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Volume 12, No. 2 July 16, 2014
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What's New
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A Letter from Master Artists
Dear Friends of the Traditional Arts in California,
We are writing to ask you to support the Alliance for California Traditional Arts' (ACTA) Apprenticeship Program to encourage the continuation of cultural traditions in our state. Since ACTA's first program launched in 1998, the Apprenticeship Program has supported more than 500 Master Artists and Apprentices in 46 California counties. This year marks the 15th anniversary of the program and we are seeking supporters to ensure that ACTA can continue awarding at least 18 contracts in the next year, so that significant traditional art forms can continue to be passed down to future generations.
The Apprenticeship Program is close to our hearts and the hearts of hundreds of other artists around the state because it enables intensive learning opportunities of cultural traditions. As participants in the Apprenticeship Program, we have experienced firsthand the impact of the program in our lives, our communities and our art forms. And we are not alone! ACTA has supported numerous art forms up and down the state including African American quilts; Indian Bharata Natyam and Kathak dance; Western saddle making; Chinese percussion; Native Hawaiian kahiko hula chant and dance; Pilipino Kulintang music; Mariachi music and Chicano murals, to mention just a few. Want to learn more about what ACTA has supported in your region? Visit them at: http://www.actaonline.org/content/find-artists-communities.
We are building a new California together, one that respects cultural diversity and the creation of beautiful art and ultimately a vibrant, healthy and tolerant society. You can also be part of this effort by donating $10 or more. Our goal is to raise $8,000 to support two apprenticeship pairs and the required program expenses. Last year 84 donors collectively gave $8,580. Can you help us reach our $8,000 goal by making a donation and passing this message on to your family, friends, and colleagues?
To make your tax deductible donation to this campaign, please mail a check to ACTA's Fresno office (1245 Van Ness Ave., Fresno, CA 93721) or go to: http://www.apprenticeshipprogram.causevox.com to donate online via credit card. Thank you.|
Vanessa Vo
2014 Master Artist
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Alberto Lopez
2014 Apprentice
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Linda Yamane
2014 Master Artist
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"ACTA's Apprenticeship Program is a cultural beacon crucial to maintaining and disseminating California's rich history as a cultural melting pot. I am very grateful for the crucial support given to master instructor Eduardo Mart�nez Arvilla and myself by the program. With this support, we have been able to create awareness and help pass on Afro Colombian traditions to other people in this state and even beyond our borders. I hope that you will join us in supporting the preservation and dissemination of traditional arts in California... and beyond."
~ Alberto Lopez, 2014 Apprentice
"As a current and past participant in ACTA's Apprenticeship Program, I can say that this program really makes good things happen! We so often have good intentions that get sidelined by the distance between people, our everyday life and work obligations, and economic limitations. But when we make a commitment through a formal agreement that supports our efforts, we move earth and sky to get together to teach and learn the cultural traditions so important to the health and continuity of our communities. Thank you, ACTA!"
~ Linda Yamane, 2014 Master Artist
"Coming from a very small and far away country like Vietnam, which is rich with cultural heritage, I am honored to be a Master Artist in ACTA's Apprentice program for a second time (2011 and 2014). The program makes it possible for me to work with my apprentices to share, preserve, and develop our traditional art. Keeping traditional art alive is very challenging and is a huge amount of work. I by myself find it difficult to make things happen. Thus, through this program, my apprentices have a chance to study with me in depth, so they too can carry on and share with others the beauty of our 4000 years of cultural legacy."
~ Vanessa Vo, 2014 Master Artist
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ACTA's Roundtable Series Comes to Los Angeles: Cultural Networks and Sustainability
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There is tremendous vitality in the making and maintaining of our cultural arts. Many communities are creating culturally relevant art which operates largely under the radar of funders or mainstream recognition. How do these networks support themselves to create and promote creative and life-affirming art? What are the values? What is the drive and inspiration? Can we learn and support one another? Are we a larger network in the making? ACTA invites you to join us on Thursday, July 17, to meet one another, share art, and discuss how we can best learn from one another and think about the future.
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The Calfornia Arts Council Needs Your Input!
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The California Arts Council has issued a survey to the arts field, asking for input on needs and interests as they plan future services and offerings from the agency.
ACTA encourages you to help us make sure the needs of the folk and traditional arts field are represented by taking several minutes to complete a short survey.
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Featured Funding Oppotunities
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The Alliance for California Traditional Arts is the California Arts Council's official partner in serving the state's folk and traditional arts field. |
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