During Amy’s temporary absence, Prudy is happy to assist the Alliance’s constituents in any way she can.  Please feel free to contact her at (415) 346-8700 or via email.

Read more about Prudy and her experience in the arts nonprofit sector on the Alliance’s website.

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The Khene: A Quintessential Lao Instrument

Clockwise, from top left: Apprentice Monty Bouasone, Sangkhom Chomthong, master artist Bounseung Synanonh, and Kami Thepphavong under the mulberry tree outside Fresno Interdenominational Refugee Ministries where master and apprentice practice the khene weekly. Photo: Sherwood Chen

By Kami Thepphavong

If you are ever in search of a Lao community, all you have to do is follow the sounds of the khene, and you will surely find yourself surrounded by a culture filled with wonderful and rich traditional music. Of all our traditional musical instruments, none is as popular or as well respected as the khene (also spelled kaen or khaen).

Physically, the khene, a mouth organ, is a very simple instrument constructed from bamboo. However, when you put an experienced player behind the instrument, it can create sounds as soothing and soft as the winds gently blowing between bamboo stalks in our faraway country of Laos, or as fast and upbeat as a “top 10” pop song. This instrument of choice is often played at significant events such as weddings, baci ceremonies, house-warming parties, and festivals.

Read more about Kami Thepphavong’s experience with the khene on the Alliance’s website.

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An Apprenticeship in Scottish Highland Bagpipes

Basking in the long notes: “It is an oral tradition,” master artist Ian Whitelaw asserts about Scottish Highland Piobaireachd bagpipe music. “The master sits with the apprentice and that’s the way they always did it.” Whitelaw (right) lives by his word in a lesson with apprentice Earl Braten in a home studio in San Francisco. Photo: Sherwood Chen

By Sherwood Chen

Master Highland bagpiper Ian Whitelaw of Redondo Beach is a current participant in the Alliance for California Traditional Arts’ Apprenticeship Program with apprentice Earl Braten of Tracy. The focus of their apprenticeship is on the Scottish Highland bagpiping musical tradition of Piobaireachd, a form of music which had been well developed by the late 16th century in Scotland. The apprenticeship focuses on Braten’s memorization of up to four of the pieces, one at a time, and learning the nuances and depth contained in the music, under Whitelaw’s guidance.

Read more about Ian Whitelaw and Earl Braten’s apprenticeship in Scottish Highland bagpipes on the Alliance’s website.

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An Apprenticeship in American Tap Dance

Tap dance is good for you! Both master artist John Kloss (left) and apprentice Charles John Grant began their tap dance careers as children as a path to health. They demonstrate their abundant vim and vigor during a lesson at City Dance Studios in San Francisco. Photo: Sherwood Chen

By Sherwood Chen

San Francisco-based tap dancer John Kloss is a current participant in the Alliance for California Traditional Arts’ Apprenticeship Program as a master artist with apprentice Charles John Grant from South San Francisco.  The apprenticeship focused on several goals for 15-year old Grant’s development in the American dance tradition which fuses a diverse amalgam of cultural influences, including African drum rhythms and the jigs and reels of North Europe, evolving in conjunction with American jazz music.  (For a general history of rhythm tap, see current Apprenticeship Program participant Tal Oppenheimer’s profile on her apprenticeship with Sam Weber.)

Their apprenticeship goals include ensuring that Grant has the technique, information and tools “to create his own style” by developing his own artistry and creativity in the form; to increase his ability to improvise in the form; to learn progressively complex tap rhythms; and, as Grant states, "I’d like to experience the tap tradition of passing down the knowledge from foot to foot."

Read more about John Kloss and Charles John Grant’s apprenticeship in American tap dance on the Alliance’s website.

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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
The National Native Artists Exchange
New England Foundation 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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GRAMMY Archiving and Preservation Projects

Grammy Foundation
Deadline: October 1, 2008

The GRAMMY Foundation awards grants to organizations and individuals to support efforts that advance the archiving and preservation of the music and recorded sound heritage of the Americas.  The Archiving and Preservation area has two funding categories: (1) Preservation Implementation (between $10,000 and $40,000), and (2) Planning, Assessment and/or Consultation (between $5,000 and $10,000).

For more information visit the GRAMMY Foundation’s website.

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Creative Work Fund

LOI Deadline: December 3, 2008

The Creative Work Fund invites letters of inquiry for projects in which artists and nonprofit organizations collaborate to create new works.  The deadline for receipt of letters of inquiry is 5:00 pm on December 3, 2008.  Each year, the Creative Work Fund considers applications in two broad artistic categories.  This year includes a category for traditional artists.

In applying to the Creative Work Fund, artists are invited to propose collaborations with any kind of 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization.  As examples, past projects have featured partnerships between artists and arts organizations – orchestras, art galleries, literary journals, and media centers – as well as artists’ collaborations with environmental, legal, health, criminal justice, and social service organizations.

Collaborating artists must reside and organizations must be based in the following counties:  Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, or Stanislaus.  Creative Work Fund grants range from $10,000-$40,000.  For detailed guidelines, please visit Creative Work Fund’s website.

Because the Creative Work Fund represents an unusual opportunity and the program is competitive, its staff presents a series of informational seminars for potential applicants.  For a complete list of available seminars and to register to attend one, please visit Creative Work Fund’s website.

The Creative Work Fund is a program of the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, also supported by generous grants from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and The James Irvine Foundation.

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Opportunities & Resources

California Cultural Data Project
Training Sessions

The California Cultural Data Project (California CDP) is the most ambitious and comprehensive effort ever to gather and analyze information about the contributions of the cultural sector to California’s economy and quality of life.  During the coming year, applicants to many California grant programs will be asked to participate in the California CDP.

The California CDP will host training sessions throughout California on September 8-12, 2008:

Los Angeles
September 8, 2008 – 10:00 am
Santa Monica Main Library
601 Santa Monica Blvd
Santa Monica, California

San Diego
September 10, 2008 – 10:00 am
San Diego Natural History Museum
French Parker Learning Lab
1788 El Prado
San Diego, California

Chula Vista
September 11, 2008 – 10:00 am
Chula Vista Nature Center
1000 Gunpowder Point Drive
Chula Vista, California

Palm Springs
September 12, 2008 – 10:30 am
Palm Springs Art Museum
101 Museum Drive
Palm Springs, California

Please also visit the California Cultural Data Project’s website for updated training session schedules.

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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

Melanie Beene
Executive Director, Community Initiative Funds
San Francisco Foundation
San Francisco, CA

Emmett Castro, V.P. of Finance and Administration
Certified Public Accountant, Castro Accountancy Corporation
Fresno, 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

Amy Rouillard
Senior Programs Manager, California Council for the Humanities
San Diego, California

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

Hula for Kupuna

Kumeyaay: Indigenous People of Southern California

Voces de Valle – Mariachi Night

A Través de Sus Ojos

17th Annual San José Mariachi and Latin Music Festival

Berkeley Old Time Music Convention

Noche Veracruzana

Guqin Workshops

5th Annual Bay Area Hawaiian Film Festival & Cultural Conference

Master of Tradition

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To subscribe to the weekly CAC Update, please visit their website.