Join the Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA) this Friday, May 29, at 12 noon PST for another pandemic resource roundtable as part of our Traditional Arts Roundtable Series. Veronica Bryden from Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment (PACE) will present on Unemployment Insurance for independent contractors, freelancers, and artists, including the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program tailored for self-employed workers. Veronica will walk us through eligibility requirements, the application process, and then spend time answering your questions.
Artists and self-employed workers whose primary income is "1099" independent contractor work, this one is for you!
This event is part of our ongoing Traditional Arts Roundtable Series (TARS). Click here to learn more about TARS. The TARS series is generously supported by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles Department of Arts and Culture, and the San Francisco Arts Commission. Additional support provided by the California Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Shelter Together: Live Video Series
These last few months have reminded us of the importance of connection and the impact of artistic practice in helping us collectively survive the trauma of a global event like COVID-19. Since March 2020, ACTA has been featuring traditional artists from across the state sharing their practice and thoughts from their homes in a live video series we call Shelter Together.
For the last two months, our Instagram and Facebook page have been filled with traditional artists and their families dancing, cooking, playing music, and telling stories. We've learned how to process acorns into delicious dishes with Carly Tex (Western Mono) in her kitchen in Fresno; we've honored our loved ones and ancestors while building an altar with Ofelia Esparza and her daughter Rosanna Esparza Ahrens in their living room in Los Angeles; and we've danced the romantic Marinera Limeña with Pierr Padilla and his wife Carmen Román in their apartment in Oakland. Explore all of the archived livestreams here.
UP NEXT:
Join us on Instagram this Friday, May 29, at 5 pm for an afternoon of storytelling with mentor artist Rhodessa Jones (right) and her 2020 ACTA apprentice Uzo Nwankpa (left).
Photo courtesy of the artists.
Relief Funding Opportunity for Alameda and Contra Costa Counties
The East Bay/Oakland Relief Fund for Individuals in the Arts is distributing $625,000 to help the region's artists, teaching artists, culture bearers, and nonprofit arts workers who comprise the various and diverse cultural communities of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, with dedicated support for those in the City of Oakland.
The Fund will prioritize the financial needs of individuals who are of cultural populations that have been and are particularly financially vulnerable--Black, Indigenous, Latinx, foreign-born immigrant, trans, and people with disabilities--and to distribute the funds throughout the two-county East Bay region as broadly as possible. Individuals may apply only once for up to $2,000. Funds are unrestricted and can be used in any way that alleviates financial hardship.
Resources for Traditional Artists and Organizations Affected by COVID-19
In an effort to support traditional artists and organizations affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting loss of bookings, programming, and income, ACTA has compiled a
shortlist of funding and readiness resources. This page will be continually updated as new funding and support resources become available.
