Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,I,C-Batavia) today announced local folk artist Nils Caspersson of Holley has been awarded a Strategic Opportunity Stipend that will support a trip to Sweden to research and refine his craft of dulcimer making.

The highly competitive program received nearly $11,000 in requests from 18 artists. Only eight were chosen for the stipend.

The award, offered by the Arts and Cultural Council for Greater Rochester, will range between three and six hundred dollars.

“Grants such as this are vital to maintaining the arts in our region and identifying talented artists like Nils Caspersson, to hone their skills and put their wonderful talents on display for all of us to enjoy,” said Hawley.

Upon his return from Sweden, Caspersson will apply his research to an interactive performance program related to the origins of the dulcimer.

The wooden handcrafted instrument, traditionally with only three strings, is America’s oldest folk instrument and is regarded as a truly authentic American creation.

Strategic Opportunity Stipends, available to all artists of all disciplines, are awarded three times per year. Artists from the following ten counties may apply to the Arts and Cultural Council for Greater Rochester: Cayuga, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming, and Yates by May 24.

Assemblyman Hawley is encouraging interested artists with questions to contact his Albion district office at (585) 589-5780 for more information.