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Scroll down to read or go directly to: L.A. Treasures Awards for November 2005 UNESCO Cultural Diversity Convention Approved
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WHAT'S NEWSubscribe to The New Moon, ACTA's Monthly E-Newsletter. See the latest edition of The New Moon ACTA Announces Living Cultures Grants Program AwardeesLast month ACTA awarded grants to thirty California traditional arts organizations through its Living Cultures Grants Program. Organizations received grants of up to $7,500 to support exemplary projects in the traditional arts. The Living Cultures Grants Program is a pilot project of the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, in partnership with The Fund for Folk Culture, The Walter and Elise Haas Fund, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and The James Irvine Foundation. This program was formerly managed by The Fund for Folk Culture as the California Traditional Arts Advancement Program (CTAAP). Living Cultures Grants Program Awardees:ABADÁ-Capoeira San Francisco ($7,500). The cultural exchange festival “Dancas dos Guerreiros” (Dances of the Warriors) will gather master Brazilian artists together with community leaders, students, performers and audience members to share workshops, conversation and performances in the traditional art forms of capoeria, maculele and jongo. These dance and music forms originated in slave plantations and were created by generations of African slaves in Portuguese-colonized Brazil. The Festival will be held May 17 – 26, 2006. Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival, Vallejo, ($7,500). The seventh biannual “Breath of Life/Silent No More” language workshop will take place at UC Berkeley in June. This workshop is specifically for Native American tribes who have no living speakers from whom to learn. The workshop allows participants to have access to the resources that UC Berkeley has available on their languages. Over 50 participants are expected this year, representing and impacting language and cultural work in over 20 tribes. The Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, Palm Springs, ($7,500), will present “Singing the Birds: Wikitmallem Tahmuwhae,” the first annual Bird Singing and Dance Festival on December 17, 2005. This cultural form is important to many Native peoples and the Festival will highlight the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, who live in the immediate area. The Agua Caliente Cultural Museum is a regional museum with ties to communities in Palm Springs, San Bernadino, and Riverside Counties.
Tony Andreas and the Agua Caliente Birdsingers Photo credit: Agua Caliente Cultural Museum Archives. All Rights Reserved. Association for the Advancement of Filipino American Arts & Culture (FilAm ARTS), Los Angeles, ($7,500) will produce the 15th Annual Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture on September 9-10, 2006. A comprehensive gathering of traditional artists will demonstrate dance, music, martial arts and folk crafts from Northern and Southern Philippines. The award will support festival preparation and artist fees. Chhandam Chitresh Das Dance Company, San Francisco, ($7,500) is producing “Kathak at the Crossroads, International Festival & Symposium” in September 2006. A three day event will gather artists, scholars, teachers, presenters, critics, funders, students and the general public, in a comprehensive look at one of India’s classical dance forms. Chinese Performing Arts Foundation, San Francisco, ($5,000) will purchase folk percussion instruments from Suzhow City, China, for use in performance and teaching. The instruments will enhance the instruction and performance of Chinese folk music. This project is under the direction of percussion master Wang Wei, a former Master Artist in ACTA’s Apprenticeship Program. The City of San Fernando, ($7,500) will receive funds to continue its nationally recognized program, The Mariachi Master Apprentice Program (MMAP). Youth between the ages of 11-19 are provided with instruction and exposure to the performance of traditional folk music by mariachi music masters. The program encompasses advanced music instruction, arrangement and performance skills in such Mexican idioms as sones, jarabes, huapangos and polkas. The masters are from the renowned Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano, an NEA Folk and Traditional Art Heritage Awardee. Croatian American Cultural Center, San Francisco, ($5,000), prepares for its 7th Annual Tamburitza Festival in February 2006. This two day event will be comprised of two concerts, master classes, jam session, a community sing-a-long of traditional Croatian and Bosnian songs and panel discussion. The award will support the fees of the project folklorist and participating artists. Diamano Coura West African Dance Company, Oakland, ($7,500) will bring five master African cultural specialists together to conduct classes and workshops in dance, history, music and craft during “Collage des Cultures Africaines.” The artists will also engage in a plenary discussion on the current state of affairs of African arts and culture. A culminating concert, “Moving with the Masters,” will be presented on March 12, 2006.
Diamano Coura West African Dance Company performing the dance drama Kakilambe, a healing dance of the Baga people of West Africa Photo credit: Cindy Musart Festival Danzantes Unidos, Union City, ($5,000) will receive support to continue its cultural networking of Mexican folk dancers and artists in California. Central to its activities is a three-day event, held in different state locations each year, which provides an opportunity for dancers to meet and share their work through workshops and concerts. Funds will support artist fees, website and newsletter. Friends of Peralta Hacienda Historical Park, Oakland, ($7,500) will use the award for a project entitled “Common Ground.” This project will bring together Mien elders who use the community garden, together with their youth, in a gardening and cooking project. Looking at the staples of a Mien diet, the gardening activities of growing, harvesting, cooking and eating will become one bridge towards learning about other traditional Mien crafts that are slowly being forgotten as the Mien youth become more assimilated into the mainstream culture. A public exhibit of video and first person texts will be created by the participants. Gen Taiko, San Francisco, ($7,500) will develop and perform a work for seven Odori dancers, a five member kumi daiko (drumming) ensemble, a shinobue (Japanese transverse flute) and a shakuhachi (flute) player. The score will be developed by Melody Takata and the dance will be choreographed by master artist Madame Fujima Kansuma, a NEA National Heritage Fellow. The work will be presented in conjunction with San Francisco Japantown’s 75th anniversary of the Obon Festival in North America, and in Los Angeles in conjunction with Nisei Week in November 2006. Ink People, Inc., Eureka, ($5,000). Andrea Graham, folklorist and researcher, will continue a comprehensive survey of traditional artists and resources in Humboldt County. The resulting databases and needs assessment will serve in placing artists in school settings and public venues, as well as ascertaining the needs of traditional artists in sustaining and presenting work. Institute of Native Knowledge, Arcata ($4,992). The Klamath River Songs Project will enable master traditional singers of northwest Native California to conduct a series of workshops in four local communities. Young Native adult men and women will learn the fundamentals and intricacies of indigenous ceremonial song forms. The master singers will travel to each community four times per month for a total of 16 workshops. Instruction includes rhythms and melodic structures for story songs, social songs and more complex ceremonial songs. Ensemble singing will be emphasized. Ke Po’okela Cultural Foundation, Redondo Beach, ($5,890), will produce two workshop events to be held in San Diego and Los Angeles in March 2006. Experts and educators from Hawaii and California will provide instruction on language, protocol and ethics, dance, chant and traditional arts and crafts. Participating will be halaus (Hawaiian cultural schools) from throughout Southern California. Khmer Arts Academy, Long Beach, ($7,500), is dedicated to the perpetuation of Cambodian classical arts which were near extinction because of the recent civil war which killed many artist/teachers among the millions who died. Funds will support year-round classical dance training and performance programs on weekends and after-school workshops. The master-apprentice classical training will strengthen the way the dance is presented in the Long Beach area Cambodian community and beyond. Kim Eung Hwa Korean Dance Academy, Los Angeles, ($5,000), will hold weekly summer programs for youth and young adults in traditional dance and music. Focused on cultural awareness and celebrating Korean history, the participants are primarily second and third generation Korean-Americans.
Kim Eung Hwa Korean Dance Academy Photo credit: Courtesy of the Kim Eung Hwa Korean Dance Academy Kinnara, Inc., Los Angeles, ($5,000), will support the purchase of costumes for Kinanara Gagaku, a musical ensemble which performs gagaku, the ancient music performed in the Imperial Court of Japan. It is performed today in religious institutions and for community activities in Japan and in America. The ensemble performs regularly for the Japanese American community in Southern California. Kodo Arts Sphere America (KASA), Los Angeles, ($5,000), will present members of the world-renowned taiko (Japanese drum) group, Kodo, in workshops for the taiko communities of Southern California. Four workshops will be held at Senshin Buddhist Temple, Los Angeles, for 200 participants of all ages and playing abilities. Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center, San Pablo, ($7,500), will use ACTA’s support towards the completion of Re-Encuentro, the third film in the documentary series that comprises their Cultures of Mexico in California Project. Focusing on traditional music and dance, the series highlights both Mexicans and Mexican-Americans in an examination of the changing role of traditions as they evolve on both sides of the border. The film will investigate music and dance from Michoacan and the indigenous Tarascan communities. Los Lupeños de San José ($7,500), will inventory and develop proper wardrobe storage facilities in order to house their extensive Mexican folklorico costume and prop collection which is in danger of being damaged. This collection is a living archive of largely handmade traditional costumes that have been part of the performing group’s history since its founding in 1969. Maafa, Oakland, ($5,000), will the support the 11th Annual Maafa: Black Holocaust Ritual 2006 in October. This ceremony is a mourning and remembrance ritual that memorializes the Africans who jumped off the transatlantic slave ships into the ocean. The ritual honors the African ancestors from which African-Americans are descendents. The commemoration also includes an art exhibit and spiritual meeting. Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu, San Francisco, ($7,500), will use ACTA’s support towards a 'uniki ceremony for senior dancers. Imbued with ancient traditions and protocols, the ceremony culminates a rigorous process of studies in hula and traditional Hawaiian culture. Students have worked for years to achieve a level of competence in performing traditional chants and dances. The two day ceremony will be overseen by cultural elders and includes ritual foods, costumes and implements. Ne’ayuh, Topanga, ($5,000), will hold a series of basketry workshops at the Haramokngna American Indian Cultural Center for members of the urban and rural Southern California American Indian community. The meetings will allow members of the community to share skills and stories. They will also meet with representatives from the Angeles National Forest in order to identify, establish and develop protocols for the gathering and traditional management of essential native plants. Obakoso Drum & Dance Ensemble, Oakland, ($5,000), will purchase professional camera equipment in order to document the work of the Cuban performing company. Funds will also be used for costumes, re-creating traditional costuming and regalia that are associated with the Afro-Cuban Orisha tradition. Odissi Vilas: Sacred Dance of India, Mill Valley, ($5,000). Under the direction of Vishnu Tattva Das, the soloist and ensemble will present Nritya Sangam, an Odissi classical dance concert on April 15, 2006, with guest artist ensemble, Rudraksha. San Jose Multicultural Artists Guild, San Jose, ($5,000), will conduct a Congolese African Dance and Music Workshop series in the spring. Taught by master drummer, Constant Massengo, and master dance instructor, Regine Ndounda, this 10 week series will focus on dance, rhythms, song and folklore from the Congo in Central Africa. Teatro de la Tierra, Fresno, ($6,500), will develop a collective teatro, or theater, performance using Mexican working class folklore – corridos, ballads, rancheras and theatrical styles rooted in ‘carpa’ theater – to tell stories based on the lives of Chicano and Mexican immigrant families who now reside in Fresno County. The project, entitled Cuentos y Canciones de Mi Gente, began with an 8 week improvisation workshop that took place in early 2005. Unity Council, Oakland, ($5,000), will work with Mexican paper sculpture, or cartoneria, artist Ruben Guzmán to mentor emerging artists to create altars for the Dia de los Muertos Festival in October 2006. The event serves to document, celebrate, preserve and promote the traditional celebration of this Mexican holiday in the Fruitvale community. Over 200 artists annually participate in the event. Last year’s free one-day festival was attended by 100,000 people. Voice of Roma, Sebastapol, ($7,500), presents its 10th Annual California Herdeljezi Festival on a traditional Romani (Gypsy) folk arts festival, May 4-6, 2006. Showcasing Romani artists, the public is invited to a festival of music, songs, dances, stories, foods, crafts, traditions and customs. A long-term goal of the organization has been to counter stereotypes of the Roma and bring attention to their historical and political marginality. The California Traditional Music Society and The City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department Announce L.A. Treasures Awards for November 2005The California Traditional Music Society (CTMS) and the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) are pleased to announce the Elaine Weissman L.A. Treasures Awards for November 2005. This program supports folk and traditional performing and visual artists with $1,000 in funds for two public performances, workshops or exhibits – one planned by the award recipient, another chosen by the Department of Cultural Affairs and the California Traditional Music Society. An average of three L.A. Treasures Awards are given each month. The next application deadline is January 2, 2006. L.A. Treasures is part of the Traditional Arts Program at the California Traditional Music Society, which provides support, develops activities, and acts as a resource for artists and organizations throughout the county. The program connects folk artists with resources through gatherings, workshops, an e-mail listserv, and funding opportunities. The program is funded by the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department. The recipients are as follows, in alphabetical order. Gamelan Silih Ganti Souhail Kaspar Nadiya Littlewarrior Pirayeh Pourafar Jim "Kimo" West UNESCO Cultural Diversity Convention ApprovedOn October 20, 2005, the General Conference of the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) approved the Convention of the “Diversity of Cultural Contents and Artistic Expressions." This new treaty establishes the exceptional status of cultural products while regulating the frontiers of the global cultural marketplace. The Convention was approved with 148 votes in favor, two against, and four abstentions. The United States was one of the two countries who voted against the Convention. Robert Albro explains how differing conceptions of cultural diversity have hindered consensus between the US delegation and its international colleagues in a Cultural Commons essay. |
