|
|
Go directly to: Living Cultures Grants Program Informational Meetings Moving Forward, Looking Back: Living Cultures in Practice ACTA Welcomes New Board Member Sojin Kim Bay Area and Los Angeles Artists – Request to Participate in a Web-Based Survey Advocacy Assembly Moves to Cut Arts Block Grant Funding—ACTION NEEDED! Proceeds from the license plate sales will benefit the California Arts Council (CAC)
|
WHAT'S NEWSubscribe to The New Moon, ACTA's Monthly E-Newsletter. See the latest edition of The New Moon ACTA’s Board of Directors Meets with Native Artists in the Far North
At the Klamath Overlook: (back row,
l-r): Julian Lang, Peter Pennekamp, Amos Tripp, Nila Marshall,
Chag Lowry, Libby Maynard, Paula Allen, Lily Kharrazi, Joe Marshall,
Charlie Seemann, Suzanne Hildebrand, Frank LaPena;
Amy Kitchener, Executive Director On May 16 and 17, 2006, ACTA’s Board of Directors and staff met with several Native American artists and cultural practitioners in Arcata and Klamath. ACTA board members Libby Maynard (Ink People) and Peter Pennekamp (Humboldt Area Foundation) invited members of the local tribal communities to participate in ACTA’s board retreat as a way to deepen ACTA’s dialogue with Native Californian cultural practitioners in the far north. ACTA’s board meets twice a year in different locations throughout the state, and strives to network with the field by meeting with local partners, organizations, and artists and cultural practitioners. ACTA’s board and staff met with Amos Tripp (Karuk); Maria Tripp (Yurok); Julian Lang (Karuk/Wiyot), a current Living Cultures Grants Program grantee; Lyn Risling (Karuk/Yurok/Hupa); Chag Lowry (Yurok/Maidu/Pit River), Program Officer, Native Cultures Fund, Humboldt Area Foundation; Paula Allen (Karuk/Yurok), a current apprentice in ACTA’s Apprenticeship Program, Paul Kuska (Yurok), Geneva Shaw (Karuk/Yurok/Hupa), and Joe and Nila Marshall (Yurok/Hupa). Topics of discussion ranged from sharing of native stories and traditions, to current issues facing the region’s Native American communities, to ways ACTA can effectively support the traditional arts being practiced locally. The cultural component of the meeting began at United Indian Health Services’ (UIHS) facility Potawot Health Village in Arcata, an inspiring model where tribal members receive healthcare in which physical, spiritual, environmental, and cultural health are connected through architecture, community gardens, and a world class art collection of traditional and contemporary regional Native art. Maria Tripp is the Chair of the California Rural Indian Health Board, and her husband Amos, an attorney and Karuk Dance Maker is one of the leaders who brought the vision of UIHS/Potawot Health Village to reality. Their daughter, Paula Allen, serves as the agency’s cultural coordinator and toured us through the art exhibits from UIHS’s permanent collection featuring works of two local National Heritage Fellows – the baskets of Loren Bommelyn (Tolowa) and an Elkhorn purse by George Blake (Hupa/Yurok). Seeing some of Lyn Risling’s original paintings in the collection provided a context for our later discussions with her and others in the group. Paula Allen explained that serving as the curator of the collection is quite different from a “typical museum approach” in that at the UIHS, the art is placed in the context of the community’s facility – so people engage with it by interacting with the pieces or giving their opinions during installations. Native plants surround the building and the acreage around it provides a space for the community to walk, play, reflect, and garden. During summer months, organic gardens produce a lush range of fruits and vegetables which are sold at the clinic.
Yurok redwood plank house model
at Margaret Keating Elementary School The next installment of the meeting took place at and around the historic Requa Inn on the shores of the Klamath River, near its estuary. A very special moment occurred as Julian Lang and Amos Tripp shared stories and songs relating to the mouth of the Klamath River, which we viewed from an overlook, while a pod of grey whales migrated northward. Then we visited the Margaret Keating Elementary School where the community has built some small-scale replicas of traditional Yurok buildings, including a sweat house and a redwood plank home. The next day, during a jet boat trip upriver, Paul Kuska showed us some sacred places, as well as some of his favorite fishing spots on the river. We also spotted several ospreys which just years ago carried “endangered status,” but have made a strong comeback with coordinated conservation and stewardship. Paul and Julian are working together on the ACTA-supported Klamath River Songs Project in which they are conducting a series of workshops in four local communities where young Native adult men and women are learning the fundamentals and intricacies of indigenous ceremonial song forms. Instruction includes rhythms and melodic structures for story songs, social songs, and more complex ceremonial songs. Paul shared several songs with us, as did Julian Lang, Joe Marshall, Paul Allen, Lyn Risling, and Geneva Shaw. Joe Marshall, a recent graduate of Humboldt State University, has immersed himself in learning the Hupa language, as well as the making of some vital material culture including iris string, traditional clamshell currency, tanned hides, and carved elk horn purses and spoons. He shared some of the challenges and intricacies inherent in this work. Joe is beginning work on a teaching credential so he can teach high school in Hoopa. The two days of dialogue and sharing was inspiring for many of us, forged new connections, and provided numerous moving examples of the persistence, patience, and creativity by these individuals who have committed their lives to keep their cultures living. Living Cultures Grants Program Informational MeetingsThroughout May and June, ACTA staff will hold seven informational meetings across the state to provide information about its Living Cultures Grants Program. The Living Cultures Grants Program is a funding program for California non-profit organizations to support exemplary projects in the traditional arts with grants up to $7,500. On May 9, 2006, and May 10, 2006, Program Coordinator Lily Kharrazi hosted two informational meetings in Riverside and San Diego, respectfully. Please join Kharrazi or Executive Director Amy Kitchener at one of the remaining meetings to discuss your work and learn about the Living Cultures Grants Program! We are happy to work with first time grant-seekers. Attendance at informational meetings is not required to apply; ACTA staff is also happy assist you over the phone. The Living Cultures Grants Program is a project of the Alliance for California Traditional Arts in partnership with the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the James Irvine Foundation. Informational Meeting ScheduleArcata Oakland Fresno San José Los Angeles Moving Forward, Looking Back: Living Cultures in PracticeA Look at Collage des Cultures Africaines and Danzantes Unidos Festival
Dr. Zakariya Diouf of Senegal Editor’s note: The first round of the Living Cultures Grants Program is in full swing. Program Coordinator Lily Kharrazi has been conducting site visits to some of the grantees. Some of her observations follow. Please visit the Living Cultures Grants Program page for more information on the upcoming second round of this program. By Lily Kharrazi, ACTA Living Cultures Grants Coordinator “Let the rhythms begin”. The call to the drummers announced the beginning of the 11th annual Collage Des Cultures Africaines in Oakland, California. The four days of performances, workshops, classes, panel discussions, and African marketplace was presented by the Diamano Coura West African Dance Company on March 9-12, 2006. The 30 year old company is under the direction of ethnomusicologist, Dr. Zakariya Diouf of Senegal and former principal dancer of the National Dance Company of Senegal, Naomi Gedo Washington, who is originally from Liberia. They are respected leaders in their field. The Dioufs have an integrated approach to teaching African cultural arts which combines the teaching of traditional values alongside a vigorous teaching style based on their experiences with professional touring companies. The end results are manifested by the dynamic sense of community that they have built around them. The Collage weekend brings together generations of students, their families, a supportive audience, and a widening number of African teachers who live in the United States. They look to the Dioufs as mentors and family, having paved the way for African cultural arts in the United States for many years. “The spirit of Collage comes out of the need for people to be exposed and educated in all aspects of African cultural arts…We wanted to promote cultural literacy,” write the Dioufs in the program book for the weekend’s evening performances. “When various groups of people come together to magnify the beautiful sounds, movements and colors that bring harmony to nature and pleasure to everyone… that is the elixir for life. It is the medicine our communities need to progressively move forward,” Zak Diouf explains. The Collage workshops featured guest faculty from Senegal, Guinee, Mali, Liberia, Zimbabwe, and Congo who taught specific dances and drumming from various ethnic groups. Each class had a full compliment of drumming with so many guest artists in attendance. For many expatriates, the Collage weekend is a chance to “feel like I am home,” which was a sentiment expressed by an observer from Nigeria, who was watching a dance class move through the rigors of the dance from Senegal known as Sabar. The number of Africans at Collage seemed to indicate that this sentiment was far from his alone. “This is where I get my fix for a whole year,” he finished smiling. The concluding day of Collage began with a free breakfast and community discussion about creating an African arts certification program. This early morning breakfast came on the heels of a Saturday night concert with all the guest artists performing alongside community groups that are core to the Diouf’s belief to creating and working as community partners. By 9:00 p.m. Sunday night the last dance class was winding down to close this year’s gathering. Another gathering whose ranks have swelled in its 27 year history is the Danzantes Unidos Festival (DUF). Since its inception, the DUF has created a cultural network of Mexican folk dancers and artists in California. The event takes place each year on Palm Sunday weekend, moving to different locations around the state. This year’s event took place in Whittier, California on April 7-9, 2006. Forty workshops were offered in the regional dance and music styles of Mexico by instructors from the Southwest United States and Mexico. Each evening, showcase concerts gave opportunities to some of the nearly 80 performing ensembles who were registered for the weekend. An active mercado, or marketplace, to buy folkloric dance paraphernalia and food was set up outside the classrooms of the high school that was home to the workshop.
Danzantes Unidos Festival participants practice in between workshops. As one expression of the state’s fastest growing population, the role of folklórico for the Mexican-American community is a source of pride. With 1,000 people participating at DUF, the generally easy mood of the participants of all ages attested to how enjoyable this activity is. Lots of interaction happened within the formal class setting as well as in between activities. There were classes for youth as well as adults at all levels of intensity. “I began as a child,” explained one young woman from Solano County, “and went on to start my own group at college.”
Children's workshop at Danzantes Unidos Festival The repertoire taught at DUF often becomes a part of a company’s season when they return home, so that the teaching is carried to more people after the workshops. As the solidity of the folkloric movement has become entrenched, there has also been a resurgence to look to traditional sources in order to understand the diversity and richness of Mexico’s cultures. This movement has gained momentum among many artists in order to deepen the understanding of what they are doing before presenting staged versions of the material. There is no doubt about the collateral good of the dance and music which has created pride and artistic competency in the community. In order to look more closely at the roots and sources of regional Mexican traditions, the organizers of DUF 2006, headed by Maria Luisa Colmenarez, invited featured guest artists Son de Madera from Veracruz, Mexico, to be in residency. This ensemble of six performed concert style on traditional instruments which featured the percussive footwork of the singers as a rhythmic backdrop to the music. This zapateado, or footwork, is one of the features of the style.
Improvising on a wooden platform highlights the dancer's rhythmic
contribution to the music jam at Saturday night's pachanga. Guest
artists from Veracruz Mexico play alongside the workshop participants. To close the Saturday night festivities, a panchanga, or party, gave participants two options. A DJ in one room spun dance music and salsa for the crowd, while across the hallway, a jam of instrumentalists and dancers joined with guest artists Son de Madera. The crowd seemed to have no problem traversing from one room to another. “Next year, we are already thinking about having mariachi, poolside,” said a beaming Maria Luisa Colmenarez, who proudly wore a traditional embroidered dress, as another set of teens in salsa dresses walked in to listen to the traditional song jam going on. The continuum was nearly seamless. For more information on Diamano Coura West African Dance Company and next year’s Collage des Cultures Africaines, please visit their website. For more information about Danzantes Unidos, please visit their website. ACTA Welcomes New Board Member Sojin KimACTA is pleased to welcome new board member Dr. Sojin Kim. Currently a curator at the Japanese American National Museum, she has developed many innovative exhibits on Japanese culture and traditional arts including the recent Big Drum: Taiko in the United States exhibition. Dr. Kim has also served as a Folklore Specialist with the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, and project coordinator for the Shades of California, a community photographic history project, with the California State Library. She received her Ph.D. in Folklore and Mythology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and has taught Folklore and Anthropology courses at UCLA, Cal State Los Angeles, Otis College of Art and Design, and UC Riverside. She has also published many articles focusing on Asian American cultures and the local cultures of Los Angeles neighborhoods. Bay Area and Los Angeles Artists – Request to Participate in a Web-Based SurveySecond Request! Time Sensitive!!ACTA urges you to spend twenty minutes responding to a survey about how you develop your artistic work across commercial, non-profit and community sectors. The study, commissioned by the James Irvine and Hewlett Foundations, is endorsed by the Los Angeles Arts Commission, the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, the Durfee, Flintridge, Haas, and San Francisco Foundations, and many artists' and community organizations. The survey should take twenty minutes and you may win one of ten $100 prizes for participating. You are guaranteed complete confidentiality for your identity and answers. What's in it for artists? The chance to tell how your artistic work bridges these sectors, to share your own story as an artist and to recommend ways that the barriers between the commercial, non-profit and community arts worlds can be broached. The University of Minnesota authors will alert us to the free web-based publication of the resulting study in the fall, and we will pass this on to you. Please follow this link to complete the survey. The survey is also available in Spanish by following this link. AdvocacyCalifornia’s State FY 2006-07 Budget, with $7.5 Billion Extra Revenue, Still Spends Three Cents per Capita on the ArtsFrom California Arts Advocates Supporters of over 10,000 nonprofit arts organizations who serve California residents and visitors were hoping that Governor Schwarzenegger would add to the California Arts Council (CAC) budget FY 2006-07 in his May Revise last Friday. The California Arts Council receives three cents per capita from California’s general fund. The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies has ranked California 50th in the nation in arts funding for the last two years. “We applaud the Governor for recognizing arts and music education by proposing significant funding allocations to the California Department of Education’s budget for arts block grants and arts and music equipment and supplies,” said Lisa Caretto, president of California Arts Advocates. “The Arts are an essential component in a well-rounded education for California’s children and yet, there is currently no dedicated state funding for arts education.” However, the Governor's budget does little to assist the nonprofit arts community. Nurtured by the California Arts Council over the years, hundreds of arts organizations throughout the state serve as a feeder to California's creative industry. According to the recent Americans for the Arts Creative Industries 2006 Report (using reliable data from Dun & Bradstreet and geo-economic analysis), in January 2006 California was home to 86,012 arts-related businesses that employ 484,657 people. These are California businesses; these are California jobs. “The Arts: A Competitive Advantage for California II” reports that the impact of the nonprofit arts sector includes $2.7 billion in worker income, $300 million in tax revenue, $2.2 billion in spending throughout the state and tourist spending is just under $1 billion. $1.144 million in state spending is a small investment in a sector that brings so much to our great state. “Imagine the return on California’s investment, if the state’s general fund spent more than three cents per capita on the Arts,” suggests Caretto. “California Arts Advocates is committed to working for the day when California will invest $1 per capita on the arts, in addition to providing California's 6 million school children with arts and music programs that are part of the core curriculum.” Visit the California Arts Action Center to register your concerns with the Governor and Legislature in an email that takes just minutes to compose. Assembly Moves to Cut Arts Block Grant Funding—ACTION NEEDED!From California Alliance for Arts Education Late in the afternoon of May 23, the Assembly Education Budget Subcommittee
acted to cut all the new ongoing categorical programs, including the
arts block grant funding, in favor of a mega one-time block grant of
$1.6 billion that would have virtually no restrictions as to how it
is spent. The move is in stark contrast to the actions of the Senate
Education Budget Subcommittee, who voted to approve $150 million in
ongoing arts block grant funding and left the door open for future
discussion about the one-time $250 million in supplies and equipment
for the arts. The rationale behind the Assembly decision is that it
allows more flexibility for districts if the money is not restricted
and also would not put a lock on future funding. Democrats all voted
in favor and Republicans voted against the mega block grant. URGENT ACTION NEEDED IMMEDIATELY!! 1. Write your legislators to urge their support for the Senate version -- $150 million for ongoing arts block grant funding. Step 1: Go
to the California Arts Action Center web page 2. Write the Governor to thank him for his leadership in allocating designated funding for arts education, and urge him to continue to stand firm on his commitment. Step 1: Go to the California Arts Action Center web page Give Special Attention and Urgency to your communication if your legislators play a leadership role in the budget and/or education arena: Senator Don Perata (D-Oakland) |
