Pandit Chitresh Das
 Photo: Chitresh Das Dance Company 

In Memoriam: Pandit Chitresh Das (1944-2015)

By Lily Kharazzi, Program Manager

Pandit Chitresh Das leaves a rich legacy of promoting the North Indian classical dance form known as Kathak to the West, as well as establishing a thriving professional dance company, numerous disciples, and a flourishing school for the next generation of dancers in California, Massachusetts, Canada, and India.  He was awarded the National Endowment of the Arts' highest honor for folk and traditional artists in 2009 and was a four-time master artist in ACTA's Apprenticeship Program.  He died on January 4, 2015, at the age of 70.

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 Master Afro-Colombian musician Eduardo
 Mart�nez Arvilla (right) with his 2014
 apprentice Alberto L�pez, both playing the
 gaita colombiana. Photo: Russell
 Rodr�guez


Connecting the Roots to the Fruit: An Apprenticeship in Afro-Colombian Rhythms

By Russell Rodr�guez, Program Manager

Through ACTA's Apprenticeship Program in 2014, master musician Eduardo Mart�nez Arvilla worked with apprentice Alberto L�pez to share his knowledge of Afro-Colombian music and traditions.

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 Consultant Jerry Yoshitomi
 leads ACTA's Bay Area Grassroots
 Fundraising Workshop as part of ACTA's
 Roundtable Series. Photo: Lily Kharrazi

What's the Currency? Relationships!: The Bay Area Grassroots Fundraising Workshop Concludes

By Lily Kharrazi, Program Manager

How do you raise funds for those things that are essential to your art-making when asking for money from some cultural viewpoints may appear as "weakness" or can even impugn your character?  On the other side of this attitude, what if donating money to others was an expression of "correcting the world" or a value of our higher selves?  These are two of many attitudes shared by our Bay Area Grassroots Fundraising cohort which brought together a group of artists and organizations to work over a six month period on their own fundraising strategies.

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Funding for Traditional Arts through CAC's Local Impact Program

ACTA is excited to share the news that the California Arts Council (CAC) has announced its upcoming call for grant applications. We believe that the newly named Local Impact Program, specifically, would be a good fit for traditional artists and organizations working in underserved communities.  The program has newly augmented funding in the pool, totaling $1.3M, which is enough for to make over 100 grants of $10,000-12,000 each!

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Help Keep Arts in Schools with Your State Tax Return

California taxpayers can support arts education programs this tax season through the new Keeps Arts in Schools Fund. Individuals may make tax-deductible contributions in amounts of $1 or more through the Voluntary Contribution portion of their 2014 state tax returns.

For more information, please visit the California Art Council's website.





California Arts Council's Local Impact Program
Deadline: March 20, 2015

Native Arts and Culture Foundation 2015 Artist Fellowships
Deadline: April 6, 2015

National Endowment for the Arts' Art Works & Imagine Your Parks
Deadline: July 23, 2015