TAN Fund

Traditional Arts Network | TAN Artist Gatherings | TAN Fund | Traditional Arts Apprenticeship

The Traditional Arts Network (TAN) Fund will provide grants of up to $1,000 to individual artists, ensembles, and nonprofits based in Maine.

Traditional arts are rooted in and reflective of the cultural life of a community. These vital artistic traditions are passed from generation to generation, most often within family and community. TAN supports the work of traditional artists preserving a cultural heritage from a country of origin outside of the continental United States and/or their indigenous community.

The funding may support a range of activities including paying artists to perform and teach, purchasing advertisements for events, video recording and production, photography, website design, transportation expenses, purchasing instruments and equipment, and rehearsal space.

If you have received a TAN Fund award for two years in a row, we ask that you wait one year before reapplying.

The TAN Fund will be administered by Mayo Street Arts and reviewed by a TAN Fund Committee which is composed of community members and traditional artists.

  • May 1, 2026 – Applications Open
  • May 31, 2026 – Application Deadline
  • June 21, 2026 – Winners Announced
  • June 28, 2026 – Awards Paid Out

Mentors are available to help applicants complete their applications. To request assistance, please email TAN@mayostreetarts.org or call Mayo Street Arts at 207-879-4629.

2025 TAN Fund Awards:

  • Afghan Women Arts Group – To support materials, workshop space, and training for members seeking to preserve their cultural heritage and create income opportunities
    • Estory Azizi – Handicrafts, particularly in crafting dresses with various designs and styles
    • Maryam Ghulam Hassan – Henna design and painting for festive occasions such as Eid and weddings
    • Jawahar Joya Pashio – Handicrafts such as table top covers, couch covers, scarves, and ice embroidery
    • Zahira Sadat – Cooking traditional dishes such as Mantu, Ashak, Qabuli Palaw, and Bolani
  • Uwera Elyse – To support lessons teaching Rwandese students how to make traditional woven grass mats
  • Apphia Kamanda Mpay – To support training for a fashion design student interested in learning about traditional West African form of embellishment and hand embroidery
  • [Name Withheld for Security Concerns] – To purchase drums from Rwanda that will be used to teach young community members and some adults
  • Watt Samaki Temple – To build statues and a garden for the new Temple in Westbrook in collaboration with Khmer Maine

2024 TAN Fund Awards:

  • Anges Mukakalisa – Teaching children Rwandan drumming to preserve cultural heritage
  • Clarisse Karasira – Recording an album of Rwandan and African traditional songs
  • Gloire Ilonde Eale Bolele – Creating a series of artworks to promote cultural dialogue around Congolese Urban Arts
  • Firefly The Hybrid – Creating a music video for the song “River,” celebrating the Penobscot River and calling attention to issues facing it such as pollution
  • Kifah Abdulla – Conducting a series of public workshops on Arabic calligraphy
  • Oga Suya, LLC – Growing a Nigerian BBQ business
  • Orson Horchler – Recording some of the 400 traditional Albanian songs gathered by folklorist and accordionist Ylli Brekofca
  • Veeva Banga – Teaching a blend of traditional and contemporary dance to young students from Congo, Tanzania, and Zande
  • Yuliia Derkach – Preparing a series of Ukrainian folk art paintings for an arts festival

2023 TAN Fund Awards:

  • Batimbo United — Burundian drumming and dance ensemble; will purchase materials in Africa that are needed for women to begin participating in the ensemble
  • Ylli Brekofca — Albanian folk musician; will purchase a professional accordion for performances
  • Sayon Camara — Guinean musician, drummer, storyteller, and dancer; will research potential schools and public spaces to bring a different cultural experience to the community
  • Fanfare Kimbanguiste (FAKI) — Congolese church band; will purchase more instruments for their group, including a tuba
  • Ikirenga cy’Intore — Rwandese dance & drum group; will use funding to support their upcoming Tales of Bells and Drums performance
  • Gloire “Bolele” Ilonde — Congolese-Brazilian fusion musician & artist; purchasing supplies to combine their visual art with their original music
  • Clarisse Karasira — Rwandan traditional signer, songwriter, and dancer; hiring fellow Rwandan musicians for her Bakundwa album release concert
  • Namory Keita — Guinean master drummer; will purchase new drums for his students to grow his teaching career
  • Carine Kitenge — Congolese hair stylist; will purchase wigs and supplies to teach children to do their hair
  • Baba Ly — Fulani acoustic guitar player & storyteller; will purchase additional sound system equipment
  • Tresor Muteba Mukendi — Congolese actor and educator; will use funding for video recording, space rentals, and transportation
  • Sayalí Robles — Taíno indigenous artist with African roots; will continue a Bomba dance apprenticeship to prepare to form a group and bring Borikén’s (now called Puerto Rico) culture to Maine
  • Seema Shinde — Bollywood dancer; will renovate dance studio; award was declined and distributed to others

2022 TAN Fund Awards:

  • Batimbo United — Burundian drumming & dance ensemble; will offset shipping expenses to transport a new set of drums from Burundi
  • Fanfare Kimbanguiste (FAKI) — Congolese church band; will purchase more instruments for their group, including a tuba
  • Jawad Al Fatlawi — Master oud player & luthier; will begin the construction of a new, guitar-shaped, “Goldeneye” oud
  • Michelle Kazaka — Writer & storyteller; will publish & promote her memoir, How Long the Night
  • Namory Keita — Guinean master drummer; will purchase new drums for his students to grow his teaching career
  • Baba Ly — Fulani acoustic guitar player and storyteller; will purchase a professional sound system to support his work
  • Sabina Najafova — Dancer & visual artist who hails from Azerbaijan; will purchase visual arts materials and new costume for performances
  • Sayalí Robles — Taíno indigenous artist with African roots; will create a Bomba dance apprenticeship group and bring Borikén’s (now called Puerto Rico) culture to Maine

The TAN Fund is be administered by Mayo Street Arts and reviewed by a TAN Fund Committee which is composed of community members and traditional artists.

The TAN Fund is made possible through support from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.