The origins of Tejidos Purépecha project began in the Eastern Coachella Valley as a collaboration with the residents, ACTA, and Building Healthy Communities (a project of the California Endowment). In an effort to promote health and well-being, an on the ground approach employed by ACTA asked the indigenous Purépecha, whose…
WasabiKai is a ceramics program of the Senshin Buddhist Temple of Los Angeles. The veritable institution has had a profound effect on the Japanese and Japanese- American community by its commitment to traditional arts, namely safeguarding Gagaku music, Bugagku dance, and introducing the first Taiko group…
The mission of the Watsonville Taiko Group, founded in 1991, is to foster the evolving cultural expression and traditions of taiko drumming through performances and public education. Artistic director since 1992, Ikuyo Conant set the group’s goals of exploring taiko to develop an art that combines…
La Guelaguetza
Indigenous Mexican dance and traditions
Pasadena Community Job Center connects skilled day laborers, both men and women, for a variety of services. They have been a part of the community for 14 years providing over 12,000 jobs to skilled workers. Affiliated with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, they are committed…
Sama Sama Cooperative began in Berkeley in 2014 with a group of five Pilipino parents. The organization is creating an alternative educational experience with diverse experiences in traditional arts, education, environmental justice, science, and community organizing. Sama Sama means “all together” in Tagalog and is a…
Bay Area Youth Arts is a nonprofit program with a mission to help at-risk, inner-city youth develop discipline and self-confidence necessary to lead positive and productive lives. Offering African and jazz percussion, as well as classical and jazz violin, students learn listening and learning skills that…
Teatro Jornalero Sin Fronteras is a Los Angeles-based ensemble theater group made up of day laborers. Since 2008, the ten-member troupe has developed fifteen short plays examining social justice issues such as worker and immigrant rights, building healthy families and workplaces, and exploring the creation of…
Madera, California, boasts a large Oaxacan community who are largely agricultural workers. The community has recognized that back strap weaving is one of the many traditions of the indigenous communities in Oaxaca, Mexico, that is almost non-existent with the move to California. A natural context of learning to weave from…
