The New Moon

Nov. 28, 2023 | Vol. 20, No. 8

2001 Apprenticeship pair Stan Rodriguez (left) and his teacher, master Kumeyaay singer Jon Meza Cuero, practice in a San Diego park, 2001. Photo: Chris Simon/ACTA.

Join us in celebrating over 25 years by making your contribution today!


In 1997 at Asilomar in Pacific Grove, a group of artists, public folklorists, and cultural workers met to imagine a statewide network to animate and grow California’s diverse community of culture bearers and organizations in the folk and traditional arts field. Fast forward more than 25 years, and the Alliance for California Traditional Arts has supported over 1,750 folk and traditional artists and organizations, providing them with over $7.8 million in grants.


For months, we’ve been working on an oral history project documenting over 25 amazing years of the Alliance for California Traditional Arts. We gathered stories from dozens of current and former grantees, staff, board members, partners, and colleagues, and dove into our archives of programming, grantmaking, research, and advocacy to tell the story of ACTA through five individual timelines, which will launch early next year.


From bringing the healing power of traditional arts to incarcerated people to preparing local residents to document the sonic landscape of their communities — join us in looking back on five special moments that we’ve shared in our quarter-century journey to lift up California's extraordinary traditional arts practices.



Click through to enjoy 5 special moments

from ACTA's 25 years.


GIVE TODAY

Grupo Nuu Yuku acompañado por Banda Brillo de San Miguel Cuevas en el programa Sounds of California 2016 en el Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Foto: Prayoon Charoennun.

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. 
Alliance for California Traditional Arts actaonline.org
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