Martha Buche has received $5,000 through an award that honors the work of Midwestern folk arts and culture practitioners who are deeply rooted in the practice and preservation of their cultural traditions.
Oct 8, 2024
Local artist Martha Buche has received $5,000 through an award that honors the work of Midwestern folk arts and culture practitioners who are deeply rooted in the practice and preservation of their cultural traditions.
Arts Midwest is thrilled to announce the recipients of the inaugural Midwest Culture Bearers Award. This annual award was created to honor and amplify the work of Midwestern folk arts and culture practitioners who practice and preserve their cultural traditions through craft, storytelling, dance, performance, visual arts, language preservation, and more.
Over 250 culture bearers applied for this opportunity, and a panel of 12 application reviewers helped narrow it down to nine finalists from across the Midwest.
“We’re delighted to recognize nine culture bearers and folk arts practitioners who are doing the important work of preserving cultural traditions rooted in community and prioritizing the next generation across our region,” said Crystal Celeste Price, Program Manager at Arts Midwest.
* Rubén Pachas (Schaumburg, Illinois)
* Stafford Berry (Bloomington, Indiana)
* Tamra Jetter (Clinton, Iowa)
* Gean Vincent Almendras (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
* Paul Summers (Worthington, Minnesota)
* Pieper Bloomquist (Grand Forks, North Dakota)
* Aimee Lee (Lyndhurst, Ohio)
* Jeremy Red Eagle (Waubay, South Dakota)
* Martha Buche (Viroqua, Wisconsin)
As part of this award, each recipient will receive $5,000 to support their artistic journey, with no requirements on how they use this funding.
“It is remarkable, humbling, and necessary to be honoring these culture bearers and their work across disciplines and communities through this award,” said Price.
Established in 2024, the Midwest Culture Bearers Award is supported by Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, with additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts for project management. Learn more about all the awardees and explore their work on the Arts Midwest website.
More about Martha Buche
“I was raised outside Potawatomi culture, much of that cultural legacy lost due to survival through assimilation.
I went in search of my heritage in my twenties, seeking culture, crafts and traditions for myself. I became culture-bringer to own family and was given the name of ‘Spirit Keeper’ in recognition. Over decades, my siblings and I have rediscovered language, traditions, beliefs and crafts. I have long sought and now practice many traditional arts. I’ve shared these broadly in my roles as artist and educator, in my family, community and the Midwest.
As an artist, I have been drawn to and have practiced many traditional arts: ash splint, bark, sweetgrass, cattail, and pine needle basket making, drum, clothing, and moccasin making, quilling and various styles of beading, corn husk doll and other toy making, and copper work. I have been recognized for teaching hammered copper bowls. I learned and teach this technique using the ancient method, with stone tools, in the manner of Lake Superior’s native peoples. Copper vessels are used in ceremony and teaching this craft shares the culture and traditions of my Potawatomi heritage. I celebrate my hard sought and nearly lost Potawatomi heritage through this practice.”
About Arts Midwest
Arts Midwest believes that creativity has the power to inspire and unite humanity. Based in Minneapolis, Arts Midwest grows, gathers, and invests in creative organizations and communities throughout the nine-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. One of six nonprofit United States Regional Arts Organizations, Arts Midwest’s history spans more than 30 years. For more information, visit artsmidwest.org.
Add comment