Last month, the James Irvine Foundation released their recent research concerning cultural engagement in California's inland regions.  Irvine commissioned WolfBrown and the Alliance for California Traditional Arts to investigate patterns of cultural engagement in the San Joaquin Valley and the Inland Empire. These two rapidly growing, ethnically diverse regions of California have a combined population of nearly eight million people. The study surveyed more than 6,000 people and uncovered a range of cultural activity in music, theater and drama, reading and writing, dance, and visual arts and crafts — much of which occurs off the radar of the traditional infrastructure of nonprofit arts organizations and facilities.

In commissioning this research, the James Irvine Foundation aims to develop a broader, more inclusive definition of cultural engagement; to take stock of patterns of engagement in the two regions; and to gain a sense of how it might support culture in these areas more equitably and more effectively. Study results paint a detailed picture of cultural engagement and suggest new opportunities for cultural service providers and funders.

The study is publicly available and can be downloaded from the James Irvine Foundation's website.

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An Apprenticeship in Chinese Gu Zheng

Master Artist Weishan Liu (left) instructs apprentice Regina Ngo in a private lesson at Liu’s mirrored home studio in San Francisco, overflowing with Gu Zheng for use by her many students. Photo: Sherwood Chen

By Sherwood Chen, Associate Director and Apprenticeship Program Manager, Alliance for California Traditional Arts

Master musician Weishan Liu’s intimate San Francisco flat teems with Gu Zheng, the classical Chinese zither that originated during the Warring Period over 2,500 years ago, considered to be one of the oldest zithers in the world.   They fill her home studio where she conducts classes with many students, young and old, and at times, one or two overflow into an adjacent room by the kitchen, where 15-year old apprentice Regina Ngo occasionally practices long hours while Liu weaves her watchful musical guidance over Ngo with her other daily duties including teaching other students in the front studio, managing daily affairs or cooking a pot of soup from her home. Having worked together for eight years since Regina was introduced to Liu at age seven, the two are current participants in the Alliance’s Apprenticeship Program.

Read more about Weishan Liu and Regina Ngo’s apprenticeship in Chinese Gu Zheng on the Alliance’s website.

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An Apprenticeship in South Indian Bharata Natyam

Master artist Viji Prakash (left) and apprentice Kasi Aysola in Prakash’s West Los Angeles dance studio. Photo: Sherwood Chen

By Sherwood Chen, Associate Director and Apprenticeship Program Manager, Alliance for California Traditional Arts

Los Angeles-based master artist Viji Prakash is a current participant in the Alliance’s Apprenticeship Program alongside 17-year old apprentice Kasi Aysola of Reseda, conducting lessons in South Indian Bharata Natyam at Prakash’s studio in Cheviot Hills, West Los Angeles. 

Bharata Natyam is one of the oldest performing art forms from Southern India, originating in temples and handed down over millennia through the Devadasi and Nattuvanar traditions.  The form plays a vital role in temple rituals and prayers and draws heavily from Hindu texts and scriptures.  Bharata Natyam portrays Hindu mythology and deities through rhythmic footwork, stylized hand gestures and postures and incorporates nritta (pure dance), nritya (a mixture of pure dance and interpretive dance) and natya (mime).  Abhinaya—the nuanced facial expressions needed to covey emotion—plays an important role in the form.  In its totality, Prakash explains, “Bharata Natyam keeps its students in touch with the roots and heritage of India through the storytelling and morals and values that further reinforce Hindu values.”

Read more about Viji Prakash and Kasi Aysola’s apprenticeship in South Indian Bharata Natyam on the Alliance’s website.

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An Apprenticeship in North Indian Hindustani Tabla

Master musician Arshad Syed (left) plays santoor to train apprentice Vikas Yendluri (center) to accompany him on tabla while Yendluri’s mother Laxmi Yendluri enjoys the extemporaneous performance in Syed’s home studio in Fremont.  In the course of the tabla apprenticeship, Syed would regularly play an unspecified raag on the santoor for Yendluri to accompany in order to mimic real life music accompaniment situations.  As Syed improvises on the raag, Yendluri must find proper times to enter in order to match his guru, and to develop appropriate improvised tabla solos. Photo: Sherwood Chen

By Vikas Yendluri

Editor’s Note: Master artist Arshad Syed and apprentice Vikas Yendluri are current participants in the Alliance’s Apprenticeship Program, conducting an apprenticeship in North Indian Hindustani tabla music.  In the following article, Yendluri discusses North Indian Hindustani tabla music and his experiences as Syed’s apprentice.

I enter a room, hands together as if about to pray, and say Namaste to Arshadji. The salutation literally means, “I bow down to you,” a form of respect to a master who humbly sits cross-legged on the ground, eager to teach. But the greeting is not just towards my teacher, but also to an instrument and the tradition that accompanies it.

Twice a week, I visit the residence of my guru, Arshad Syed, for tabla lessons. Arshadji, as his students respectfully call him, is one of the foremost exponents of the tabla worldwide.  Amongst his accomplished works are recordings with the Diga Rhythm Band, Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, the Rhythm Experience with Zakir Hussain, as well as fusion works with bands like Ancient Future and Flamenco guitarists in Spain. Yet Arshadji dedicates a lot of his time to teaching, guiding over a hundred students since 1974. As he says, “It is very fulfilling to be a performer, but it is even more fulfilling to produce students who can perform, and the ultimate reward is if you can produce a student who can carry on the tradition.” I began lessons with Arshadji when I was five, and have continued for twelve years since. Surrounded by family members who have also learned tabla from Arshadji, trained in traditional Indian dance, and promoted concerts for Indian classical music, I have been motivated since a young age to pursue music. Beyond all the work expected of a high school student, I spend every free moment I can grab practicing an art form that requires years of dedication to become a novice, decades to become proficient, and a lifetime to become a professional.

Read more about Arshad Syed and Vikas Yendluri’s apprenticeship in North Indian Hindustani tabla on the Alliance’s website.

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An Apprenticeship in Japanese Nihon Buyo

Fujima Kansuma’s daughter and assistant Miyako Tachibana (left), apprentice Melody Takata (middle), and master artist Fujima Kansuma. Photo: Sojin Kim

By Sojin Kim, Curator, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County; Board Member; Alliance for California Traditional Arts

Editor’s Note: Master artist Fujima Kansum and apprentice Melody Takata participated in Round 7 of the Alliance’s Apprenticeship Program, conducting an apprenticeship in Japanese Nihon Buyo, or Japanese classical dance.

It is only a few weeks before Christmas, and the last day of classes before the holiday break. The long hallway leading up to the dance studio is humming with activity and energy, each side lined with an assortment of shoes and slippers, knapsacks and bundled street clothes, and festive gift bags guarding presents for the highly regarded instructor Madame Fujima Kansuma.

The date is December 15, 2007; the place, the fourth floor of the Japanese Cultural and Community Center in the heart of Los Angeles’s Little Tokyo neighborhood. It is here that Fujima Kansuma trains her legions of students in Nihon Buyo, Japanese classical dance. The compact studio is a converted office space fitted with a raised wooden dance floor, a mirrored wall, and a sound system. When the students are dancing, there is just enough room in the entryway for a few observing parents and waiting dancers to sit beside Kansuma Sensei, who presides over the class—an elegant and commanding presence—from a chair in the corner. The recipient of a 1987 NEA National Heritage Fellow—the United State’s highest award honoring traditional artists—Fujima Kansuma is recognized internationally as a master dancer and teacher. Working professionally for sixty years, she has trained over 2000 students, 47 of whom have received their natori, the equivalent in the traditional system of Japanese performing arts of completing a formal degree.

Read more about Fujima Kansuma and Melody Takata’s apprenticeship in Japanese Nihon Buyo 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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Artists’ Resource for Completion
The Durfee Foundation

Deadline: November 3, 2008
Restricted to Los Angeles County

The Artists' Resource for Completion (ARC) grants provide rapid, short-term assistance to individual artists in Los Angeles County who wish to enhance work for a specific, imminent opportunity that may significantly benefit their careers.  Artists in any discipline are eligible to apply.  The applicant must already have secured an invitation from an established arts organization to present the proposed work.  The work must be scheduled for presentation within six months of the application deadline.  (The November 3 deadline is for presentation start dates between December 16, 2008 and May 4, 2009.)

For more information visit the Durfee 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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Fellowships for Native and First Nations Artists
Indian Arts Research Center

Deadline: January 15, 2009

The Indian Arts Research Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is inviting Native and First Nations artists to apply for its upcoming fellowships.

The IARC fellowships were established to support Native American and First Nations artists at the Indian Arts Research Center at the School of Advanced Research in any medium.  The fellowships include a $3,000 per month stipend, housing, and a studio, as well as travel and material allowances.

Upcoming fellowship are the Ronald and Susan Dubin Fellowship (June 15 to August 15, 2009) and the Rollin and Mary Ella King Fellowship (September 1 to December 1, 2009).  Both have a deadline of January 15, 2009.

For more information visit the Indian Arts Research Center’s website.

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ARTOGRAPHY: Arts in a Changing America
Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC)

Deadline: January 30, 2009

This unique program offers mid-sized arts organizations the opportunity to engage in a national dialogue about what it means to function at the intersection of evolving cultures and artistic expression.  ARTOGRAPHY offers general operating grants and other funding opportunities to qualified applicants.

LINC is now accepting preliminary proposals online.  Please visit the web site for complete guidelines and to learn more about the program.

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Artists Resource for Completion
Durfee Foundation
Restricted to Los Angeles County

Deadline: February 3, 2009

The Artists' Resource for Completion (ARC) grants provide rapid, short-term assistance to individual artists in Los Angeles County who wish to enhance work for a specific, imminent opportunity that may significantly benefit their careers.  Artists in any discipline are eligible to apply.  The applicant must already have secured an invitation from an established arts organization to present the proposed work.  The work must be scheduled for presentation within six months of the application deadline.  (The February 3, 2009, deadline is for presentation start dates between March 16, 2009, and August 3, 2009.)

For more information visit the Durfee Foundation’s website.

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Master Musician Fellowships
Durfee Foundation
Restricted to Los Angeles County

Deadline: February 12, 2009

The Durfee Master Musician Fellowship program supports master musicians in Los Angeles County to teach their craft to advanced students.  The purpose of the program is to support the passing of musical skills to a next generation of artists through intensive apprenticeships.

Priority will be given to artists whose musical traditions are not widely taught at established institutions; jazz and new music are unlikely to be funded. Candidates must have an accomplished record of performance, as well as demonstrated teaching experience. Grant recipients will be expected to devote a significant portion of their time to teaching for the duration of the two-year grant period. In addition to the cash award, the program provides significant technical assistance toward building the musicians' careers during the Fellowship.

For more information visit the Durfee Foundation’s website.

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Opportunities & Resources

Health Insurance for Artists: Information and Resources

According to the Urban Institute's 2003 study, Investing in Creativity: A Study of the Support Structure for U.S. Artists, access to quality, affordable healthcare is one of the most difficult challenges facing artists today in the U.S.  Indeed, it is one of the most difficult challenges facing many Americans.  Artists in the workforce, in particular, exhibit a clear need for better information about healthcare and health insurance options, and about how to improve access to resources locally.

In an effort to deliver information and resources to artists, organizations, and communities on options for affordable, local healthcare and health insurance, The Artists Health Insurance Resource Center (AHIRC) and Leveraging Investments in Creativity (LINC), both in partnership with the Actors Fund, have compiled extensive information regarding health insurance and healthcare for artists.  The information is available to everyone without charge.

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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

Huellas, Reflejos y Sombras

Evolution of a Sacred Space: Días de los Muertos 2008

Cara vemos, corazones no sabemos: Faces Seen, Hearts Unknown: The Human Landscape of Mexican Migration

Shibui – The Subtle Beauty of Japanese Craft

The Shape of Things: Paper Traditions and Transformations

Hula for Kupuna

Kumeyaay: Indigenous People of Southern California

Village of the So So Women

Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir’s 23rd Annual Holiday Concert

Gamelan Sekar Jaya

Puerto Rican Music and Dance

Mariachi Christmas

2008 San Francisco Parol Lantern Festival & Parade

Natividad en Whittier

Arab Orchestra of San Francisco

Wikitmallem Tahmuwhae (Singing the Birds): Bird Song and Dance Festival

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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 their website.