What's New

Three California Traditional Artists Receive Nation's Highest Honor

Chitresh Das, “Queen” Ida Guillory, and Sophiline Cheam Shapiro Photos courtesy of the National Endowment for the Arts

This month, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced the 2009 recipients of the nation’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts, the NEA National Heritage Fellowships.  Eleven fellowships, which include a one-time award of $25,000 each, were presented to honorees from eight states and Puerto Rico.

The 2009 awardees were chosen for their artistic excellence and contributions to their respective artistic traditions.  They represent a cross-section of ethnic cultures including Cambodian, North Indian, and West African, and promote such diverse traditional art forms as accordion-driven zydeco, willow basketry, and Yoruba sacred song and drumming.

National Endowment for the Arts Acting Chair Patrice Walker Powell said, “The NEA is proud to celebrate these artists whose lifetime of service and dedication preserve our nation's diverse cultural heritage.”

The Alliance for California Traditional Arts congratulates California’s 2009 National Heritage Fellows – Chitresh Das, “Queen” Ida Guillory, and Sophiline Cheam Shapiro!

Read more about California’s 2009 National Heritage Fellows on ACTA’s website.

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An Apprenticeship in South Indian Bharata Natyam

Master Artist Shreelata Suresh (left) and apprentice Ambika Gopalan. Photo: Edward Casati

As current participants in ACTA’s Apprenticeship Program, master artist Shreelata Suresh of San Mateo is working with 16-year old apprentice Ambika Gopalan of San Jose in an apprenticeship in classical South Indian Bharata Natyam.  As one of Suresh’s earliest students since Suresh arrived in the Bay Area, Gopalan has worked with Suresh since 1999 when Gopalan was six years old.  Their apprenticeship this year focuses on nritya—Bharata Natyam’s interpretive and dramatic aspects—and will be grounded in interpreting the oeuvre of celebrated Tamil Nadu poet and freedom fighter Subramanya Bharathiar.

Read more about Shreelata Suresh and Ambika Gopalan’s apprenticeship in South Indian Bharata Natyam on ACTA’s website.

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ACTA’s 2009 San Francisco Bay Area Traditional Arts Roundtable Series

With generous support from the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation and the San Francisco Arts Commission Cultural Equity Grants Program, ACTA launches its 2009 Traditional Arts Roundtable Series in the Bay Area with four sessions for traditional artists, organizations, and community groups:

• Grassroots Fundraising – June 14 (2:00 pm to 6:00 pm)
• La Mesa: A Peer-to-Peer Salon and Clinic – June 30 (6:00 pm to 9:00 pm)
• Work Sample Laboratory – July 18 (1:00 pm to 4:00 pm)
• Sacred Work In A Secular World: Faith-Based Traditional Arts – September 13 (10:00 am to 12:00 pm)

The FREE Traditional Arts Roundtable Series strengthens San Francisco Bay Area intercultural traditional arts networks and leadership, and offers opportunities for traditional artists and arts advocates to learn from one another through intimate discussion, technical assistance, networking, and sharing community-based arts and culture.

Stay tuned for more sessions later this fall and winter.

Read more about this summer’s roundtables on ACTA’s website.

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ACTA Thanks the Taproot Foundation!

ACTA is pleased to announce that it will soon begin work on its second Service Grant from the Taproot Foundation.

Unlike traditional foundations that make cash grants, the Taproot Foundation makes grants of high-quality, professional consulting services, called Service Grants.  Through its Services Grants, the Taproot Foundation provides nonprofit organizations with the tools and services necessary to maximize the impact of their critical work in the community; each Service Grant is executed by a team of professionals who volunteer their time and expertise to help the community.

Earlier this year, ACTA completed its first Service Grant with the Taproot Foundation.  Led by an outstanding team of highly-qualified marketing professionals based in the San Francisco Bay Area – Jeanne Brophy, Dominik D’Angelo, Carolyn Suh, Lauren Nguyen, and Angela Wildman – ACTA drafted its first brand strategy and revised and refined its key messages.  This new marketing framework will allow ACTA to more effectively communicate with its funders and constituents, making it more efficient in its mission to serve and strengthen California’s folk & traditional arts field.

ACTA’s next Service Grant will build off the success of the first and will continue examining ACTA’s marketing strategy, specifically around issues of naming and visual identity.

The Taproot Foundation has offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and makes grants to arts, education, environment, health, and social services nonprofits to support development in the areas marketing, information technology, strategy management, leadership development & strategic human resources, and facilities design.  For more information about the Taproot Foundation and its Service Grants, visit their website.  The Taproot Foundation accepts applications quarterly, on June 1, September 1, December 1, and March 1.

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California Dance Network’s Website Connects California’s Dance Community

The California Dance Network’s website is 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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ACTA'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 ACTA at any time.  Download the application and application instructions from ACTA's website or call (559) 237-9812 to request a copy be mailed to you.

ACTA'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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San Francisco Creative Capacity Fund

Deadline: In 2009, the 15th of Each Month
Restricted to San Francisco

The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) and Grants for the Arts (GFTA), have joined together to establish the San Francisco Creative Capacity Fund, a special field-building initiative to support professional development and peer learning opportunities for San Francisco artists and arts administrators.

Launched in 2009 as a pilot program, the Creative Capacity Fund (CCF) will provide scholarship reimbursements to eligible applicants, including individual artists and arts administrators of small and emerging arts organizations, to attend classes and workshops that will enhance their knowledge and administrative skills and help sustain their work in the arts.  A number of service organizations and workshop providers will be involved as partners in this endeavor, and the Fund will be administered by the Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI), a California training and financial services incubator for the arts, in San Francisco.

For more information, including guidelines and application instructions, visit the San Francisco Creative Capacity Fund’s website.

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Challenge America: Reaching Every Community
National Endowment for the Arts

Deadline – May 28, 2009

Challenge America: Reaching Every Community grants are for support, primarily to small and mid-sized organizations, of projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved populations – those whose opportunities to experience the arts are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability.  Grants are for $10,000.

For more information, including guidelines and instructions to apply, visit the National Endowment for the Arts’ website.

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Visions from the New California
Alliance of Artists Communities

Deadline: June 1, 2009

Funded by the James Irvine Foundation, the Alliance of Artists Communities’ Visions from the New California project seeks to support and promote the work of outstanding California visual artists from geographically and ethnically diverse communities (particularly beyond the San Francisco and Los Angeles metropolitan areas).

Each year, six selected artists will receive a one-month residency free of charge at one of the participating residency programs and a $4,000 unrestricted cash stipend  Each artist’s residency experience will be documented in a widely distributed publication designed to assist the careers of the award recipients.

For more information, including guidelines and application instructions, visit Visions from the New California’s website.

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Longhouse National Native Grant Program

LOI Deadline: June 1, 2009

The Evergreen State College Longhouse Education and Cultural Center, with funding from the Ford Foundation, announces its third round of national funding for Native artists (American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians) in the United States.  Two grant programs, the National Native Creative Development Program and the National Native Master Artist Initiative, are available.

For more information, including guidelines and application instructions, visit the Evergreen State College Longhouse Education and Cultural Center’s website.

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Fund for Artists Matching Commissions
San Francisco Foundation and the East Bay Community Foundation

Restricted to the San Francisco Bay Area

Deadline: July 19, 2009

The San Francisco Foundation is pleased to announce the 2009 Fund For Artists Matching Commissions to support the development of new work by Bay Area artists and help small- to mid-sized arts groups diversify funding by attracting individual donors. Participants will be awarded funds that must be matched on a one-to-one basis by individual donor contributions for the commissioning of new works by Bay Area artists.  As of March 2009, Matching Commissions through The San Francisco Foundation, East Bay Community Foundation, and the Marin Arts Council have received donations from 1,748 donors and generated more than $502,242 for 150 artist-run organizations and artist-driven projects in the five-county Bay Area.

The San Francisco Foundation is inviting organizations with budgets under $2 million in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin Counties to raise up to $5,000 in matching funds from individual donors.  The East Bay Community Foundation will offer Matching Commissions to Alameda and Contra Costa counties.  Selected applications will have up to three months after notification to raise matching dollars from individuals.

For more information, including guidelines and application instructions, visit the San Francisco Foundation’s website.

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Music Presenting Grant
California Arts Council/Department of Justice

Deadline: July 1, 2009

The California Arts Council (CAC) has teamed up with the California Department of Justice (DOJ) to distribute funds from a court case involving the music industry.  Funds from this settlement are to be distributed through the California Arts Council for music performances to geographically-diverse regions of California that would appeal to a broad range of musical tastes.

Available are one-time grants up to $15,000 to presenting organizations to offer discounted or free music performances that will serve California's underserved, rural and/or inner-city populations.  Collaborative projects are particularly encouraged.  Funds are available on a 2-to-1 basis; that is, the CAC will provide $2 for every $1 provided by the presenters as a match.  All schools with a history of presenting, including colleges, are encouraged to apply as presenters or be considered as venues.

For more information, including guidelines and application instructions, visit the California Arts Council’s website.

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Apprenticeship Program
Alliance for California Traditional Arts

Deadline: July 15, 2009

ACTA’s Apprenticeship Program fosters cultural transmission by contracting master artists for $3,000 to offer intensive one-on-one training in a specific art form to qualified apprentices from six to twelve months.  Master artists and apprentices must apply together and be based in California.

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.

ACTA’s Apprenticeship Program is funded by The Columbia Foundation, the East Bay Community 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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Living Cultures Grants Program
Alliance for California Traditional Arts

Deadline: August 1, 2009

ACTA’s Living Cultures Grants Program funds nonprofit organizations to support exemplary projects in the traditional arts in California.  Approximately 40 grants of up to $7,500 will be made in this funding cycle.

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 1, 2009.  ACTA 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.

For More Information Contact

Lily Kharrazi
Living Cultures Grants Program Manager
(415) 346-5200
Email

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Playwright Collaboration Awards
Wallace Alexander Gerbody Foundation & The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Restricted to the San Francisco Bay Area

Deadline: August 20, 2009

The Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation are pleased to announce their 2009 Playwright Collaboration Awards Program.  The foundations will provide up to six grants of $75,000 each for the creation and production of new plays by California playwrights, in collaboration with other artists.

These playwright collaboration grants are part of a three-year $1,350,000 initiative by the Gerbode and Hewlett foundations to support fresh, dynamic collaborations in contemporary dance, theater and music.  In 2008, grants were made for choreographer collaborations.  Grants for composer collaborations will be made in 2010.

These grants will be available to nonprofit Bay Area arts organizations. They will be aimed at innovative and highly gifted California playwrights, each working in close collaboration with other California artists of their choosing (choreographer, composer, digital media artist, filmmaker, designer or other). The resulting works will have their world premiere public performances in the Bay Area between December 2010 and December 2012.

Each grant will be divided into three parts: $25,000 will go to a California playwright; $25,000 will go to one or two California collaborators; and the remaining $25,000 will go to the presenting organization for expenses related to the creation and world premiere of a full-length play.

Proposed commissions for original plays in any genre 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, guidelines and application instructions are available online.

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Opportunities & Resources

Legacy Oral History Workshop

June 11-13, 2009
San Francisco, California

Presented by the Legacy Oral History Program of the Museum of Performance & Design, this three-day workshop will provide the training necessary for participants to launch their own oral history projects.  While drawing on references and examples in the performing arts, the workshop is designed to be equally appropriate for those involved in anthropology, cultural studies, institutional history, social history, regional history, family history, master’s or doctoral studies, or other projects.

The 15th annual oral history training workshop will be carefully designed to match the experience levels of all participants – beginning, intermediate, or advanced.  The lecture/discussion format will include opportunities to apply the material presented.  The workshop will cover:

• Project Design
• Legal/Ethical Issues
• Technology  and Funding
• Interviewing
• Transcription and Editing: producing research-quality documents or other final products

Fee: $300 (Early registration: register by May 1, 2009).  $350 (After May 1, 2009). Pre-registration required. Major credit cards accepted.  A $50 discount will be given if you mention that you heard about the workshops through ACTA’s e-newsletter.

Fee includes a 200-page syllabus/guidebook containing all the material taught in the workshop, special readings, and other vital information.  In order to give personal attention to each participant and project, the workshop is strictly limited to 22 participants.

For more information or to register, visit the Legacy Oral History Workshops’ website.  To register, contact them via email or at (415) 255-4800, ext. *823.

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Disaster Relief Assistance
Craft Emergency Relief Fund

The Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF), a national organization supporting craft artists, would like to make sure that any professional craft artists who may have been affected by California’s wildfires is aware of the disaster relief assistance available from CERF.

CERF’s programs include:

• Grants up to $1,500

• Loans up to $8,000

• Booth fee waivers at craft shows

• Discounts on materials and equipment from craft suppliers

• Assistance with business development

• Disaster forums to facilitate craft community disaster preparedness and recovery

For more information visit CERF’s website.

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Americans for the Arts Archived Webinars

Americans for the Arts produces a series of webinars presented by field experts; topics range from leadership succession in the arts to arts in rural communities to the election’s impact on the arts.  Americans for the Arts has recorded and archived each webinar produced from September to December 2008 and has made them available for purchase and download.

The webinars are flexible enough to meeting demanding schedules and affordable enough for multiple use.  Each webinar is $85 for members and $125 for non-members.

For more information visit Americans for the Arts’ Webinars website.

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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

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

EAST BAY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

EVENTS

Shibui – The Subtle Beauty of Japanese Craft

She Made It! – The Tradition of Women’s Arts and Crafts in Santa Clara Valley

The Costumes of Korean Dance and Drumming

Hula for Kupuna

Kumeyaay: Indigenous People of Southern California

J.A.M. Sessions @ The Ford Amphitheater

Ramana Vieira and Ensemble

Asian Arts Together

Dances of Asia

Dia de Portugal Festival

Standing Bear Powwow 2009

Seasonal Dishes: Demystifying Chinese Greens

31st Annual Ethnic Dance Festival

Dia de Portugal Festival

Japanese Cultural Fair

Traditional Indian Dance by Rohini Acharya

Great Wall Youth Orchestra

Paintings of the Divine

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