The Alliance for California Traditional Arts
2025 Taproot Fellows
- Alejandro López, Chicano Muralist
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Dena Jennings is an Affrolachian musician and culture bearer from Nasons, Virginia who makes and plays gourd instruments and sings. Photo courtesy of the artist. Annetta Koruh (Hopi), Hopi Weaver
- Billy Branch, Blues Musician
- Brett Ratliff, Traditional Appalachian Musician
- Bruce Bradley, Tap Dancer
- Chef BJ Dennis, Gullah Geechee Chef & Culture Bearer
- Chum Ngek, Cambodian Musician & Ritual Artist
- David Comingdeer, Cherokee Ball Stick Maker
- Delores Taitano Quinata, Bilembaotuyan Maker & Player
- Dena Jennings, Affrolachian Musician & Culture Bearer
- Elena Terry (Ho-Chunk), Indigenous Chef
- Hamid Al-Saadi, Iraqi Maqam Vocalist
- Inna Kovtun, Ukrainian Ethno-Singer & Folklorist
- Karen Ann Hoffman (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin), Haudenosaunee Raised Beadworker
- Kewulay Kamara, Mandeng Finah Poet & Storyteller
TJ Sgwaayaans Young (Kaigani Haida) is a Haida Wood Carver from Hydaburg, Arkansas. Photo: Molly Sharp. - Lani Strong Hotch (Chilkat-Tlingit), Chilkat/Ravenstail Weaver & Textile Artist
- Lydia “Louise” Goings (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), Cherokee Basket Maker
- Manuel A. Delgado, Old-World Luthier
- Omar Santiago Fuentes, Puerto Rican Troubadour, Improviser of Verse & Décimas
- Ramón Rivera, Mariachi Musician & Educator
- Raymond Wong, Traditional Chinese Lion Dancer & Martial Artist
- Reba Jo Teran (Eastern Shoshone), Traditional Shoshone Saddle Maker & Bead Worker
- TJ Sgwaayaans Young (Kaigani Haida), Haida Wood Carver
- Van-Anh Vanessa Vo, Vietnamese Traditional Musician & Composer
- Wayne Henderson, Appalachian Luthier & Musician
Explore the Taproot Fellows
Visit the Taproot website to learn more about each fellow and their traditional arts practice, from Iraqi Maqam to traditional Appalachian music.
“When many institutions are threatened and the social fabric feels fragile, the Taproot Fellows remind us what holds. They are keepers of stories, songs, and sacred practices that have carried communities through generations of upheaval. This fellowship isn’t just about preservation—it’s about power. Cultural power. Community power. The kind of power that grows from the roots up.”
—Amy Kitchener, Executive Director of ACTA
This year’s announcement arrives at a challenging moment for organizations that champion and center equity, tradition, and cultural expression. As federal support for cultural and community-based initiatives faces mounting challenges, ACTA stands firm in the conviction that culture bearers are not a luxury; they are the antidote.
Their artistry fortifies mental health, nurtures intergenerational connections, and activates community resilience. In an era marked by book bans, erasure, and division, these artists offer something profoundly unifying: a vision of society rooted in dignity, tradition, and collective care.
The Mellon Foundation generously supports the Taproot Artists & Community Trust Fellowship.
