just announced yesterday,

National Endowment For The Arts Announces 2002 National Heritage Fellowship Recipients

Fifteen Artists to Receive Nation's Highest Honor in the Folk and Traditional Arts

June 6, 2002

Washington, D.C. - The National Endowment for the Arts today announced the 2002 recipients of the National Heritage Fellowships, the country's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. Thirteen fellowships, which include a one-time award of $10,000 each, will be presented to honorees from 13 states and jurisdictions. Two of the awards will be shared by collaborative partners. Fourteen awardees were chosen for their artistic excellence, authenticity and contributions to their field. One was selected to receive the Bess Lomax Hawes award for service to the folk and traditional arts field as a whole.

"We are fortunate to live in a country in which such a variety of cultural traditions can flourish side by side," said Eileen B. Mason, Acting Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. "We owe a great debt to each of these talented individuals, not only for their lifetime of artistic achievement, but also for all they have done to preserve and to pass on their skills so that future generations can appreciate and enjoy these traditions."

The awards will be presented at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. in September. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store of Lebanon, Tennessee will underwrite the costs of the ceremony and related activities.

2002 National Heritage Fellowship Recipients

Ralph Blizard, Old-time fiddler (Blountville, Tenn.) Loren Bommelyn, Tolowa tradition bearer (Crescent City, Calif.) Kevin Burke, Irish fiddler (Portland, Ore.) Rose Cree/Francis Cree, Ojibwe basketmakers/storytellers (Dunseith, N.D.) Luderin Darbone/Edwin Duhon, Cajun fiddler and accordionist (Sulphur, La./Westlake, La.) Nadim Dlaikan, Lebanese nye (reed flute) player (Southgate, Mich.) David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Blues guitarist/singer (Chicago, Ill.) Flory Jagoda, Sephardic musician/composer (Falls Church, Va.) Clara Neptune Keezer, Passamaquoddy basketmaker (Perry, Maine) Bob McQuillen, Contra dance musician/composer (Peterborough, N.H.) Domingo "Mingo" Saldivar, Conjunto accordionist (San Antonio, Texas) Losang Samten, Tibetan sand mandala painter (Philadelphia, Pa.) Jean Ritchie, Appalachian musician/songwriter (Port Washington, N.Y. & Viper, Ky.)