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)

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

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)

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)

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

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

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

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.