WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Endowment for the Arts is honoring 10 new recipients of National Heritage Fellowships in Washington.

The 2012 fellows are chosen for their artistic excellence and their efforts to conserve American culture. They’ll be honored Wednesday and will perform Thursday at George Washington University.

This year’s fellows are: Mike Auldridge, a guitar player from Silver Spring, Md.; Paul and Darlene Bergren, dog sled and snowshoe designers from Minot, N.D.; Harold Burnham, a shipwright from Essex, Mass.; Albert Head, an arts advocate from Alabama; Leonardo Jimenez, a Tejano accordion player from San Antonio, Texas; Lynne Yoshiko Nakasone, an Okinawan dancer from Hawaii; Molly Neptune Parker, a basket maker from Princeton, Maine; The Paschall Brothers, a gospel quartet from Chesapeake, Va.; and Andy Statman, a New York City musician.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)