2023 Archives - Alliance for California Traditional Arts

Benita Martinez Sosa started learning how to weave when she was 8 years old and by the time she was 12 she knew how to weave. She was taught by her parents and grandparents in her hometown of Teotitlán del Valle, in Oaxaca, Mexico. This tradition has always been a…

Chinese guzheng

Terry Nguyen, known as “tsugaruterry,” is a musician and educator specializing in minyo (folk) and traditional music of Japan as performed on the Tsugaru shamisen and taiko drums. Terry began playing the Tsugaru shamisen in 2006. Initially self-taught, in 2010 she started her training with instructor Mitsuru Sasaki of the…

Carnatic violinist and composer

Steph Rue is an artist working primarily with handmade paper and books as her medium. She received her MFA degree from the University of Iowa Center for the Book and BA degree from Stanford University. She is a 2015-2016 recipient of a Fulbright Research Grant to South Korea, where she…

Sonido del Colibrí is made up of two Colombian women- Nisha Joshi and Nataly (Naty) Castaño, who on their own and together have been seeking to uplift Afro-Indigenous traditional music practitioners of Colombia’s Caribbean region on their journey to keep their music traditions alive. Living Cultures Grant 2023…

Ronaldo Lage Ignacio is a capoeira teacher in Santa Monica, CA. Living Cultures Grant 2023 Capoeira Classes for Low-income Children and Families Funding will support Capoeira classes for low-income children and families.