About ACTA
What are folk & traditional arts?
Folk & traditional artists are tradition bearers: people who transmit what they believe, know, do, and create with others who share a common heritage, language, religion, occupation, or region. These expressions are deeply rooted in and reflective of a community’s shared standards of beauty, values, or life experiences. Folk and traditional arts are, ultimately, passed on from one generation to the next and express a collective wisdom, rather than a unique personal aesthetic.
Mission
The Alliance for California Traditional Arts 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. From Ohlone basketry and African-American quilt-making to cowboy poetry and Vietnamese opera, California is home to hundreds of diverse traditions.
Staff
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Amy Kitchener, Executive Director, is a folklorist who has worked in the public sector since 1991 including coordinating the LA Public Library’s Shades of L.A. community photo history collecting project, consulting with the California State Library’s project Shades of California, and serving as folklorist in residence with the Arizona Commission on the Arts. She started the first programs of the Fresno Arts Council’s Folk Arts Program in 1993 and served as the program director for 9 years. Amy co-founded ACTA in 1997 and spearheaded its development as a private nonprofit organization. She was hired as the Founding Executive Director in March 2002. She holds an M.A. in Folklore & Mythology from UCLA and is a published author. Contact Amy. |
Funders
ACTA is generously supported by:
• California Arts Council
• California Community Foundation
• The California Endowment
• Columbia Foundation
• Community Leadership Project (a joint initiative of the Irvine, Hewlett & Packard Foundations)
• East Bay Community Foundation
• Fresno Arts Council
• Walter & Elise Haas Fund
• The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation
• The James Irvine Foundation
• The Metabolic Studio, a direct charitable activity of The Annenberg Foundation
• National Endowment for the Arts
• San Francisco Arts Commission
• The San Francisco Foundation
• Surdna Foundation
• Taproot Foundation
ACTA's Logo
Download ACTA's logo for your website or promotional materials! Our logo is available in the following formats. Right click on the format you'd like to use, select "Save Link As...", and follow the prompts to save to your hard drive.
