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Aug. 8, 2022 | Vol. 19, No. 6 |
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2022 Mentor Artist Francis Kofi Akotuah (L) is working with apprentice Selasie Dotse in Ghanaian Akpoka drumming. Photo: Elana Cohen-Khani. |
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Welcoming ACTA's
2022 Apprenticeship Recipients
has supported California’s cultural traditions with 406 contracts to outstanding traditional artists and practitioners.
Now entering its 22nd cycle, ACTA’s Apprenticeship Program encourages the continuity of the state’s living cultural heritage by contracting exemplary mentor artists to offer intensive training and mentorship to skilled apprentices. Contracts of $3,000 are made with California-based mentor artists to cover their fees, supplies, and, if safe, their travel. Participants work closely with ACTA staff to develop and document the apprenticeships, culminating in opportunities to share results of their work with the public.
The 2022 Apprenticeship Program cohort of 42 artists (21 pairs) represents California’s breadth of cultural diversity and intergenerational learning. The pairs range from mentor artists in their 90s to a 13-year old apprentice, spanning from Orange to Sacramento Counties. These apprenticeships continue thriving traditions, including those which have taken root in California, and originally hail from the American South, or West Africa, Peru, Mexico, Iran, the Philippines, Korea, India, Japan, as well as Hmong expressions.
Click below to learn more about the 21 apprenticeship pairs participating!
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Senderos dancers at Ebb and Flow Festival at Tannery, 2019 photo by Kyle Wiltshire. |
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Announcing ACTA's 2022
Living Cultures Grantees
This year, the Alliance for California Traditional Arts is awarding $148,200 to 30 organizations to support folk and traditional arts in the San Francisco Bay Area
Since 2005, the Living Cultures grants have supported over 750 community-based projects, with $4 million in funding across 50 counties in California. This year’s cohort represents the first time the program has had a Bay Area focus in its 17-year history.
Our 2022 cohort represents a diverse array of cultural communities and their respective artistic forms of knowledge. We’re proud to promote them all, from the traditions of indigenous Oaxacan communities based in Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz, to the creation of Romani drums for Bay Area wide workshops, and support for an evening of Native comedy in Orinda.
Click below to read all about the grantee organizations and their cultural practices!
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Tsering Wangmo Satho by Amy Catling. |
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California's Newest National Heritage Fellow, Tsering Wangmo Satho
Tibetan opera singer and dancer receives our nation's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts
The Alliance for California Traditional Arts congratulates Tsering Wangmo Satho, Tibetan Opera Singer and Dancer from Richmond, California, on being named one of ten 2022 National Heritage Fellows by the National Endowment for the Arts--the nation’s highest honor in folk and traditional arts.
It has been a privilege for us at ACTA to work alongside Ms. Wangmo and to facilitate support through our grant programs since 2003 to her as a mentor artist to several apprentices that have included family members learning a vast repertoire of folk songs and dances. Support also included resources for the Chaksam-pa Tibetan Dance and Opera Company, which she co-founded with artists, Tashi Dhondup Sharzur (Techung) and Sonam Tashi in 1989. She has carried the vision of this nonprofit as its artistic director of the company that is comprised of Tibetan master artists, all of whom, like herself, have trained in exile.
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LOOKING AHEAD: NEA Heritage Fellows Film this Fall
Tsering Wangmo Satho and all 2022 NEA Heritage Fellows will be featured in a film that will premiere in November 2022 on arts.gov. Stay tuned for more information about the film this fall.
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Do you live and create in the San Joaquin Valley?
Learn more about the San Joaquin Valley Culture Community Circle!
San Joaquin Valley Culture Community Circle (SJVCCC), a project stewarded by the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, invites you to our inaugural in-person gathering in Fresno:
Saturday, August 20, 2022 | 11AM to 4PM
at Fresno City College (Old Administration Building,
Room OAB 188), 1101 E University Avenue, Fresno, CA 93741.
We are building a new culture movement in the San Joaquin Valley and invite you to join us for a day of culture sharing, learning, teaching, networking, groundbreaking conversations, food, music, fun, laughter and celebration of the rich cultures that make up San Joaquin region.
Attendees may qualify for standard transportation expense reimbursement if attending from over 50 miles from event venue.
Attendance is free but pre-registration is required.
To learn more, email us at sjvccc@actaonline.org.
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Art Breaks In:
The Regenerative Power of Traditional Arts in Prisons
Participants engaged with the curriculum designed by teaching artists in our Arts in Corrections program, including Rosanna Esparza Ahrens, Vaneza Mari Calderón, Cesar Castro, Fabian Debora, Ofelia Esparza, Quetzal Flores, Michael McCarty and Federico Zuñiga, and took part in a dialogue on the power of traditional arts practice within and beyond prison walls.
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Featured Opportunities__________________ |
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Take Action Now: Advancing Equity Through the Arts and Humanities Act
Sponsored by Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13) and developed by and for BIPOC artists and creatives, the Advancing Equity Through the Arts and Humanities Act, centers the arts and humanities as a critical lever to dismantle systemic racism in the United States. Use the form below to send letters to encourage Members of the House of Representatives to co-sponsor the Advancing Equity Through the Arts and Humanities Act, H.R.7627.
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ACTA 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. |
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