or apprentice. Their counterpart may reside in Massachusetts or Rhode Island, or both applicants may live in Connecticut. We hope this is a temporary requirement.

FOR ASSISTANCE

If you need assistance or have any questions, please contact SNEAP Manager Philitha Stemplys-Cowdrey or your state’s program coordinator. They are:

Connecticut

Philitha Stemplys-Cowdrey
SNEAP Manager
Connecticut Museum of Culture and History
1 Elizabeth St.
Hartford, CT 06105
860-236-5621 x 201
pstemplys-cowdrey@connecticutmuseum.org

Rhode Island

Winifred Lambrecht, PhD
Rhode Island Folklorist
401-454-6266 (office)
401-864-9006 (cell)
wlambrec@risd.edu

Massachusetts

Summer Confuorto
Program Officer, Traditional Arts
Mass Cultural Council
10 St. James Ave.
Boston, MA 02116
617-858-2713
summer.confuorto@mass.gov

APPLICATION SCHEDULE*

The application for the Southern New England Apprenticeship Program is now open for the  2025-2026 program cycle.

*Please note that dates are subject to change.
**Awards will be distributed in two payments. The first at the signing of contracts, and the second after the submission of the final report to the SNEAP Manager.

HOW TO APPLY

Click a link to download an application:

2025-2026 SNEAP Application (Fillable PDF)

OR

2025-2026 SNEAP Application (DOCX For Print)

ESPAÑOL/SPANISH

2025-2026 Solicitud SNEAP (PDF para cumplimentar)

O

2025-2026 Solicitud SNEAP (DOCX para imprimir y cumplimentar)

Application assistance and draft review is available through July 18, 2025. To schedule, please contact
SNEAP Manager, Philitha Stemplys-Cowdrey at pstemplys-cowdrey@connecticutmuseum.org or call 860.236.5621 ext. 201.
The postmark deadline for final applications is August 1, 2025.

Applications may be submitted electronically to pstemplys-cowdrey@connecticutmuseum.org or mailed to:

Connecticut Museum of Culture and History
Attn: SNEAP Manager
1 Elizabeth Street
Hartford, CT 0610

This program is funded by the Connecticut Office of the Arts (DECD) and the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation, and is supported by the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History. Our organizational partners are the Mass Cultural Council, the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, and the Afro Caribbean Cultural Center.

The Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation

Afro Caribbean Cultural Center