|
About Us:
The Alliance for California Traditional Arts promotes and supports ways for cultural traditions to thrive now and into the future by providing advocacy, resources, and connections for folk and traditional artists and their communities.
|
Upcoming EventsAug 27 - Oct 15, 2011 Sep 1 - Nov 30, 2011 Los Angeles Sep 18 - Oct 12, 2011 Oct 2 - Oct 6, 2011 Oct 6 - Oct 6, 2011 Canoga Park Oct 8 - Oct 8, 2011 Los Angeles Oct 8 - Oct 8, 2011 San Francisco Oct 8 - Oct 8, 2011 San Francisco
Congolese Dance & Drum Classes
Jan 18 - Dec 31, 2011
Oakland
View all events...
List your event or exhibit
|
|
 ACTA Takes Chicano Music to the Nation's Capital
 | |
From left to right, standing on the stairs of the Great Hall of the Library of Congress after the concert are Juan Perez, Russell Rodr�guez, Martha Gonz�lez, Amy Kitchener, Quetzal Flores, Tylana Enomoto, Ravi Knypstra (back), Camilo Moreno, Patricia Wells Sol�rzano, and Agust�n Lira
|
National Latino Heritage Month began in Washington D.C. with two concerts featuring California Chicano musicians - Agustin Lira & Alma of Fresno and Quetzal from E. Los Angeles at the Library of Congress and Kennedy Center on September 14. The Cantos de mi Cant�n / Songs of my Home concerts, featured two legendary ensembles whose music highlights the diverse social history of the California Chicano experience.
The two concerts took place at the Coolidge Auditorium of the Library of Congress and the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. The program was curated by Amy Kitchener, Executive Director of the Alliance for California Traditional Arts and presented by the Library of Congress American Folklife Center and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with additional support from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.
|
ACTA Hosts Gathering of Artists in
Los Angeles
 | |
ACTA's staff, board and participants gather for a group photo.
|
By Amy Lawrence, Operations Manager Photos by Chike Nwoffiah, ACTA Board Member On August 24, 2011, ACTA's staff and board hosted an afternoon gathering and networking opportunity for its grantees who reside in the wider Los Angeles area. The occasion coincided with ACTA's bi-annual board meeting, which travels each year to different parts of the state in an effort to learn first hand about the specific needs of each region. Held at The California Endowment Center for Healthy Communities in downtown Los Angeles, approximately 40 people attended. The room was filled with traditional artists, cultural advocates, administrators, and representatives of many of the diverse cultural traditions that ACTA supports throughout California through its three core funding programs. Read more... |
|
Qeej not Gangs: The Hmong Association of Long Beach
 | |
Drumming corps involves youth of all ages. Photo: Lily Kharrazi
|
By Lily Kharrazi, Living Cultures Grants Program Manager For the last thirty years, the Hmong Association of Long Beach has been at work perpetuating the expressive traditions of the Hmong culture. In 1998, to reach out to youth, the association formalized a weekly event called Qeej (pronounced gang) Not Gangs Cultural Arts Program, held at a public parks building, known as the Homeland Culture Center, and funded in part through ACTA's Living Cultures Grants Program. Each Sunday from 9am to 3pm, an intergenerational group of Hmong and Lao families come together in the two-room recreation center to share, learn, and perpetuate a variety of cultural riches: women and children create the intricate pan dau reverse embroidery; men play the qeej, a six-reed flute which accompanies marriage and funerary rites; cheexai, chants for funerals, are passed on; dance lessons are taught to popular songs play from an iPod; drumming exercises involving marching drills and foot patterns are shared; and language lessons are in full swing. Read more... |
Preserving Culture at Women's Audio Mission:
WAM Engineers Record and Mix Traditional Mongolian Music
| |
At Women's Audio Mission, from left: Ulziisaikhan Lkhagvadorjv, engineer Jenny Thornburg, WAM founder Terri Winston, and Orgilsaikhan Chimeddorj.
Photo: Women's Audio Mission
|
Reprinted from Mix Magazine
Matt Gallagher is a Mix assistant editor.
www.mixonline.com
In April, San Francisco-based non-profit Women's Audio Mission (WAM), dedicated to the advancement ofwomen in music production, recorded a trio of master Mongolian musicians for a full-length album release, with funding from the Alliance for California Traditional Arts Living Cultures Grant Program. Known as Nutgiin Ayalguu, which means "native melodies" or "melodies from home," the trio comprises Orgilsaikhan Chimeddorj (aka Ogo), Ulziisaikhan Lkhagvadorjv (aka Ulzii) and Otgonbayar Chunsraikhachin (aka Otgo). WAM founder and chief engineer Terri Winston oversaw the tracking sessions with engineer Jenny Thornburg, while Thornburg mixed the album at WAM with Chimeddorj in May. Michael Romanowski completed mastering at his facility in early June; a release date for this album is pending. Read more... |
|
|
