Supporting California's thriving cultural communities

Site visit with Melody HyunJeong Sim (Shim) + Juli Jiyoung Kang in Los Angeles County, at the Switzer Falls Trailhead in the Angeles National Forest. January 11, 2023. Photos by Jennifer Joy Jameson and Chris Merchant.

Melody HyunJeong Sim (Shim), former Korean dance apprentice to DaEun Jung in 2019, returns to mentor Juli Kang in Korean Pansori Music.
Site visit with Melody HyunJeong Sim (Shim) + Juli Jiyoung Kang in Los Angeles County, at the Switzer Falls Trailhead in the Angeles National Forest. January 11, 2023. Photos by Jennifer Joy Jameson and Chris Merchant.

Melody HyunJeong Sim (Shim), former Korean dance apprentice to DaEun Jung in 2019, returns to mentor Juli Kang in Korean Pansori Music. Sim will guide Juli Jiyoung Kang in deepening her skills in Pansori (particularly in relation to voice and repertoire). Kang will also learn to compose Pansori and develop a performance reflecting the everyday stories of Korean immigrant/diasporic life in Los Angeles, which the pair will present at the end of the apprenticeship, introducing new audiences to Pansori.

Apply Now for the 2023 Apprenticeship Program!

The Apprenticeship Program encourages the continuity of the state’s thriving traditional arts and cultures. Now offering $5,000 contracts. Apply in English or Spanish by May 3, 2023.

Learn More + Apply

New Report on Traditional Arts funding in the United States

Read or download ACTA's new report, "Tending the Taproot: Opportunities to Support Folk & Traditional Arts in the United States"

Tending the Taproot
2007 Apprenticeship mentor artist Leanne Mounvongkham and apprentice Kami Thephavong in Northern Lao Weaving and Foodways, Fresno. Photo: Sherwood Chen/ACTA.

Photos and audio from 2007 Apprenticeships, from Sherwood Chen's files

Introducing the California Traditional Artists Plaza

List or browse artistic offerings on our new, free resource, the California Traditional Artists Plaza

Check out the Plaza
The Oakland Asian Cultural Center, a 2008 Living Cultures Grant Program awardee, hosts a National Dishes series of culinary workshops. Photo: Lily Kharrazi/ACTA.

Our Mission

The Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA) promotes and supports ways for cultural traditions to thrive now and into the future. Since our founding in 1997, we have distributed more than $7 million in grants to more than 1,660 artists and organizations throughout the state.

Learn more about ACTA
Artist Marty Natividad leads a Danza Azteca class at the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and California State Prison in Corcoran as part of ACTA's Arts in Corrections Program. Photo: Peter Merts, courtesy of the California Arts Council.

Supporting California’s living cultural heritage for more than 20 years

With more than a dozen staff members, ACTA is a statewide and national leader dedicated to supporting cultural practitioners and their communities. We travel up and down California from our offices in Fresno, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, reaching every corner of the state. We aim to serve as a bridge between cultural communities through our programs, providing opportunities for exchange, collaboration, and connection to new resources.

Explore our programs
Master artist Flavio “Paps” Alvarez and his grandnephew and apprentice Carlos Gonzales—both from Los Angeles—participated in ACTA's 2009 Apprenticeship Program focusing on their work in Garifuna Wanaragua song and dance. Photo: Sherwood Chen/ACTA.

Our vision is for a culturally and racially equitable California

In our increasingly fractured society, we believe ACTA plays a critical role in shaping a positive future for California where the unique value of every culture is respected, sustained, and appreciated. Through our programs, services, and funding opportunities for the traditional arts, we are weaving a more integrated, just, and empathetic social fabric across California.

Join the vision
Apprenticeship Program
Encouraging the continuity of California’s traditional arts and cultures
Arts in Corrections
Bridging culture and community behind prison walls
Building Healthy Communities
Elevating traditional arts practices that center community knowledge and culture in campaigns for health equity
Living Cultures Grant
Supporting the creativity of cultural communities
Sounds of California
Sharing stories of migration and community through music
Traditional Arts Roundtable Series
Sharing practices and resources for a more sustainable arts field