Thank you for your interest in the Southern New England Apprenticeship Program! Our application window is now open!

About • Examples • For Assistance • Application Schedule • How to Apply • Frequently Asked Questions

About

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 28 years, 195 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 2026-2027 program comes from the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation, the Connecticut Office of the Arts/DECD, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

FOR ASSISTANCE

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

Southern New England Apprenticeship Program Manager

Philitha Stemplys-Cowdrey
Connecticut Museum of Culture and History
1 Elizabeth St.
Hartford, CT 06105
860-236-5621 x 201
[email protected]

Program Co-Founder and Independent Folklorist (based in Rhode Island)

Winifred Lambrecht, PhD
401-454-6266 (office)
401-864-9006 (cell)
[email protected]

Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA)

Elena Calderón Patiño
Director, Arts and Cultural Sustainability,
Atrium Gallery/Folk Arts/Expansion Arts
Rhode Island State Council on the Arts
One Capitol Hill, 3rd Floor, Providence, RI 02908
[email protected]

Mass Cultural Council

Summer Confuorto
Program Officer, Traditional Arts
Mass Cultural Council
10 St. James Ave.
Boston, MA 02116
617-858-2713
[email protected]

APPLICATION SCHEDULE*

The application for the Southern New England Apprenticeship Program is now open for the 2026-2027 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 the link to apply online.

APPLY HERE: https://form.jotform.com/261196147127054

APLIQUE AQUI: https://form.jotform.com/261514730141143

IMPORTANT: JotForm applications can save your progress, and populate a draft link to share between mentor and apprentice. A JotForm account is not required.

For the 2026-2027 Application window, we are introducing an online JotForm application. Support materials must be submitted with an online shared drive folder such as GoogleDrive, OneDrive, or DropBox. Mentor and Apprentice should use one folder.  Technical assistance is available through the SNEAP Manager, [email protected].

Sample application answers and support materials can be found here at the sample drive link:  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1V5aIigj_y-U_skYpgKXj4EnebYcKjLSj?usp=sharing

2026-2027 SNEAP Guidelines and FAQ

Hard Copy (Paper) or Word .Doc Applications (with Guidelines & FAQ)

Please consider applying online via JotForm. Those who prefer to submit a word doc application may do so. Please note the Section and Question numbers on the word doc version will be labeled to match the online form.

ESPAÑOL/SPANISH

2026-2027 SNEAP Directrices y Preguntas Frecuentes del Programa

Solicitud en Word .Doc (con Directrices y Preguntas Frecuentes del Programa)

Application assistance and draft review is available through July 24, 2026. To schedule, please contact SNEAP Manager, Philitha Stemplys-Cowdrey at [email protected] or call 860.236.5621 ext. 201.

The postmark deadline for final applications is August 1, 2026.

If you choose not to submit your application through the online form, applications may be submitted electronically to [email protected] or mailed to:

Connecticut Museum of Culture and History
Attn: SNEAP Manager
1 Elizabeth Street
Hartford, CT 06105

This program is supported in part by the Connecticut Office of the Arts (DECD), the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. 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