Press Kit

ACTA connects artists, communities, and funders to information, to resources, and to each other through grants and contracts, convenings, research, and technical assistance.  ACTA also provides advocacy through local and national field-building.  Recognized for its culturally competent leadership, intellectual capital, and excellence in program administration, ACTA is the California Arts Council’s official partner in serving the state’s folk and traditional arts field.

Media Inquiries

ACTA’s Executive Director and co-founder Amy Kitchener is a public folklorist and respected expert in the area of cultural transmission and inclusion at the state and national level. She serves on the board of the national organization Grantmakers in the Arts, and was recently appointed by the US Congress as Chair of the Board of Trustees for the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. She is available for interviews and consultation on a variety of topics related to art, culture, and social justice.

Ask Us About:

• What are the traditional arts?
• Art and community organizing
• Art and social justice
• Art and public health
• Connecting with California artists and community leaders
• California’s cultural histories

Media Library

ACTA maintains a media library featuring original videos, photos, and audio recordings from the traditional arts field dating back more than twenty years. The library includes detailed documentation of traditional art forms as well as interviews and oral histories with artists, culture bearers, and community advocates. If you are interested in asking about ACTA’s holdings in a particular area for your publication, contact our Media Director.

Photo: Danongan “Danny” Kalanduyan, master of Philippine kulintang music and NEA National Heritage Fellow, photographed during a site visit with ACTA staff in 2007. Kalanduyan is considered one of the first artists to bring kulintang music to the United States in the 1970s. Photo by Sherwood Chen/ACTA.