ACTA is pleased to announce that Prudy Kohler and Prumsodun Ok have recently been elected to its Board of Directors. Prudy serves as the Director of Fiscally Sponsored Project and Philanthropic Services for Community Initiatives, a fiscal sponsor in San Francisco. Prumsodun Ok is the Associate Artistic Director of Khmer Arts in Long Beach and is both a former master and apprentice in ACTA’s Apprenticeship Program. Executive Director Amy Kitchener noted, “We are so pleased to have two such accomplished and highly regarded individuals join our board. Their insight and service will be invaluable to ACTA.”
Prudy Kohler is a dedicated supporter of nonprofits. She was Senior Program Officer for the Arts at a major California philanthropic foundation and also worked in administration at the San Francisco Art Institute. Her earlier career was in education, where she taught and administered at the high school level for more than 20 years. Prudy has also served as an interim administrator at several arts organizations, including ACTA, San Francisco Arts Commission, San Francisco Girls Chorus, and Cazadero Music Camp. She is a practicing artist whose day job keeps her from spending enough time in the studio.
Prumsodun Ok is guided by love. He works to positively transform our world through his practice as an artist, teacher, storyteller and idea generator. His interdisciplinary performances contemplate Rene Daumal’s expression of “the avant-garde in antiquity,” mining the tradition of Cambodian classical dance to explore the intersection of contemporary social issues with new possibilities for performance. Prum has presented his original works at venues such as REDCAT (NOW Festival 2012, Studio 2009 & 2010), Highways, KUNST-STOFF arts/fest, CounterPULSE and Pieter among others. His writings have been published by ACTA, Salon.com, LA Stage Times, In Dance Magazine and featured by the California Dance Network. Among many honors, Prum is a TED Fellow, a Master Artist in ACTA’s Apprenticeship Program, an Association of Performing Arts Presenters Artist Fellow, and was a mentee to Oguri through the Choreographers in Mentorship Exchange Grant. Currently, he is Associate Artistic Director of Khmer Arts. Prum’s projects in progress include an innovative book titled Ream Eyso and Moni Mekhala, a “musical” to be performed in Cambodian dance ritual, and the Sala Center for Art and Culture. To be based in central Long Beach—the poorest but most culturally dynamic area of the city—Sala will provide a platform for traditional performing artists to inspire young people, nurture healthy communities, and redefine the landscape of art and culture.
Last, and most certainly not least, Prum is forever thankful to the many teachers and mentors who have graced his life: dancers Sophiline Cheam Shapiro and Oguri; vanguard composer Charles Boone; filmmakers Ernie Gehr, Brook Hinton, Jeanne Liotta, and George Kuchar; opera director Peter Sellars; and scholars David Gere and Anurima Banerji.