Wishing you a year full of cultural prosperity, warmth, and good health!

—The staff and board of the Alliance for California Traditional Arts

After seven years of facilitating traditional arts programming in California prisons, we developed two sister programs and accompanying workbooksTraditional Arts as Restorative Justice and Traditional Arts as Healing from Trauma. The illustration above comes from a lesson by ACTA Arts in Corrections Teaching Artist, Luis J. Rodriguez, titled “The House of Energy,” highlighting indigenous ways of thinking about the role the natural elements play in our personal growth and development.

Illustration by Diana Molleda for ACTA, 2021.
¡Le deseamos un año lleno de prosperidad cultural, calidez y buena salud!

—El personal y la mesa directiva de la Alianza para las Artes Tradicionales en California

Después de siete años de facilitar la programación de artes tradicionales en las prisiones de California, desarrollamos dos programas hermanos y los libros de trabajo que los acompañan: Artes tradicionales como justicia restaurativa y Artes tradicionales como sanación del trauma. La ilustración de arriba proviene de una lección del Artista Maestro de Artes en la Correccional de ACTA, Luis J. Rodríguez, titulada “La Casa de la Energía”, que destaca las formas indígenas de pensar sobre el papel que juegan los elementos naturales en nuestro crecimiento y desarrollo personal.

Ilustración de Diana Molleda para ACTA, 2021.
Make a gift to the traditional arts!
As the end of the year draws near, will you make a gift to support the work of traditional artists across the state of California? Even $5 or $10 helps, and every donation is tax-deductible!
From the entire ACTA family, thank you for your interest in what we do.


Paper checks can be mailed to:
744 P Street, Suite 307
Fresno, CA 93721

We are thrilled to share that the U.S. Senate this week voted to confirm Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson as the 13th chair of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Dr. Jackson has served on ACTA's board for nearly a decade, where she has been an unwavering advocate for the culture bearers of California and the nation. In her own words:

"My commitment to the arts began at home. My father, who retired from the U.S. Postal Service, and my mother, who worked for Los Angeles Unified School District, looked to the arts to teach my brother and me about the richness of our cultures. They wanted us to be proud of our origins and curious about the histories, struggles, and aspirations of other people, aware of our similarities, our differences, and our shared humanity. I have brought those same values to the work I have done throughout my career as a professor, researcher, board member, advisor, and administrator committed to understanding and advancing how arts and culture help build healthy, opportunity-rich communities."

Click here to read Dr. Jackson's full statement.
A Life in Rondalla: Celebrating Uncle Pi
January 29, 2022
Save the date for a celebration of the 2021 National Heritage Fellowship recognition of Philippine rondalla master Tagumpay de Leon, or Uncle Pi as he is lovingly called. Hosted by FilAM Arts, the community celebration in Los Angeles will include multiple rondalla ensembles, dance performances, and an overview of Uncle Pi's life put together by two of his sons. Keep an eye on FilAM's social media for more details.
ACTA promotes and supports ways for cultural traditions to thrive now and into the future by providing advocacy, resources, and connections for folk and traditional artists and their communities.