Banner
 VOLUME 9, NO. 10
February 21, 2012 

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.

Recent Blog Posts

Open Your Eyes and Wake Up!
Chris Low
February 21, 2012

Funding Opportunities and Other Support

View all funding opportunities...

Upcoming Events

Through May 19, 2012 

Berkeley

Introduction to Middle Eastern Drumming
Though April 13, 2012
Los Angeles 

 

Through April 15, 2012
Oakland

Kitka's Community Chorus
Though May 29, 2012
Oakland

Middle Eastern Music Ensemble Class
Through June 17, 2012
Pasadena
 

View all events...

List your event or exhibit

Current Exhibits
Through August 26 
Eureka

View all exhibits...

oneACTA's Bay Area Traditional Arts Roundtable Series Returns
Kumu hula Shawna Ala'pai (seated) and her student demonstrate in ancient hula form, a chant and dance about the shark.
Kumu hula Shawna Ala'pai (seated) and her student demonstrate in ancient hula form, a chant and dance about the shark. Photo: Kutay Kugay
Calling all traditional and tradition-based artists and organizations!  Are you looking for a network where you can share the impact of your work and learn from other people in the field?  Is your art-making based on shared aesthetics and values of a cultural community?  Are you looking for a way to hone your grant seeking skills?  Would you like to share your art with others at an informal salon?

Mark your calendars and join us for ACTA's Bay Area Traditional Arts Roundtable Series.  First session is tomorrow, Wednesday, February 22.  Visit ACTA's website for more information on tomorrow's and other sessions.
 

 

twoFandangueando in the Bay Area 
 
at the Galeria de la Raza's
Los Hijos de Jos� at the Galeria de la Raza's Son Jarocho: Workshop, Encuentro, and Fandango event. Photo: Maria Virginia Prieto Solis 

"My participation in the Son Jarocho: Workshop, Encuentro, and Fandango event at the historic Galer�a de la Raza in San Francisco on December 3rd, 2011, was a wonderful reminder of how one can maintain and build a community base while engaging in living traditional music and its innovative extensions."

Visit ACTA's website to read more about Los Angeles-based son jarocho musician Quetzal Flores' experience at this event, sponsored in part by ACTA's Living Cultures Grants Program.

threeNew Expressions Falling Into Old Traditions: An Apprenticeship in Trinidadian/Tobagonian Carnival Puppetry
The Dame Lorraine and its creators, master artist Stephen Tiffenson (right) and his son and apprentice Christopher.
The Dame Lorraine and its creators, master artist Stephen Tiffenson (right) and his son and apprentice Christopher. Photo: Russell Rodr�guez
As part of their participation in ACTA's Apprenticeship Program in 2011, master artist Stephen Tiffenson and his apprentice and son Chirstopher Tiffenson built The Dame Lorraine, a 20-foot, man-powered carnival puppet.  Visit ACTA's website to learn more and view a slideshow of Stephen and Christopher with the Dame Lorraine.

fourNew Smithsonian Folkways Recording Features California Band Quetzal
Quetzal
Photo by Brian Cross
Courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, 2012
On February 28, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings will release the bilingual album Imaginaries by East LA Chicano band QuetzalQuetzal rose from the ashes of the 1992 Los Angeles uprisings as a vehicle for social commentary and activism. Their unique blend of traditional son jarocho from Veracruz and urban rock and R&B has garnered praise from the LA Times, which called them "provocative, heartfelt and strikingly original."

Visit ACTA's website to download tracks from the album and view music videos.

fiveSB 789 Would Include Creativity in Assessment of Students and Schools

Last month, the California State Sentae approved a bill that would create an index to measure student opportunities for creativity and innovation in schools.  If passed, SB 789 would provide a tangible way to measure and inspire learning opportunities that nurture creativity and innovation in California's public schools.

 

ACTA encourages you to learn more about SB 789 by visiting California Alliance for Arts Education's website and  reading a recent article from the Huffington Post.

 

sixDonate to the California Arts Council by Checking Off the Arts on Your Tax Return
 

California Arts Council Check Off the Arts logoWant to help bring arts and arts education to California communities and schools?  Contribute to the California Arts Council Fund on your annual state tax return!  Look for the California Arts Council Fund in the "contributions" section.  Thousands of children and millions of Californians can benefit from arts education and local arts through the state's arts agency.  In fact, ACTA is a California Arts Council grantee.  With millions of Californians filing tax returns, if each one made even a $1 donation, it would raise a tremendous amount for the arts in California.

 

Contact ACTA
[email protected]
559-237-9812

   The Alliance for California Traditional Arts is the California
   Arts Council's  official partner in serving the state's folk &
   traditional arts field.