What's New
Attention San Francisco Bay Area Folk, Traditional, and Tradition-Based
Artists, Organizations, and Advocates!
The Alliance for California Traditional Arts has launched its Traditional
Arts Roundtable Series, a free, participatory monthly series of gatherings
at various locations in San Francisco for folk, traditional, and tradition-based
artists and arts advocates.
Sessions focus on specific themes and offer opportunities to engage
in discussion, networking, and technical assistance in order to develop
local, critical community amongst folk and traditional artists and their
allies.
To receive announcements regarding the rest of this series, please contact
us, call (415) 346-3800, or check for updates on our website. This
pilot series is made possible with support from the San
Francisco Arts Commission’s Cultural Equity Grants Program.
Join us for these upcoming sessions! Only three more roundtables in
2008!
To Be Traditional Is To Be Political: Folk and Traditional Arts as a
Vehicle for Social Change
Date: Thursday, June 5, 2008
Time: 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Location: Global Exchange, 2017 Mission Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco,
94110
Featured Participants:
Melody Takata – Director, Gen Taiko
Pimm Allen – Arts Coordinator, United Indian Health Services
Regina Califa Calloway – vivaARTS Network
In a time of innovation and globalization, how can one articulate one’s
power in practicing traditional arts? How can one develop into
a cultural organizer? This session looks at the strategic ways in which
one can consider their traditional arts practice as a means to mobilize
communities and make one’s voice heard. Includes discussing the
role of culture bearers as community leaders, best practices, politics
and cultural identity, and sharing of social justice resources and organizations.
How To Grow Your Project, How to Know When to Stop: A Discussion on
Organizational Sustainability by People in the Trenches
Date: Monday, June 23, 2008
Time: 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Location: Intersection for the Arts, 446 Valencia Street, San Francisco,
94103
Featured Participants:
Denise Pate – Arts Consultant
Marcia Treidler, Artistic Director, ABADÁ Capoeira
Jennifer Walsh, Executive Director – ABADÁ Capoeira
Suzy Thompson – Director, Berkeley Old Time Music Convention
John Daly – Executive Director, Croatian Cultural Center
Facilitated by culturally competent arts consultant Denise Pate, who
works closely with a diverse range of culturally specific groups and
organizations throughout the Bay Area, this session will highlight successful
and hopeful models of long term sustainability of traditional arts programs,
practices, festivals and teaching, and the pitfalls and challenges which
often arise with such grassroots efforts, including burn out, volunteer
engagement, where’s the money?, and tempering growth in the face
of popular response.
The Role of New Technology in Traditional Arts
Date: Tuesday, July 19, 2009
Time: 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Location: Bay Area Video Coalition, 2727 Mariposa Street, 2nd Floor,
San Francisco, 94110
Featured Participants:
Anuradha Sridhar - South Indian classical Carnatic violin musician
Eugene Chan – Director of Technology, Community Technology Foundation
Chike Nwoffiah - Director, Oriki Theater; filmmaker
Join us to discuss examples of online and media tools for traditional
arts promotion, learning and cultural transmission, strategies to bridge
the digital divide, new network developments online and online-only trends
respective to opportunities and application/proposal processes.
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California Artists Featured on New Release from Smithsonian
Folkways Recordings
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Amor, Dolor y Lágrimas: Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.
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On May 20, 2008, Smithsonian
Folkways Recordings released Amor, Dolor
y Lágrimas: Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano, a collection of música
ranchera songs performed and arranged by the California-based ensemble Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano. Amor,
Dolor y Lágrimas (Love, Hurt and Tears) reflects the rich rural tradition at the core of música
ranchera (ranch music), one of Mexico’s most beloved musical traditions.
The GRAMMY-winning Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano,
under the direction of Jesús “Chuy” Guzman, brings an authentic
voice to the tradition and history of the música ranchera and
mariachi music. Mariachi Los Camperos was founded in Los Angeles
in 1961 by Nati Cano. Nati Cano was awarded a National
Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1990 and is
an emeritus member of the Alliance’s founding board of directors.
Read more about Amor,
Dolor y Lágrimas on the
Alliance's website.To purchase Amor, Dolor y Lágrimas, please visit Smithsonian Folkways
Recordings’ website.
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New Website Captures the History and Experience of
Women in Mariachi
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Photo courtesy of Mujeres en el Mariachi
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A new website, Mujeres
en el Mariachi, seeks to capture the history and experience of
women participating in this traditionally male genre of music. The
website features historical and biographical information on the women
pioneers of mariachi music in Mexico and the U.S.; introduces the
Mariachi Pioneras de Mexico, a touring group recently formed in Mexico
City featuring surviving pioneers from the 1950s; and collects information
about female mariachi musicians throughout the world.
All female mariachi musicians – both individuals and all-female
ensembles – are invited to help document the growing female mariachi
movement by visiting
the website to register themselves and participate in a survey.
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Radio Bilingüe Launches Digital Archive Project
Radio Bilingüe,
an international Latino public radio network, recently launched
a new web-based archival project that will preserve thousands of
hours of cultural programming.
Radio Bilingüe, producer of the annual ¡Viva el Mariachi!
Festival in Fresno, has long emphasized the traditional arts in
its programming, and this emphasis is reflected in its new digital
archives. Programs of special interest to the traditional
arts – like interviews with historic figures such as the legendary
Tejano music folksinger Lydia Mendoza and singer/composer Lalo Guerrero, “the
father of Chicano music” – are among those archived
in the new digital collection.
The archives, which are available in streaming audio, are easy
to browse and feature bilingual text program summaries and interactive
web tools.
The archives are accessible through Radio
Bilingüe’s website.
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Website Launched to Connect California’s Dance
Community
The California
Dance Network has recently completed a redesign of its website
that creates a dynamic, user driven network that is California’s
first and only comprehensive aggregator of dance news and information. The
site accomplishes this through an interactive mix of resources,
including personal profiles, event listings, feeds of media coverage
on dance, featured articles, and a map that offers a visual tool
for understanding dance in California.
Dancers and dance groups in California are invited to log
on to the website and create a personal and/or organizational
profile with pictures and video, and post events to the online
calendar.
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Center for Cultural Innovation Releases New Book Business
of Art: An Artist’s Guide to Profitable Self-Employment
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Center for Cultural Innovation’s Business of Art
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The Center for
Cultural Innovation announces the publication of Business
of Art: An Artist’s Guide to Profitable Self-Employment, a
comprehensive resource guide providing basic information on the
ways that artists can independently organize, sustain, and advance
their artistic careers in the United States.
Written by an experienced team of trainers from the business and
nonprofit sectors, this book covers basic business principles that
artists working in all disciplines may use to successfully manage
their creative careers. Contents include information on career
and business planning, marketing and promotion, money management,
legal issues for artists, and how to get funding for artists’ work.
To purchase Business of Art: An Artist’s Guide to Profitable
Self-Employment, please visit
the Center for Cultural Innovation’s website.
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Funding
The Alliance's Traditional Arts Development Program
Deadline: Ongoing
The Alliance’s
Traditional Arts Development Program makes contracts up to $1,500 to support consultancies, mentorships, and travel opportunities that foster a new level of growth for individual folk & traditional artists and organizations engaged in this field in California. Requested services may be focused on organizational, program, and/or artistic development goals. Individual artists and cultural practitioners, as well as organizations, whether incorporated or not, may apply.
A sampling of past contracts include:
Artistic Mentorships
Gen Taiko (San Francisco), an organization dedicated to promoting,
preserving and presenting Japanese traditional arts including taiko (traditional
Japanese drumming), traditional folk dance, and folk song forms. Its artistic
director, Melody Takata, was trained by National Heritage Fellow Madame Fujima
Kansuma to learn the Nihon Buyo (Japanese classical) dance called Kojo No Tsuki
(Moonlit Castle Ruins). Ms. Takata taught the dance to four of her students
and performed it at Gen Taiko’s 10th Anniversary Concert in November
2005.
Organizational Consultancies:
Kwashi Amevuvor (Los Angeles), a master drummer from Ghana, West
Africa, worked with consultant Janet Planet, who assisted him with marketing
and web design to develop professional promotional materials to publicize the
work of the artist and the traditional cultural arts of Ghana. In addition,
Ms. Planet’s consultancy supported Mr. Amevuvor’s efforts in organizing
a cultural study tour of Ghana.
Travel Opportunities
The Eszterlánc Hungarian Folk Ensemble (Foster City) traveled
to Southern California to perform for an audience of over two thousand at the
annual Magyar Sajtónap (Hungarian Press Day) hosted by the newspaper
California Hungarians. At this event Eszterlanc dancers had the opportunity
to perform with members of the Karpatok Folk Ensemble of Southern California,
which is led by Istvan Szabo.
Requests for organizational consultancies, artistic mentoring, and
travel support may be submitted to the Alliance at any time. Download
the application and application instructions from the Alliance’s website or
call (559) 237-9812 to request a copy be mailed to you.
The Alliance’s Traditional Arts Development Program is supported
by grants from the California
Arts Council, the Walter
and Elise Haas Fund, and the National
Endowment for the Arts.
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Native Arts @ NEFA / Native Arts Exchange
New England Fondation for the Arts
Deadline – Ongoing
The Native Artist Exchange, a program of the New England Foundation for the
Arts (NEFA), provides support for Native artists residing in any of the 50
United States to travel to different regions of the country so that they may
exchange artistic knowledge and skills. This fund is designed to encourage
and assist American Indian, Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian artists, and
provides an opportunity for Native artists to teach, learn, and collaborate
in traditional and/or contemporary Native art forms through travel from one
region to another across the nation.
For more information, including guidelines and application materials, visit
the New England Foundation for the Arts’ website.
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The Guitar Center Music Foundation
Deadline: Ongoing
The Guitar Center Music Foundation’s mission is to aid nonprofit music
programs across America that offer music instruction so that more people
can experience the joys of making music.
The Guitar Center Music Foundation accepts grant applications throughout
the year from 501(c)(3) organizations that offer music instruction programs
to participants of any age. The applicant program must successfully
enhance the state of music education in the United States. The Grant
Committee reviews all applications three times yearly, and grant awards
range from $500 to $5,000.
For more information visit
the Guitar Center Music Foundation’s website.
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The Guitar Center Music Foundation
Deadline – Ongoing
The Guitar Center Music Foundation’s mission is to aid nonprofit music
programs across America that offer music instruction so that more people
can experience the joys of making music.
The Guitar Center Music Foundation accepts grant applications throughout
the year from 501(c)(3) organizations that offer music instruction
programs to participants of any age. The applicant program must successfully
enhance the state of music education in the United States. The Grant
Committee reviews all applications three times yearly, and grant awards
range from $500 to $5,000.
For more information visit
the Guitar Center Music Foundation’s website.
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Investing in Artists
Center for Cultural Innovation
Deadline – June 6, 2008
The Investing in Artists grants program is designed to
enhance the working lives and creative environment for California
artists by funding tools and market strategies that will
allow them to create their best work more consistently and
distribute that work more broadly to new audiences. To
support those aims, Investing in Artists provides grants
in two categories: 1) Artistic Equipment & Tools and
2) Presenting & Marketing Work. In this third round
of funding, applications will only be accepted in the Artistic
Equipment & Tools category and in the Presenting & Marketing
Work Implementation category.
For more information, including guidelines and application
materials, visit
the Center for Cultural Innovation’s website.
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Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth
National Endowment for the Arts
Deadline – June 9, 2008
Learning in the Arts grants are designed to advance arts
education for children and youth in school-based or community-based
settings. This category supports in-depth, curriculum-based
arts education experiences that occur over an extended period.
Projects must provide participatory learning and engage
students with skilled artists, teachers, and excellent art.
All projects must include the following components: 1)
the opportunity for students and their teachers to experience
exemplary works of art, in live form wherever possible;
2) study of the art experienced including the acquisition
of skills for practicing the art form where appropriate;
3) the performance/making of art within the discipline(s)
studied; and 4) assessment of student learning according
to national or state arts education standards.
For more information, including guidelines and
instructions to apply, visit
the National Endowment for the Arts’ website.
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California Story Fund
California Council for the Humanities
Deadline: July 1, 2008
A small grants program to fund unique story projects
in communities throughout the state. The projects that
make up the California Story Fund provide opportunities
for individual Californians to contribute their stories
to the evolving story of our state.
The Council will award competitive grants of up to $10,000
twice a year for public humanities programs that bring
to light compelling stories from California's diverse
communities and provide opportunities for collective reflection
and public discussion. The Council is especially interested
in projects that will engage California youth in interpreting
and reflecting on their experience through humanities-based
programming.
For more information, including guidelines and application
materials, visit
the California Council for the Humanities’ website.
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Access to Artistic Development
National Endowment for the Arts
Deadline: August 11, 2008
Access to Artistic Excellence encourages and supports
artistic creativity, preserves our diverse cultural
heritage, and makes the arts more widely available in
communities throughout the country. While projects in
this category may focus on just one of these areas,
the Arts Endowment recognizes that many of the most
effective projects encompass both artistic excellence
and enhanced access.
For more information, including guidelines and application
instructions, visit
the National Endowment for the Arts’ website.
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2008 Choreographer Collaboration Awards
Deadline: August 14, 2008
The Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation and The William
and Flora Hewlett Foundation are pleased to announce their
2008 Choreographer Collaboration Awards Program. The foundations
will provide up to six grants of $75,000 each for the commission
and premiere of six major new dance compositions, created
by California choreographers in collaboration with other
California artists.
These grants will be available to nonprofit Bay Area arts
presenting organizations. They will be aimed at California
choreographers of great merit, each working in close collaboration
with another California artist of their choosing (choreographer,
composer, playwright, digital media artist, filmmaker, designer
or other). The resulting dance compositions will have their
world premiere public performances in the Bay Area between
December 2009 and June 2011. Proposed commissions for original
works in any dance style or format will be accepted. Applicant
organizations must be nonprofit and based in the counties
of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Santa Clara, San
Francisco, San Mateo, Solano or Sonoma.
For more information, including guidelines and application
materials, please visit
the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation’s website.
Living Cultures Grants Program
Alliance for California Traditional Arts
Deadline: July 15, 2008
The
Alliance’s Living Cultures Grants Program funds nonprofit
organizations to support exemplary projects in the traditional
arts in California. Approximately 35-40 grants
of up to $7,500 will be made in this funding cycle. Descriptions
of previously funded projects are available on
the Alliance’s website.
Guidelines and application forms are now available
online. Alternatively, please call (415) 346-5200
to request a copy be mailed to you. The postmark
deadline for submission of proposals is August July 15,
2008. Alliance staff is always available to discuss
the program and is happy to work with first-time grant
seekers.
The Living Cultures Grants Program is a project
of the Alliance for California Traditional Arts in partnership
with The
Walter & Elise Haas Fund, The
William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, and The
James Irvine Foundation. Additional support provided
by the California
Arts Council, the California
Community Foundation, and The
San Francisco Foundation.
For More Information Contact
Lily Kharrazi
Living Cultures Grants Program Manager
(415) 346-5200
Email
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Apprenticeship Program
Alliance for California Traditional Arts
Deadline: August 1, 2008
The
Alliance’s Apprenticeship Program encourages the continuation
of the state’s traditional arts and cultures by contracting
master artists to offer intensive, one-on-one training to
qualified apprentices. Each contract will support
a period of concentrated learning for individuals who have
shown a commitment to and a talent for a specific artistic
tradition. Contracts of $3,000
will be made with California-based master artists to cover
master artist’s fees, supplies, and travel. Information
about past Alliance apprenticeships is available at on
the Alliance’s website.
Guidelines and application forms are now available
online. Alternatively, please call (415) 346-3800
to request a copy be mailed to you. The postmark deadline
for submission of applications is August 1, 2008.
The Alliance’s Apprenticeship Program is funded
by The
Columbia Foundation, the Fresno
Arts Council, The
Walter & Elise
Haas Fund, The
James Irvine Foundation, and the National
Endowment for the Arts. Additional support provided
by the California Arts
Council, the California
Community Foundation, and The
San Francisco Foundation.
For More Information Contact
Sherwood Chen
Associate Director
(415) 346-3800
Email
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Creative Connections Fund
James Irvine Foundation
Deadline: August 1, 2008
The Creative Connections Fund supports creativity and the
expansion of diverse, relevant cultural offerings in local
communities across California and primarily outside
the San Francisco Bay Area. The Creative Connections
Fund aims to reach small and midsize arts organizations
with a diversity of projects and ideas. The Fund offers
project grants of up to $50,000, over one or two years,
through an open, competitive review process
For more information, including guidelines and
application materials, visit
the James Irvine Foundation’s website.
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Scandinavian Cultural Exchange
American-Scandinavian Foundation
Deadline: August 15, 2008 and October 1, 2008
The American-Scandinavian Foundation promotes the cultures of the
Nordic countries in the United States and American culture in the
Nordic countries by encouraging programs that will enhance public
appreciation of culture, art, and thought. In establishing priorities,
the Foundation considers the lasting benefits that may be achieved
by any grant, and favors projects where its contribution will complement
support from other sources.
For more information, including guidelines and application materials, visit
the American-Scandinavian Foundation’s website.
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Opportunities & Resources
Proposal Writing for Arts Organizations and How to Apply for the
James Irvine Foundation’s Creative Connections Fund.
Learn valuable proposal writing skills and hear insider tips on
how to apply to the James Irvine Foundation’s new Creative Connections
Fund at this two-part program offered at several sites in California.
Thanks to sponsorship from the James Irvine Foundation, this program
is offered free of charge, and all attendees will receive a free
copy of The Foundation Center’s Guide to Winning
Proposals and The
Foundation Center’s Guide to Proposal Writing.
Los Angeles
Monday, June 16, 2008 – 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Japanese American Cultural and Community Center
244 S. San Pedro Street, Suite 505
Los Angeles, California 90012
Santa Barbara
Tuesday, June 17, 2008 – 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
2559 Puesta del Sol
Santa Barbara, California 93105
Salinas
Thursday, June 19, 2008 – 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
National Steinbeck Museum
1 Main Street
Salinas, California 93901
Fresno
Thursday, June 26, 2008 – 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
UC Merced Center
550 East Shaw Avenue
Fresno, California 93710
Santa Ana
Wednesday, July 2, 2008 – 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
Bowers Museum
2002 N. Main Street
Santa Ana, California 92706
For more information, or to register, visit
the Foundation Center’s website.
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Online Training Courses to Master Proposal Writing
The Foundation Center hosts several online training courses
in proposal writing. The Statement of Need helps novice
or inexperienced grantseekers master a critical component of proposal
writing – preparing a statement of need. The Project Description is
an in-depth look into the preparation and writing of the project
description section of a proposal. The Budget demystifies
the preparation of the project budget included in funding proposals. The
Comprehensive Course is a thorough, step-by-step guide to preparing
an effective proposal for foundation support, covering every section
of the proposal. The courses include interactive exercises and
assignments, case studies, a final exam, and a printable certificate
of completion. Lessons can be taken at any pace, and can be reviewed
often. For more information visit
the Foundation Center’s website.
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FEATURES
What's New
Funding
Events
Opportunities & Resources
ABOUT ACTA
The Alliance for California Traditional Arts strives to "ensure
California's future holds California's past" by providing programs
and services to support the state's diverse living cultural heritage.
The Alliance cultivates the growth of traditional arts and culture through
Stewardship, Services to Artists, and Connection-Making.
Support ACTA
CONTACT ACTA
Website:
http://www.actaonline.org Staff:
Amy Kitchener, Executive
Director
akitch@actaonline.org
559.237.9813
Sherwood Chen, Associate Director
sherwood@actaonline.org
415.346.3800
Lily Kharrazi, Living Cultures Grants Program Manager
lilyk@actaonline.org
415.346.5200
Suzanne Hildebrand, Administrative Coordinator
The New Moon Editor
stoler@actaonline.org
559.237.9812
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Robert Arroyo, V.P. of Finance & Administration
Retired Instructor of Political Science & Chicano/Latino
Studies, Fresno City College;
Retired Administrator, Fresno City College
Kingsburg, CA
Melanie Beene
Executive Director, Community Initiative Funds
San Francisco Foundation
San Francisco, CA
Jo Farb Hernandez, Secretary
Director, Natalie
and James Thompson Art Gallery, School of Art and Design, San Jose
State University
Director, SPACES
Principal, Curatorial and Museum Management Services
Watsonville, CA
Joel Jacinto,
Executive Director, Search
to Involve Pilipino Americans
Los Angeles, CA
Sojin Kim, Ph.D.
Curator,History Department, Natural
History Museum of Los Angeles County
Los Angeles, CA
Amy Kitchener (ex officio)
Executive Director, ACTA
Fresno, CA
Frank LaPena
Professor Emeritus, American Indian Studies, CSU Sacramento;
Traditional Maidu dance master; Visual Visual Artist
Sacramento, CA
Malcolm Margolin
Founder and Publisher, Heyday
Books
Executive Director, Heyday
Institute
Berkeley , CA
Libby Maynard
Co-founder and Executive Director, Ink
People Center for the Arts
Eureka, CA
Chike Nwoffiah, V.P. of External Development
Executive Director, Oriki
Theatre
Mountain View, CA
Peter Pennekamp, Executive Director
Humboldt Area
Foundation
Bayside, CA
Charlie Seemann, Board President
Executive Director, Western
Folklife Center
Elko, NV
Daniel Sheehy, Ph.D.
V.P. of Governance
CEO, Smithsonian
Folkways Recordings
Washington, D.C.
Deborah Wong, Ph.D.
Professor of Music
University of California, Riverside
Honorary
Bess Lomax Hawes
Retired Former Director, Folk & Traditional Arts Program, National Endowment for the Arts
Woodland Hills, CA
FUNDERS
THE COLUMBIA FOUNDATION
EVENTS
Mi Coche – My Culture: Livin’ the
Lowrider Lifestyle
Kumeyaay:
Indigenous People of Southern California
Tribute to Pedro Infante
National Dishes
30th Annual San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival
Chhandam School of Kathak Classes in Southern California
2008 Fresh Meat Festival
22nd Annual Japanese Cultural Fair
Festival of Solos
18th Annual California Indian Basketweavers Association Gathering
Camp Fareta
Haitian Arts and Cultural Festival
Festival of Solos
Rhythmic Relations 2008
Ho'ailona: Forces of Nature
Tercera Raiz
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Proceeds from the plate sales will benefit the California Arts Council (CAC).
To subscribe to the weekly CAC Update, please visit
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