The Wishtoyo Foundation is a Native American organization that utilizes traditional Chumash cultural values and practices to foster environmental awareness. The Chumash people lived for centuries along the California coast between Malibu and San Luis Obispo and the Channel Islands, depending on the natural world…
The Modesto Cambodian Buddhist Society is a beacon for the Khmer community, preserving the cultural and spiritual heritage of the Cambodian people and supporting sustainable progress for growth and prosperity. With its support, the Cambodian classical dance troupe grew from six beginners to 40 trained dancers.
Cantonese Opera Association-Silicon Valley, a nonprofit organization established in 2001, is a presenter and educator of the most well-known and popular type of Chinese Opera. There are over 300 different opera styles in China, relative to the region from which they originate. Cantonese opera music is a blend of classical…
Paul Cason is an artist, community leader, and speaker of the Northwestern (Konkow) Maidu language. Paul’s dedication to the art, culture, and community of this language is unwavering. He understands that for Maidu art to be fully cherished, it must be experience through the Maidu mindset, language, and worldview. Paul…
Fresno-based United Cultures exists to educate, promote, and disseminate the arts, culture, and gastronomy of all the Latino world. Their mission is to create and encourage economic opportunities and new avenues of expression for all Latino art forms. In 2012, ACTA’s Development Program supported United Cultures’ consultancy with CPA Emmett…
San Diego-based Tekura Jegnas supports the preservation and continuation of African American martial arts traditions in Southern California. Master artist Dennis Newsome started Tekura Jegnas in 1975, naming his organization in the Ethiopian Amharic language–tekura jegnas means “Black hero/warrior”–out of respect for his African teachers and in…
Filipino American arts, culture, and advocacy
Founded in 1991 by a group of Vietnamese American journalists, artists, and friends, the Vietnamese American Arts & Letters Association is a community-based, nonprofit organization. VAALA has organized numerous cultural events such as art exhibitions, book fairs, book signings, recitals, plays, lectures, the biennial Vietnamese International…
The batá is a sacred drum tradition originating among the Yoruba people of West Africa and brought to the New World during the slave trade era. Female in nature, the three two-headed drums played by three men activate a sacred language that communicates with the spirit world of the Orisha (or…
Congolese Ngoma, Drumming
