Time Limited Grant Opportunities

Alliance for California Traditional Arts will begin accepting applications to the Living Cultures Grants Program on June 5.
The Living Cultures Grants Program seeks to sustain and strengthen the folk and traditional arts in the state of California. These practices play a vital role in the life of a cultural community as a living link to a healthy future. Traditional arts and the places in which they are shared provide safe, if not sacred, spaces in which community members can participate and connect to a cultural group. Beyond mere entertainment, these are spaces and activities of inclusion where all people, including those of marginalized and aggrieved communities, can publicly participate as “cultural citizens” (whether documented or undocumented).

NOTE: Below are the programs of interest based on prior guidelines. The guidelines for the upcoming cycle have not been released as of March 23, 2024 but are expected to have similar interest areas.

Programs of interest are considered to be pathways to nurture, sustain, and engage participation in traditional arts including:

Nurturing cultural continuity through connection, practice, and learning
Workshops and gatherings (for example, events that bring together artists, cultural specialists or community leaders to share skills and information or to engage in discussion and problem solving.)
Intergenerational classes or other educational programs within a community (after-school youth programs, dance ensemble classes or practices, summer programs, etc.)
Other kinds of instruction with culture bearers, honoraria, travel costs within California, etc. (Please note that intensive, one-on-one artistic mentorships should apply to ACTA’s Apprenticeship Program instead.)
Endangered language conservation and revitalization projects when carried out within the context of traditional art forms (i.e. language classes as a part of basketmaking or a foodways project).
Other types of activities and projects that lead to the continued practice of the traditional arts

Sustaining cultural practices with needed purchases, services, or acquiring new skills
Equipment and materials purchases (instruments, media equipment, performance clothing or regalia, etc.)
Documentation of traditional arts, skills, beliefs, or performances
Conservation, creation, or acquisition of important traditional arts items
An investment to result in the organization’s stability and visibility (fee for services for marketing consultation, website development, financial planning, etc.)
Learning new skills with advisors or cultural specialists (consultation with a museum curator, archivist, textile restoration consultant, etc.)
Other types of activities and projects that lead to long-term sustainability of traditional arts practices

Engaging participation with our communities and others through public programs
Public presentations, such as community-based concerts, festivals, and exhibitions that foster engagement
Other types of activities and projects that lead to engagement in traditional arts practices within and between cultural communities

Please note: All funded programs, services, information, and facilities where funded activities take place, including online spaces, must be accessible for individuals with disabilities, including but not limited to individuals who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Deaf-Blind, have difficulty speaking, have a physical disability, visual disability, developmental disability, learning disability, mental illness, or chronic illness.