Taproot Artists & Community Trust

The Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA) announces the new Taproot Artists & Community Trust program, dedicated to honoring and uplifting accomplished US-based traditional artists who serve as community leaders and catalysts for social change in the United States. This initiative is funded by the Mellon Foundation.

Overview of ACTA

The Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA) promotes and supports ways for cultural traditions to thrive now and into the future. 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 and the nation 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 with local, regional, national, and international impacts. Nationally, ACTA serves as a thought leader and innovator in the public folklore field through research, convenings, and advocacy.

Taproot Artists & Community Trust Program

Through our research, we have learned that Taproot Artists harness generational and ancestral   knowledge, hold and advance shared community values, aesthetics, memory, language, and sacred wisdom. We also recognize the profound impact that nurturing cultural and traditional arts has on the health and wellbeing of local communities.

The Taproot program provides an unprecedented opportunity to offer catalytic support and recognition for accomplished traditional artists and culture bearers throughout the country. Over a three-year period, ACTA will award 50 grants of $50,000 each, along with tailored services designed to strengthen community-based systems of cultural transmission and grassroots health and wellbeing. 

The Taproot program will positively influence local arts ecosystems nationwide with three key strategies:

• DIRECT SUPPORT: Each grantee will receive $50,000 in unrestricted funding, along with an additional $10,000 for community-focused projects, totaling a $60,000 investment. 
• SUSTAINABILITY: Artists have the option to participate in a cohort aimed at increasing opportunities and fostering a learning environment tailored to their needs. This includes customized services grounded in cultural context and multiple opportunities for the artists to share and learn from one another, as well as experts in the field.
• VISIBILITY: We aim to uplift the stories and impacts of traditional artists, elevating their visibility and advancing a national dialogue about the crucial role of grassroots arts and cultural knowledge in community health and wellness.

Timeline

Fall 2023: ACTA will invite nominators – people who are working deeply with living cultural heritage from across the United States and Territories, to submit names of traditional artists and culture bearers to apply for the Taproot grant. Nominees will be invited to information sessions to provide guidance on the proposal process.

Spring 2024: A panel of cultural bearers, cultural workers and specialists will review and rank the proposals. The first grants will be announced in late April 2024.

Learn More

For more information about the Taproot Artists & Community Trust program, contact Amy Kitchener at akitch@actaonline.org. Sign up to receive periodic updates about this program and other news from ACTA here.