The California Arts Council (CAC) announced the recipients of the Individual Artist Fellowship (IAF) grant awards in December. Among the 35 selected artists is Swapan Chaudhuri, longtime faculty in The Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts.
North Indian tabla master Chaudhuri was recognized in the Legacy Artist Fellows category, which features artists with unique artistic visions, and significant bodies of work that have engaged their communities and have made a notable social impact. Artists in this tier were also selected for their mentorship and positive influence on emerging and established artists.
Created by the CAC to celebrate artists at the intersection of culture, ancestral, and Indigenous practices and multiracial movement work, the IAF Legacy Artist Fellows award provides statewide recognition and an unrestricted $50,000 dollar grant.
In addition to being an internationally renowned tabla player, Chaudhuri is a dedicated teacher and guru, committed to the preservation of the tradition of Indian classical tabla. Since 1991, Chaudhuri has served as director of the CalArts’ North Indian Percussion Studies Program, as well as department chairperson emeritus for World Music. In 2023, he released the Swapan Chaudhuri Digital Tabla Library and Archive, which makes accessible more than 40 years of musical instruction, full-length concerts, photos, articles, interviews, and historical and theoretical information.
