January 28, 2025

The Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA), the Administering Organization for the California Arts Council’s Folk and Traditional Arts Grant Program, is awarding 68 grants totaling $622,500.

With the generous support of the California Arts Council, a state agency, 23 individual artists and culture bearers will receive $7,500, and 45 organizations and community groups will receive $10,000 in all regions of the state. Additional support for this program comes from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Walter and Elise Haas Fund.

“Uritao” warriors, part of the Kutturan CHamoru Foundation entering the Pacific Islander Festival Association stage. Photo: Manny Crisostomo, courtesy of the organization.

The 2024-2025 cohort represents a tapestry of cultural communities and artistic traditions woven throughout California, from Humboldt to San Diego. We’re proud to promote them all: Punjabi folk songs in Sutter County, Triqui music and dance in Madera County, Black foodways in Los Angeles County, Chochenyo traditions in Santa Clara County, and many more. Look out for more details about each grantee at actaonline.org and through social media throughout this year and beyond!

Introducing the 2024-2025 grantees. Congratulations!

Please browse the full list of 68 grantees below by clicking the region name to toggle your view.

(Counties: Alpine, El Dorado, Sacramento, Solano, Yolo)

Sacramento

Jesus Sanchez, Cultura Hecho a Mano: Danza Azteca Beadwork & Regalia Making
Danza Azteca beadwork & regalia making 

Arab Community Center for Integration Services, Arab American Heritage Festival
Dabke dance: A traditional Levantine folk dance 

Culture through Cloth, Paj Ntaub Circles
Paj Ntaub “Flower Cloth” of the HMong (embroidery)

Yolo

YoloSol Collective, Wintun Culture-bearers Speak to Tule Traditions
Patwin-Wintun tule traditions

California Indian Basketweavers Association, Creating Balance and Leadership for Youth
California Indian basket weaving

(Counties: Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Ventura)

Students from Centeotl Danza y Baile presenting Chinas Oaxaqueñas at Guelaguetza 2024 organized by Senderos. Photo by Crystal Birns, courtesy of the organization.

Monterey

Sol Treasures, Dia de Los Muertos Community Workshops, Altar, Parade and Festival
Altar creation, folklorico dance, calaveras literarias (skull poems)

Santa Cruz

Senderos, Vive Oaxaca Guelaguetza Indigenous Festival in Santa Cruz
Indigenous Oaxacan dance and music



(Counties: Amador, Calaveras, Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Mono, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tulare, Tuolumne)

Fresno

Another Level Training Academy, The Traditional African Braiders Academy
Traditional african braiding

Lao Community Cultural Center of Fresno, Lao Cultural Classes of Fresno
Traditional Lao dance and music

Mally Pel, Khmu Culture Dance
Traditional Khmu dance

Kern

Xochitl Morales, Morales Family Legacy: Central Valley
Mexican mariachi and ranchera music

The San Martin Itunyoso Triqui community women’s group in Madera, California after their traditional dance performance during their patron saint festival. Photo: Betty Marín/ACTA, 2024.

Madera

San Martín Itunyoso Community, Fiesta Patronal San Martin Caballero en Madera (Patron Saint San Martin Caballero Festival)
Traditional Triqui and other indigenous Oaxacan dance and music 

Abrahan Ramirez Ramirez, Faroles Místicos (Mystic Faroles)
Oaxacan lanterns and other folk art 

San Joaquin

San Pablo Tijaltepec Community, Indigenous Oaxacan Cultural Festival in Taft, CA
Oaxacan music, Mixtec language, and traditional embroidery

Homayoun Sakhi, Preservation of the Traditional Afghan Music of Rubob
Traditional Afghan music (rubob)

Tulare

Florencia Ramos, Costura a Mano y Tejidos Mixtecos de Oaxaca (Hand-sewing and Mixtec Weavings from Oaxaca)
Traditional Mixtec embroidery and weaving

(Counties: Imperial, San Diego)

Fandango Fronterizo Founder Jorge Castillo teaching a youth member of the Barrio Logan community in San Diego. Photo by Carlos Solorio, courtesy of the organization.

San Diego

Daja Marks, Mindfull Movement: Cultural Capital Through Movement
Samoan Siva (dance) and street dance (Krumping, Clowning, Popping)

Drikung Kyobpa Choling Monastery, Tibetan sacred lama dance
Tibetan Buddhist tantric lama dance

Fandango Fronterizo, Passing the Son Jarocho Torch to Chicano Youth in San Diego
Mexican Son Jarocho and Fandango

Umeke, Traditional Hawaiian Lei Making Workshop Series
Traditional Hawaiian lei making

(Counties: Riverside, San Bernardino)

Marlyn Azarte in front of Lake Gregory, CA. Photo by Daniel Reyes, courtesy of the artist.

Riverside

CULTURAS MUSIC & ARTS, Women Rising Presents “Festival del Rebozo” Coachella
The traditional use and roots of the rebozo

Desert Recreation Foundation, Eastern Coachella Valley Ballet Folklorico Youth Program
Ballet folklórico

San Bernardino

Kawaiisu Community Group, Returning to Our Roots
Kawaiisu traditional plant harvest & related Kawaiisu language

Marlyn Arzate, Guided by Corn Spirit: A Path to Healing
Growing and harvesting corn, nixtamalization

(County: San Francisco)

Chavalos De Aqui y Alla, Paseo Masaya – Traditional Folklore from Masaya, Nicaragua
Traditional Folklore from Masaya, Nicaragua

Conrad Benedicto, Kulintang Dialogue: three discourses in San Francisco
Philippine Kulintang music

GenRyu Arts, Generations of Joy through Drumming and Dance
Japanese Odori dance and Taiko drumming

Kirti Bassendine, Connections to the Natural World
Gujarati natural dyes, printmaking, photography

Manilatown Heritage Foundation, Philippine music workshop series in San Francisco
Philippine Kulintang and Kalinga music

William Rhodes, San Francisco Narrative Quilt Project
Quilt making

(Counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Sonoma)

Alameda

Muisi-kongo Malonga is a dancer, culture bearer, and Artistic Director of Fua Dia Kongo, dedicated to preserving the music, dance, and cultural practices of descendants of the Kongo Kingdom. Photo by Bethanie Hines, courtesy of the artist.

Anatolian Arts Institute, Berkeley Maqam Festival: Cross-Roots and Encounters
Maqam Music from Anatolia, the Middle East and beyond (North Africa, Andalusia and India)

Cheza Nami Foundation, 12th Annual Taste of Africa Festival in Livermore
African traditional dance, drumming, and music

Diamano Coura West African Dance Company, 50 Drummers Celebrating 50 Years of Diamano Coura West African Dance Company in Downtown Oakland
Traditional drumming of different cultures 

Einar Leliebre Nuñez, La Rumba me Llama (The Rumba Calls Me): Celebration of Afro-Cuban Music
Afro-Cuban Rumba, Orisha/Bata, Changüi

Filhos de Bimba Bay Area School of Capoeira, ZUMBIMBA 2024
Capoeira, Afro-Brazilian art form and martial art

Muisi-kongo Malonga, The Kizingu Project
Kongolese Dance

Thai Cultural Council of Wat Mongkolratanaram, Thai Cultural Council Music and Dance Materials Refresh
Thai traditional performing arts

Contra Costa

Claudio Naranjos Vega, La procesión de la Rama tradicional del sur de Veracruz (The traditional Rama [branch] procession of southern Veracruz)
Traditional rural Son Jarocho music

Mostafa Akhavass, Three Days of Free Workshops of Ancient Iranian Nail Calligraphy and Painting Techniques
Nail painting and calligraphy

Santa Clara

Muwekma Ohlone Preservation Foundation, Muwekma Ohlone Tribe: Cultural Revitalization Program
Chochenyo language, dances, regalia-making, and song singing

Thapasya Arts San Francisco, Samanwayam 2025
Kathakali – South Indian dance drama

San Mateo

Vairea Samn, Tama Toa Nui – The 1st All-Male Tahitian Dance Group
Ori Tahiti (traditional Tahitian dance), Rara’a (traditional weaving), Ha’amanira’a Ahu (dance costume making), Orero (oratory arts)

Sonoma

Voice of Roma, VOR 2025 Herdeljezi Roma Festival
Romani music and dance

Latinos Unidos del Condado de Sonoma, Yolotl Ballet Folkorico
Ballet Folklorico from Sinaloa, Jalisco, and Chiapas, Mexico

(Counties: Los Angeles & Orange)

Los Angeles

4C LAB, A Celebration of Our Ancestors & Legacy
Ballet Folklorico, altar building, papel picado, print-making and calavera mask-making

Ballet Folklórico Manantial del El Salvador, Folklore and Nawat dances of El Salvador
Salvadoran folk dance 

BVCLT (Beverly-Vermont Community Land Trust), Koreatown Pansori Block Party
Korean Pansori & Sori-Buk

California Academy of the Arts, Novias de México
Ballet folklórico and theatre arts

Chakhonoro Nazirova, Traditional music and dance of Badakhshan
Music, song and dance of Badakhshan 

East Wind Foundation for Youth, Educating visitors on Chinese culture and history in Chinatown
Chinese lion dance and kung-fu

Extra Ancestral, Bridging the African Diaspora: Celebrating Heritage and Cultural Connections
West African, Afro-Cuban, and Afro-Brazilian dance

Lernazang Performance at USC’s Armenian History Month Celebration in April 2024. Photo by Maya Dondonyan, courtesy of the organization.

Gregory Browning, Community Clowning Dance Programs with Boomer The Clown
Clowning

Inspired Sound Initiative, Empower and Inspire Summer Concert Series 2025
Arabic, Mexican, Balkan, Cuban and Mongolian music, with traditional Mexican, Flamenco, and Balkan dance 

Kutturan CHamoru Foundation, Ta Fan Apåtte CHamoru Immersion Camp
Lålai CHamoru – CHamoru Chanting

LASDP Foundation Inc., African American vernacular jazz dance show in Los Angeles
African American vernacular jazz dance including Savoy Swing, Charleston, and Lindy Hop

Lernazang Ensemble, Musa Ler Armenian Ethnographic Research & Music Project
Western Armenian regional dialect, music, and dance traditions

Malaya Filipino American Dance Arts, Kapwa Kaleidoscope
Philippine indigenous dances

Maurice Wilkins, Nourishing Movements: Preserving Black Foodways & Histories
Black/African Food Traditions and Storytelling

Rhythm Arts Alliance, Multigenerational African Drum and Dance Workshops
African and LatinX Drum, Dance and Song

Susan Park, Korean Jang is Life
Traditional Korean fermented soybean pastes

Xorotroptzi Bulgarian Folk Ensemble, Xorotroptzi
Bulgarian folk dance

Orange

Reaksmey “Mea” Lath is a professional Cambodian classical dancer and instructor based out of Southern California. Photo: Sophia Chhoeng, courtesy of the artist.

Mea Lath, Preserving Traditional Cambodian Dance in Southern California
Traditional and classical Cambodian dance

(Counties: Butte, Colusa, Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yuba)

Humboldt

Black to our Roots, UnderCommons Kitchen: Afro-Descendant Foodways and Folklore
Afro-Descendant/Indigenous recipes, food prep methods, cooking techniques, and kitchen culture/kitchens as spaces of resistance

Teresa McGinnis, Strengthening and Empowering through Traditional Materials
Yurok women’s regalia

Institute of Native Knowledge, Plants, Tell Me Your Story
Hupa, Yurok, Karuk, Tolowa Dee-ni’, Wiyot, Wailaki and Yuki medicinal plant knowledge and storytelling

Mendocino

Eric Wilder, Native Arts Expo 2024
Storytelling (oral history), and illustration to share cultural knowledge 

The Black Banjo Reclamation Project, Banjo Building Cultural Initiative in Oakland California
African-American luthiership of the Banjo

Sutter

Davinder Deol, Workshops for Preserving Women’s Punjabi Folk Songs
Punjabi women’s folk songs

We also want to honor our esteemed panelists who nominated these grantees for funding. 

Patricia A. Atkinson Professional folklorist, arts administrator, cultural consultant, writer/editor, educator, Alameda, CA.

Jon Ching Filmmaker and cultural preservationist, Fresno, CA.

Laura Marcus Green Independent folklorist, Charleston, South Carolina.

Ken Ingraham Arts administrator, organizational development consultant in the arts, and singer, Oakland, CA.

Anusha Kedhar Associate Professor of Critical Dance Studies at the University of California Riverside/ Bharatanatyam dance artist, Riverside, CA.

Portsha Jefferson Professional dancer and choreographer specializing in Haitian Folkloric Dance, Oakland, CA.

Alberto López Musician with a focus in cultural and spiritual traditions of the African diaspora, Los Angeles, CA. 

Scott Marcus Professor of ethnomusicology at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) specializing in Middle Eastern and north Indian musics, Santa Barbara, CA.

Bradley Marshall (Hoopa Valley Tribe) Regalia maker, environmental advocate, community organizer, and Hoopa Valley City Council member, Hoopa, CA.

Samuel Orozco News Director, Radio Bilingüe, the national Spanish public radio network, Fresno, CA.

Deborah Sanchez (Chumash, O’ogham, and Ramarúri American Indian) Indigenous language teacher and cultural preservationist, LA Superior Court Judge, Los Angeles, CA.

Sruti Sarathy Carnatic violinist and composer, Palo Alto, CA.

Anna Beatrice Scott Artist in African diasporic dance and performance, Memphis, TN. 

Miguel Villegas Ventura Artist/indigenous language activist, Ventura, CA.

Deborah Wong Professor of Music (retired), UC Riverside, Ethnomusicologist, Riverside, CA.

Download the Press Release


The Living Cultures Grant is a program of the Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA) and is generously supported by the California Arts Council, a state agency, with additional support from William & Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Walter and Elise Haas Fund.

 

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