Arts Midwest Announces the 2024 Midwest Culture Bearers Awardees

Arts Midwest announces the recipients of its inaugural Midwest Culture Bearers Award. This award was created to annually honor and amplify the work of Midwestern folk arts and culture practitioners who are deeply rooted in the practice and preservation of their cultural traditions through craft, storytelling, dance, performance, visual arts, language preservation and more.

Nine culture bearers and folk arts practitioners are recognized for their work of preserving cultural traditions rooted in community and prioritizing the next generation across the 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)

Each recipient has been awarded $5,000 to support their work.