National Heritage Fellowship


The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. It is a one-time only award and fellows must be living citizens or permanent residents of the United States. Each year, fellowships are presented to between seven and fifteen artists or groups at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.
The Fellows are nominated by individual citizens, with an average of over 200 nominations per year. From that pool of candidates, recommendations are made by a rotating panel of specialists, including one layperson, as well as folklorists and others with a variety of forms of cultural expertise. The recommendations are then reviewed by the National Council on the Arts, with the final decisions made by the chairperson of the National Endowment for the Arts. As of [|2024], 487 artists in a wide variety of fields have received Fellowships.
WWW arts.gov/honors/heritage

History

The program was officially founded in [|1982] by Bess Lomax Hawes, the first director of the Folk and Traditional Arts Program at the NEA, following a five-year period of development. In 1982, the monetary award associated with the Fellowship was $5,000; in [|1993], it was increased to $10,000 and since [|2009], the award amount is $25,000, which is considered "enough to make a difference, but not enough to go to anyone's head". Each recipient receives a certificate of honor, the monetary award, and a congratulatory letter from the President of the United States.
The annual recognition events are held in the Fall and consist of an awards ceremony, a banquet, and a concert that is open to the public. Over the years, the awards ceremony has been held at different locations in the US capital city, including the NEA headquarters, Ford's Theatre, George Washington University, the Library of Congress, and for the first time at the White House in [|1995]. Since [|2000], the banquet has been held in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress. The concert features musical performances, craft demonstrations, and interviews with the honorees. Masters of ceremonies at the concerts have included folksinger Pete Seeger, actress Ruby Dee, author Studs Terkel, journalist Charles Kuralt, and since [|1997] Nick Spitzer, the host of public radio program American Routes. Beginning in [|2010], the Fellowship concerts have been streamed live on the NEA website and archived on YouTube.
In 2000, the NEA instituted the Bess Lomax Hawes Award in conjunction with the Fellowships, "given to an individual for achievements in fostering excellence, ensuring vitality, and promoting public appreciation of the folk and traditional arts". The Hawes Award has been given annually since 2000 to recognize "artists whose contributions, primarily through teaching, advocacy, and organizing and preserving important repertoires, have greatly benefited their artistic tradition. It also recognizes individuals, such as producers and activists, who have comprehensively increased opportunities for and public visibility of traditional artists."

Publications

  • A companion volume titled American Folk Masters: The National Heritage Fellows was published in [|1992] to accompany a traveling exhibition called "America's Living Folk Traditions" that featured the artistry of 36 Fellowship recipients.
  • A two-volume biographical dictionary of the award winners from the first 20 years was published in [|2001], titled Masters of Traditional Arts.
  • A young readers book featuring five of the National Heritage Fellows entitled Extraordinary Ordinary People: Five American Masters of Traditional Arts was published in [|2006].

Winners

Awardees have included Native American basket weavers, African American blues musicians, traditional fiddlers, Mexican American accordionists, and all manner of traditional artisans and performers of numerous ethnic backgrounds.

1982 | [|1983] | [|1984] | [|1985] | [|1986] | [|1987] | [|1988] | [|1989] | [|1990]

[|1991] | 1992 | 1993 | [|1994] | 1995 | [|1996] | 1997 | [|1998] | [|1999] | 2000

2001 | [|2002] | [|2003] | [|2004] | [|2005] | 2006 | [|2007] | [|2008] | 2009 | 2010

[|2011] | [|2012] | [|2013] | [|2014] | [|2015] | [|2016] | [|2017] | [|2018] | [|2019] | [|2020]

[|2021] | [|2022] | [|2023] | 2024 | [|2025]

National Heritage Fellowship winners are:

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

  • Obo Addy, drummer
  • Betty Pisio Christenson, egg decorator
  • Paul Dahlin, fiddler
  • Juan Gutiérrez, drummer
  • Solomon & Richard Ho'opi'I, Hawaiian singers
  • Will Keys, banjo player
  • Joaquin Flores Lujan, blacksmith
  • Eva McAdams, Shoshone regalia maker
  • John Mealing & Cornelius Wright, Jr., railroad worksong singers
  • Vernon Owens, stoneware potter
  • Dolly Spencer, Inupiat dollmaker

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

  • Horace Axtell, Nez Perce drum maker, singer, tradition-bearer
  • Dale Harwood, saddlemaker
  • Bettye Kimbrell, quilter
  • Jeronimo E. Lozano, Peruvian retablo maker
  • Oneida Hymn Singers of Wisconsin
  • Sue Yeon Park, Korean dancer and musician
  • Moges Seyoum, Ethiopian liturgical minister and scholar
  • Jelon Vieira, Capoeira master
  • Michael White, traditional jazz musician and bandleader
  • Mac Wiseman, Bluegrass musician
  • Walter Murray Chiesa, traditional arts specialist and advocate

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

  • Feryal Abbasi-Ghnaim, Palestinian embroiderer
  • Eddie Bond, Appalachian fiddler
  • Kelly Church, Gun Lake Band Potawatomi black ash basket maker
  • Marion Coleman, African American quilter
  • Manuel Cuevas, Mexican-American rodeo tailor
  • Ofelia Esparza, Chicana altarista
  • Barbara Lynn, African American R&B guitarist
  • Don and Cindy Roy, French-American musicians
  • Ethel Raim, advocate for customary music and dance

2019

2020

  • William Bell, soul singer and songwriter
  • Onnik Dinkjian, Armenian folk and liturgical singer
  • Zakarya and Naomi Diouf, West African diasporic dancers
  • Karen Ann Hoffman, Iroquois raised beadworker
  • Los Matachines de la Santa Cruz de la Ladrillera, traditional religious dancers
  • John Morris, old-time fiddler and banjo player
  • Suni Paz, Nueva Canción singer and songwriter
  • Wayne Valliere, birchbark canoe builder
  • Hugo N. Morales, radio producer and radio network builder

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

  • Carmen Baron, Mexican folk costume maker and dancer
  • Peniel Guerrier, Haitian dancer, drummer and educator
  • Adrienne Reiko Iwanaga, Bon Odori dancer, teacher and choreographer
  • Ernie Marsh, bit and spur maker, silversmith
  • Edward Poullard, Creole musician
  • Steven Tamayo, traditional Lakota artist and educator
  • Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America, men's choral and bandura ensemble