Portrait of a man playing violin

Mexican Folk musician Trinidad Marquez was a part of Jack Straw’s TASP program

Art & Heritage Partnerships

Artist Support Program

Jack Straw’s Traditional Artist Support Program was started in 1996 by Joan Rabinowitz, as a response to the small number of writers and traditional artists among the large pool of applicants to the then three-year-old Artist Support Program.

After talking with and having received an expressed need from state folks arts coordinators – Debbie Fant from Idaho, Nancy Nusz from Oregon, and Willie Smyth from Washington – Rabinowitz established TASP to support traditional artists without their having to go through a grant application process.

TASP artists each received twenty hours of studio recording time in the studio of Jack Straw, enabling them to make professional-quality demo tapes. Artists also received materials for a complete “press packet” which included press photographs and biographical write-ups. By giving traditional artists the means to promote themselves on a more professional level and thereby further their careers, Jack Straw hoped to increase public recognition of the Northwest’s traditional music communities and document these important contributions to our shared musical heritage.

MEET JACK STRAW TASP ARTISTS

Juan Barco
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Hye-Jin Chang & Maria Seo
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Grupo Sueño
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Nisha Joshi
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Trinidad Marquez
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Los Paisanos
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Christos Govetas
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Neftali Rivera & Grupo Borikén
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Candelario Zamudio
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Carmona Flamenco
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Seattle Kokon Taiko
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