To update information or submit an event, email ACTA.
If Baskets Could Talk . . .
Photo: Agua Caliente Cultural Museum
Through June 2007
Agua Caliente Cultural Museum
219 South Palm Canyon Drive
At the Village Green Heritage Center
Palm Springs, California
“If Baskets Could Talk…,” explores basketry materials
and construction, styles and uses, and the meanings of the woven symbols.
If baskets could talk they would tell us many things… who gathered
their materials and carefully prepared them, who patiently wove them
with intricate designs, what they were made to hold and carry, what
their beautiful and creative designs mean.
Baskets can talk to us with special voices that speak to our eyes,
our minds, and our hearts. We can look and learn about the things
that were important to their people, how they lived and worked, and
how they celebrated and expressed their connection to their environment.
The baskets in this exhibit all come from Southern California and
especially from Cahuilla territory. All tribes had social and
economic relationships with their neighbors, inter-married, and shared
traditions. This is reflected in their basketry as well… through
use of the same materials, weaving techniques, design motifs, and their
uses.
For more information, visit
the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum’s website or call (760)
323-0151.
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Four Generations of Zapotec Weaving: Tradition & Transition
Photo: San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles
Through June 30, 2007
San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles
520 South First Street
San Jose, California
Now on display is a unique collection of rugs made by the Chavez family, fourth-generation weavers from Teotitlán del Valle, a Zapotec community near Oaxaca City, Mexico, famous for its handmade rugs.
Eric Chavez is a pioneer in the rediscovery of lost natural dyeing techniques and in using traditional motifs with a contemporary flair. The resulting patterns and colors are subtle yet graphic designs that merge a traditional craft with a sophisticated artistic sensibility.
Museum Admission: $6.50 adults, $5 seniors and students
Museum Hours: Tuesday through Sunday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
For more information visit the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles’ website or call (408) 971-0323.
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Mosi: Transparent
The Land of the Morning Calm – III
Through June 30, 2007
Casa Muhyang
743 N. La Brea Avenue
Los Angeles, California
Casa Muhyang presents Mosi: Transparent, the first exhibition of mosi, Korean fabric, in Los Angeles. This exhibition features the subtle delicacy of mosi and how its transparent character displays within the wave of summer.
Artists: Bonghwa Kim, Chris YJ Cho, Myung Choi, Young Park, Jaeyeon Lee, Jeungsook Lee, Eunju Park, Hyosun Ahn, Jinsook Kim, and Younghee Lee.
Featured artist Bonghwa Kim is a current master artist in ACTA’s Apprenticeship Program.
For more information visit Casa Muhyang’s website or call (313) 934-4992.
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Native American Women’s Creations
June 3 – August 25, 2007
Edward Dean Museum and Gardens
9401 Oak Glen Road
Cherry Valley, California
A traveling exhibition from the Riverside Metropolitan Museum collections.
For more information visit
the Riverside Metropolitan Museum’s website.
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Landscaping America: Beyond the Japanese Garden
Photo: Japanese American National Museum
June 17 – October 21, 2007
Japanese American National Museum
369 East First Street
Los Angeles, California
Gardens were among the first forms of Japanese culture to gain popularity in the United States. Since their introduction to the American public at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Japanese-style gardens have proliferated across the country.
Landscaping America reveals the personal stories, historical journeys, creativity, and community processes that underlie the surface of the "Japanese garden." This multimedia exhibition highlights how West Coast Japanese Americans drew upon their agricultural and ethnic backgrounds to carve out a viable vocational niche in gardening, and in the process, reinterpreted Japanese garden traditions, and contributed to the diversity of the American landscape.
Curated by ACTA Board Member Sojin Kim.
Museum Admission: $8 adults, $5 seniors, $4 students and children
Museum Hours: 11:00 am – 5:00 pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 11:00 am – 8:00 pm Thursday, Closed Monday
For more information visit the Japanese American National Museum’s website.
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¡Viva La Charreria Mexicana!
Escaramuza, Sliding Stop / Escaramuza, Una Punta
Photo: Heather Hafleigh
Though July 8, 2007
Grace Hudson Museum
431 South Main Street
Ukiah, California
A bilingual exhibit featuring more than 50 photographs by Berkeley photographer Heather Hafleigh which document the rich cultural tradition of California’s charreria, sometimes called Mexican rodeo. Also on display will be some of the traditional costumes and saddles used in this sport.
In the sixteenth century cattle ranching extended throughout most of Mexico, including the region now known as the American Southwest. Skilled cattle workers known as charros came together frequently to work at rounding up and branding cattle. Frequently they engaged in displays of equestrian skills and fancy roping on the side. These friendly demonstrations eventually evolved into the charreria – a culture, tradition, sport, and art involving both men and women. A central component of charreria is the charreada, a festive event that incorporates equestrian competitions and demonstrations, specific costumes, horse trappings, music, and food. The national sport of Mexico, charreria has become an important cultural link for Mexicans on both sides of the border since its revival in the United States in the 1970's.
For more information visit the Grace Hudson Museum’s website or call (707) 467-2836.
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Weavings of War: Fabrics of Memory
Photo: San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles
July 17 – September 23, 2007
San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles
520 South First Street
San Jose, California
An eloquent and powerful testimony to the impact of modern warfare on our world and the relevance and resilience of folk arts in contemporary life, this exhibit explores themes of war as expressed in traditional textile arts. This exhibition showcases works that depict the horrors of war by mostly women artists and artisans from Central and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and South Africa. The exhibit includes an embroidered memory cloth from South Africa with chilling scenes of death and violence and a Hmong story cloth whose brilliant, happy colors belie its imagery of organized warfare.
This project has been made possible in part by a grant from ACTA’s Living Cultures Grants Program, in partnership with the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the James Irvine Foundation.
Museum Admission: $6.50 adults, $5 seniors and students
Museum Hours: Tuesday through Sunday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
For more information visit the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles’ website or call (408) 971-0323.
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Kumeyaay : Indigenous People of Southern California
Ongoing
San Diego Museum of Man
Balboa Park
1350 El Prado
San Diego, California
When Father Junipero Serra entered the San Diego area in 1769, he
encountered a thriving population, peaceful and hospitable. After
conscripting native people to build Mission San Diego de Alcalá,
the Spanish called them Diegueños after the mission, but the
people had their own name: Kumeyaay. Traditional Kumeyaay lifeways
are presented in displays detailing food supplies, dress and adornment,
games, and ceremonies. The Kumeyaay arts of pottery and basketry
are highlighted, and the exhibit has been expanded with a new display
of a traditional Kumeyaay house.
Admission: $8
Museum Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. daily
For more information visit
the Museum of Man’s website.
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June
San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival 2007
Weekend Two
Saturday, June 16, 2007; 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm
Sunday, June 17, 2007; 2:00 pm
Weekend Three
Saturday, June 23, 2007; 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm
Sunday, June 24, 2007; 2:00 pm
The 29th Annual San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival features twenty
nine companies representing dance traditions from 20 cultures and featuring
more than three hundred Northern Californian dancers and musicians. This
year’s theme is Evocations.
This year, four specially commissioned original dance works are being
premiered at the Festival. World Arts West, producer of the Festival,
has fostered the creation of new works by local artists, including
Diamano Coura West African Dance Company and Jyoti Kala Mandir College
of Classical Arts. Another commission will showcase Charya Burt,
founder of Charya Burt Classical Cambodian Dance, who created a new
work based on Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie.” Charya
is a current master artist in ACTA’s
Apprenticeship Program. The creation of Charya’s new
work was facilitated in part by ACTA’s
Traditional Arts Development Program.
Photo courtesy of World Arts West
During the opening night gala, World Arts West will present its annual
Malonga Casquelourd Lifetime Achievement Award to Danongan Sibay Kalanduyan,
a master of all aspects of the Maguindanao tribal style of kulintang
music and dance. He began playing at the age of 4 while growing
up in a fishing village in the Catabato area of Mindanao. In
1995, he received the United States' most prestigious award for traditional
artists, the National Heritage Fellowship, granted by the National
Endowment for the Arts. Danongan is a current master artist in ACTA’s
Apprenticeship Program.
Tickets: $22-$36, subscription packages for all three weekends of
performances are also available
For more information, including a complete line-up of performances, visit
World Arts West’s website.
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La Loteria: Mexico en Fantasia
Saturday, June 16, 2007; 8:00 pm
Sunday, June 17, 2007; 3:00 pm
Luckman Fine Arts Complex
California State University, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Grandeza Mexicana Folk Balley Company presents its newest concert
production, an interpretation of traditional Mexican fables and legends,
with the title choreography (La Loteria) based on the popular Mexican
children’s game of the same name.
The show includes three new choreographies. In addition to La
Loteria, a story activated by the iconic characters of the Loteria
game (el diablo, la dama, el apache, and more), the show will present Un Mito Entre El Maiz y Las Flores (A Myth Among the Corn and the Flowers),
a telling of an ancient Mesoamerica legend about a goddesses’ struggle
to find true love. In addition to these two pieces is Era el
Tiempo de Duendes (It Was the Time of Elves), based on an old Mexican
fable in which rag dolls come alive and dance with magical elves, and
a restaging of Grandeza Mexicana’s popular works – from
the Mexican regions of Chiapas, Yucatan, and Jalisco – that share
the concert’s theme of magic and surrealism.
Tickets: $25-$35
Fore more information visit
Grandeza Mexicana Folk Ballet Company’s website.
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Academy of Chinese Performing Arts’ 2007 Annual Performance
Sunday, June 17, 2007
7:00 pm
Ohlone College – Smith Center
43600 Mission Blvd.
Fremont, California
The Academy of Chinese Performing Arts’ (ACPA’s) mission
is to cultivate and foster Chinese culture in the vibrant and culturally
rich land of the United States by bringing exemplary Chinese performing
arts programs to Bay Area communities. Mr. David Z. Chen, founder
and artistic director, is a choreographer and Chinese Classical and
folk dance instructor from Shanghai, China. His production of
the academy's annual performances has brought joy to our communities
for the past twelve years. Join ACPA for an evening of Chinese
dance by the academy's dancers.
Admission: $18
For more information or to make reservations call (510) 676-4528.
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Brazilian Summer Festival 2007
Sunday, June 17, 2007
7:00 pm
Ford Amphitheater
2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East
Hollywood, California
Join in what the Brazilians called “backyard samba” with
traditional Brazilian samba group Fundo de Quintal. Also featuring
Lula Almeida and Afro Brazil. The audience is welcome to join
in and dance on stage. Doors open two hours prior to the show
for picnicking, booths and music from DJ Mano Gil. Brazilian
arts and crafts booths will be located throughout the Ford.
Admission: $12-$45
For more information visit
Brazilian Nites’ website.
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Exhibition Opening – Landscaping America: Beyond the Japanese Garden
Photo: Japanese American National Museum
Sunday, June 17, 2007
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Japanese American National Museum
369 East First Street
Los Angeles, California
Celebrate Father’s Day at the exhibition opening of Landscaping America: Beyond the Japanese Garden. Live Entertainment by Gary Fukushima Jazz Quartet, food vendors, and members-only raffle drawing at 2:00 pm (winners must be present). Exhibition activities include terrace garden display, guide-by-cell audio tour, in-gallery activity, and screening of Mamo’s Weeds (exclusive film short by the National Museum’s Frank H. Watase Media Arts Center).
Museum Admission: Free for members, $8 adults, $5 seniors, $4 students and children
For more information call (213) 625-0414 or visit the Japanese American National Museum’s website.
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Japanese Cultural Fair
Saturday, June 23, 2007
11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Mission Plaza Park
(Near Highway 1, In front of Holy Cross Church, 1 block from Town Clock)
Santa Cruz, California
The Japanese Cultural Fair is an opportunity for the community to increase its awareness and understanding of the Japanese community in Santa Cruz County, as well as Japanese culture, both traditional and contemporary. Presentations include performances of taiko drumming, folk and traditional dance styles from Japan and Okinawa, shamisen (lute) music, and storytelling. Demonstrations of Aikido (martial art), Ikebana (flower arrangement), tea ceremony, origami (paper folding), and bonsai (miniature tree gardens) will be presented.
This event has been made possible in part by a grant from ACTA’s Living Cultures Grants Program, in partnership with the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the James Irvine Foundation.
Admission: Free
For more information visit the Japanese Cultural Fair’s website or call (818) 462-4589.
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Cycles of Tradition: A New Day an Old Way
2007 California Indian Basketweavers Gathering
Saturday, June 23, 2007; 9:00 am – 7:00 pm
Sunday, June 24, 2007; 9:00 am – 7:00 pm
Robinson Rancheria
1645 E. Highway 20
Nice, California
Featuring panel discussions, acorn cooking demonstrations, Basketweavers Showcase, vendor and food booths, weaving circles, weaving demonstrations, cultural demonstrations, and an evening of cultural sharing.
For more information visit the California Indian Basketweavers Association’s website.
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Abhinaya Dance Company – Summer 2007 Concert Series
Saturday, June 23, 2007
5:00 pm
Santa Clara High School Performing Arts Center
3000 Benton Street
Santa Clara, California
Sunday, June 24, 2007
6:00 pm
James Armstrong Theatre
3330 Civic Center Drive
Torrance, California
Saturday, June 30, 2007
5:00 pm
Julia Morgan Center for the Arts
2640 College Avenue
Berkeley, California
Sunday, July 1, 2007
5:00 pm
CET
701 Vine Street
San Jose, California
The Abhinaya Dance Company, led by artistic director Mythili Kumar, presents a Bharatanatyam concert series featuring Raskia Kumar. Accompanied by musicians from India – Sri E. P. Sudev Warrier (vocals), Sri K. S. Sudhaman (mridangam), Sri A. P. Krishna Prasad (flute), and Malavika Kumar (nattuvangam).
Tickets: $15 general, $10 students and seniors. Tickets for entire series available at a discount.
For more information call the Abhinaya Dance Company at (408) 983-0491.
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Kahena Ēwe III – Hawaiian Cultural Workshops
Thursday, June 21, 2007; 12:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Friday, June 22, 2007; 9:00 am – 5:30 pm
Various Locations
Encinitas, California
Presented by the Ke Po’okela Cultural Foundation in perpetuation
of the Hawaiian culture and study of hula – past, present, and
future. Distinguished presenters Frank Kawaikapuokalani Hewett,
Kaumakaiwa Lopaka Kanaka‘ole, Keone Nunes, and Anthony La’akapu-a-Kawailani
Lenchanko offer lectures, workshops, and demonstrations in hula ‘auana,
hula kahiko, oli, tattoos, and kanikapila.
These workshops have been made possible in part by a grant from the
Alliance for California Traditional Arts’ Living
Cultures Grants Program, in partnership with the Walter and Elise
Haas Fund, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the James
Irvine Foundation.
Workshop Fees: $35 per class, early registration is encouraged as
space is limited
For more information, including complete workshop schedule and locations, visit
Ke Po’okela Cultural Foundation’s website.
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Kahena Ēwe III – Hawaiian Cultural Workshops
Saturday, June 23, 2007; 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday, June 24, 2007; 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Loyola Marymount University
1 LMU Drive
Los Angeles, California
Presented by the Ke Po’okela Cultural Foundation in perpetuation
of the Hawaiian culture and study of hula – past, present, and
future. Distinguished presenters Frank Kawaikapuokalani Hewett,
Kaumakaiwa Lopaka Kanaka‘ole, Keone Nunes, and Anthony La’akapu-a-Kawailani
Lenchanko offer lectures, workshops, and demonstrations in hula ‘auana,
hula kahiko, oli, tattoos, and kanikapila.
These workshops have been made possible in part by a grant from the
Alliance for California Traditional Arts’ Living
Cultures Grants Program, in partnership with the Walter and Elise
Haas Fund, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the James
Irvine Foundation.
Workshop Fees: $35 per class, early registration is encouraged as
space is limited
For more information, including complete workshop schedule, visit
Ke Po’okela Cultural Foundation’s website.
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Chhandam School of Kathak 26th Annual School Peformance
Sunday, June 24, 2007
1:00 pm and 5:30 pm
Mexican Heritage Theater
1700 Alum Rock Avenue
San Jose, California
The largest Indian classical dance school in North America presents
its 26th annual school performance.
Admission: $12-$25
For more information visit
the Chhandam School of Kathak’s website.
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Tails from India
Photo: Angahara Dance Company
Saturday, June 30, 2007
11:45 am, 1:00 pm and 2:30 pm
Skirball Cultural Center
Outdoor Amphitheater
2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles, California
Under the direction of Lester Horton Award winning choreographer/performer Ramaa Bharadvaj, eight elaborately costumed dancers from the Angahara Dance Ensemble present an interactive story/dance adventure from India for the whole family. Join golden tailed Gajendra and his white elephant friends; a hungry crocodile; Simha, the magnificent Indian lion king, and his bumbling monkey attendants as they get ready to go aboard the Noah’s Ark! It’s a tail (we don’t mean a tale) that will put a smile on your face.
Tails from India is commissioned by the Skirball Cultural Center to celebrate the opening of their spectacular 8,000 square foot Noah’s Ark children’s gallery.
Admission: $10 general, $7 seniors and students, $5 children. Reservations required. Please note the gallery tour is 30 minutes long and ends in the amphitheater. Book your tour time to start at least 30 minutes before the listed performance times.
For more information visit the Angahara Dance Ensemble’s website or visit the Skirball Cultural Center’s website.
July
Gods & Goddesses
Photo: Rangoli Foundation for Art and Culture
Saturday, July 7, 2007
6:00 pm
Madrid Theatre
21622 Sherman Way
Canoga Park, California
The Rangoli Foundation for Art and Culture presents Gods & Goddesses, a concert featuring dances in the Bharatanatyam and Kathak classical styles of India to enact stories related to the gods and goddesses of India. The numerous deities in the Hindu pantheon are considered manifestations of the Supreme Spirit which can take any form any time. India is a storehouse of myths and legends and these dances reveal stories that depict him as the infant and then the lover Krishna, the handsome King Rama, the learned Goddess Saraswati, the loyal but independent Parvati, the fiercesome Shiva, or the benevolent Lakshmi.
Tickets: $15 advance purchase, $20 box office
For more information visit the Rangoli Foundation’s website or call (818) 788-6860.
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A Feast for the Senses: East Meets West
Sunday, July 15, 2007
7:30 pm
Ford Amphitheater
2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East
Hollywood, California
The Los Angeles Jewish Symphony, the Yuval Ron Ensemble, and guest singer Maya Haddi present an evening of music, song, and dance, blending the classical sounds of the western orchestra with the sounds, instruments, and dances of the Middle East.
Tickets: $25, $36, $12 students and children
For more information visit the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony’s website.
County & Regional Calendars
A calendar of Festivals and Celebrations in San Diego is available from the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture.
Let us know if you have special information that should be posted here.
To update information or submit an event for the calendar,
please email ACTA.
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