What's New

An Apprenticeship in African American Quilting

Master artist Allyson Allen (left) holds one of her two-sided quilt with her mother (right) and Allen’s apprentice and niece Madison Wright (kneeling) in San Jacinto.  This quilt, which took over a decade to complete, is made from different pieces of African fabric collected over the years, honoring the African men women and children who endured the passage to the US as slaves in 1769.  On the lower left of the quilt are 94 unique, handmade, meticulously detailed miniature dolls, some pregnant.  The other side of the quilt features a representation of the African continent. Photo: Sherwood Chen

By Sherwood Chen, Associate Director

Master quiltmaker Allyson Allen and her 9-year old niece and apprentice Madison Wright—both of Riverside County’s San Jacinto—are current participants in ACTA’s Apprenticeship Program, focusing on developing Wright’s quiltmaking, dollmaking and sewing skills.  A three-time participant in ACTA’s Apprenticeship Program, Allen formerly worked with Wright’s elder sister Krysta Wright in 2002 and subsequently in 2006.  With Krysta skilled and enough to continue her sewing projects independently, Allen now focuses her attention on Krysta’s younger sister Madison who follows in both Krysta’s and Allen’s footsteps as a budding young textile artist.  As Wright’s father and Allen’s brother Anthony Wright notes, “the exposure has sparked the interest of Madison.  So much so that she now has expressed interest in following in her sister’s footsteps.  She too under her aunt’s tutelage, has created many unique designs that have been turned into quilts and panels. Madison’s excitement has prompted her to ask if she too can become an apprentice like her sister.”

Read more about Allyson Allen, Madison Wright, and their apprenticeship in African American quilting on ACTA’s website.

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Convivencia!: El Son Jarocho en California

Musicians circle the wooden tarima while the dancers improvise and provide percussion to the mix Photos courtesy of Russell Rodriguez

By Lily Kharrazi, Living Cultures Grants Program Manager

On Saturday June 13, 2009, Galeria de la Raza in San Francisco produced a free event, El Son Jarocho en California: Taller-Encuentro-Fandango, based on the music, dance, and poetry originating from the southern region of Veracruz, Mexico.  Funded by ACTA’s Living Cultures Grants Program, this rich cultural expression was in full bloom during the day and into the late evening hours as a multi-generational crowd participated in workshops and a presentation that explored the three essential elements of the son jarocho – music and playing technique, poetry, and dance.  Both beginners and veteran musicians were welcomed.  The evening concluded with a participatory party, or fandango.

This event is one of several son jarocho events that are occurring in California and are part of growing phenomenon.  The son jarocho is not only a distinct genre transported from its original home, but has come to represent a nexus of creativity involving an international and transborder dialogue between Mexico and American born Chicanos.  The form is supple enough to incorporate multiple experiences of Mexican and Mexican-American identity and this is being translated into the music and practice of the son jaracho.

Read more about Galeria de la Raza’s event and the son jarocho on ACTA’s website.

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ACTA Hosts Additional Informational Webinar

In additional to the statewide informational meetings ACTA held earlier this year, ACTA introduced its first series of online seminars (or “webinars”), an opportunity for those with internet and telephone access to join ACTA staff for a “virtual” informational meeting about ACTA’s programs and other funding opportunities for folk & traditional artists.

To meet the demand for this service, an additional webinar has been scheduled for Tuesday, July 7, 2009, at 12:00 pm.  Please visit ACTA’s website to sign up; space is limited and registration is offered on a first-come first-served basis.  Additional webinars may be scheduled as needed.

For questions about the webinar, please contact Suzanne Hildebrand, Administrative Coordinator, via email or at (559) 237-9812.

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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 free 2009 Traditional Arts Roundtable Series at various Bay Area venues with sessions for traditional artists, organizations, and community groups:

• 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 – August 30 (10:00 am to 12:00 pm)
• Communications Strategy with Salvador Acevedo – October 3 (2:00 pm to 5:00 pm)
• Performing Diaspora Symposium @ CounterPULSE – November 7 (10:00 am to 5:00 pm)
• The Way To One’s Heart: Traditional Foodways – November 19 (6:00 pm to 9:00 pm)

ACTA’s 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.

Visit ACTA’s website for locations and details for these Traditional Arts Roundtables, and stay tuned for more sessions later this fall.

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CounterPULSE Announces Performing Diaspora Blog

CounterPULSE’s Performing Diaspora is a festival, residency program, commissioning program, and symposium featuring dance, music, theater, media, and interdisciplinary artists who are using traditional forms as a basis for experimentation and innovation.  The artists will be in residence from June through October, developing new work at CounterPULSE and in their home communities.

The artists were selected by Sherwood Chen, Alliance for California Traditional Arts; Laura Elaine Ellis, African and African American Performing Arts Coalition; and Debra Smith, Arab Cultural and Community center.

This month, CounterPULSE introduces the Performing Diaspora Blog, an online dialogue forum that will introduce the selected Performing Diaspora Residents, offering an opportunity to learn each performer resident’s vision for the residency and dialogue about their process, their challenges, and their successes.  The first blog entries from the performers open a window to their traditions, and the themes, challenges and development of their resident works.

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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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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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Investing in Artists
Center for Cultural Innovation

Deadline: July 15, 2009

The Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI) is pleased to announce Round IV of its Investing in Artists grants program

The Investing in Artists grants program was established to enhance the working lives and strengthen the creative support system for California artists working in all disciplines.  

The Investing in Artists program provides grants in two categories, for:  1) Artistic Equipment and Tools; and 2) Artistic Innovation.  Beginning in 2009, the grants program will contain significant guideline changes, including a new Artistic Innovation grants category, the rotation of application deadlines according to discipline-specific groupings, and the requirement of online application submissions only.  Round IV is designated for Performing and Media Arts applicants only, and the deadline for submission of online applications is July 15, 2009.

CCI will be hosting a series of informational webinars on the Investing in Artists program, free of charge.  Information on those webinars is available on CCI’s website.

For more information about the Investing in Artists grants program, including guidelines and application instructions, visit CCI’s website, call (800) 418-1671, or contact them via 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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Native Insight Competition
Alaska Federation of Natives

Deadline: September 15, 2009

The Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) is launching a new national initiative in the tradition of its successful Alaska Marketplace Competition.

Native Insight: Thoughts on Recession, Recovery & Opportunity is a writing competition crafted to tap the wisdom and ingenuity of Native communities, and to encourage Native thinkers to go public with their perspectives on the challenges and opportunities in the current economic and political landscape.

When the competition winners are announced in October 2009, $60,000 will be distributed among three Alaska Native winners and three Native Hawaiian/Lower 48 winners, with opportunities for their winning essays to be published in Native journals and magazines across the United States. A FN is partnering with the National Congress of American Indians and the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement to reach Native communities across the nation.

The competition is open to Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and American Indians of all ages; 500-1,600 word essays are due September 15, 2009.  Essays must address one or more of three writing prompts focused on how the Native community can support economic renewal, what it will take for the American economy to rebound, and what the American leadership can do to jumpstart recovery.

For more information on the Native Insight: Thoughts on Recession, Recovery & Opportunity, contact the Alaska Federation of Natives at (907) 274-3611, or via email.

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Opportunities & Resources

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
President & CEO, Community Initiatives, San Francisco CA
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

31st Annual Ethnic Dance Festival

Traditional Indian Dance by Rohini Acharya

Great Wall Youth Orchestra

13th Annual Storytelling & Indigenous Gathering

Paintings of the Divine

Seasonal Dishes: Riot of Summer Vegetables and Korean Sides

Seasonal Dishes: Green Curry from Scratch

Get your personalized plate.
Proceeds from the plate sales will benefit the California Arts Council (CAC).

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