Folk Masters: A Portrait of America | Photographs by Tom Pich

Over the past 30 years, photographer Tom Pich has traveled the country to the homes and studios of recipients of the National Endowment for the Arts’ National Heritage Fellowship, the highest honor given to folk and traditional artists in the U.S.  

His portraits give viewers a glimpse into their art, their process, and their culture. While each image tells a story on its own, in their 2017 book, Folk Masters: A Portrait of America, Barry Bergey, former Director of Folk and Traditional Arts at the National Endowment for the Arts, provides further insight into the lives of each featured artist as well as the remarkable stories behind each photograph. Folk Masters honors again the extraordinary women and men who simultaneously take the traditional arts to new heights while ensuring their continuation from generation to generation. 

Pich and Bergey will visit Port Townsend the week of July 4, 2026 for a series of artist talks and receptions during Centrum’s Fiddle Tunes Festival. The week culminates in an all-day family-friendly festival at Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend from Noon to 10 p.m. with events on multiple stages and amenities for the whole family.  Visit our website at centrum.org for details.  Children 18 and under are admitted free.  The art installation will be viewable between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. PST in Building 305 at the Fort Worden campus.

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Tom Pich, a native New Yorker and professional photographer for over 37 years has specialized in the corporate sector of Wall Street. In the late eighties he covered assignments for the National Football League, Major League Baseball, and U.S. Olympics for a variety of publications.  In addition to his commercial work, he has photographed National Heritage Fellows and Jazz Masters for the National Endowment for the Arts and assignments for the Smithsonian. His portraiture can be viewed on the NEA website and has been exhibited at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the National Museum of the American Indian, National Museum of African American History and Culture, The Russell Office Building of the U.S. Senate and is on permanent exhibition at the Library of Congress. 

 This exhibition is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, Sage Foundation, Washington State America250, and Centrum