February 14, 2018

Since 1999, the Alliance for California Traditional Arts’ (ACTA’s) Apprenticeship Program has supported California’s cultural traditions with 331 contracts to outstanding folk and traditional artists and practitioners.

Now entering its 18th cycle, ACTA’s Apprenticeship Program encourages the continuity of the state’s living cultural heritage by contracting exemplary master artists to offer intensive training and mentorship to qualified apprentices.

The 2018 Apprenticeship Program cohort of 34 artists (17 pairs) represents California’s breadth of cultural diversity and intergenerational learning. The pairs range from master artists in their 70s to a 14-year old apprentice, spanning from Los Angeles to Humboldt Counties. These apprenticeships reflect thriving traditions, including indigenous California cultural practices that include Yurok, Karuk, and Hoopa basketry. Others celebrate traditions which have taken root in California, and originally hail from Africa, India, Uzbekistan, Bulgaria, Iran, China, Japan, Philippines, Korea, Mexico, Brazil, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.

ACTA is pleased to announce the 17 statewide artist pairs contracted in the 2018 Apprenticeship Program:

Master drummer Jorge Alabe Bezerra (L) and his apprentice Robert Lopez (R). Photos courtesy of the artists.
Master drummer Jorge Alabe Bezerra (L) and his apprentice Robert Lopez (R). Photos courtesy of the artists.

Jorge Alabe Bezerra + Robert Lopez, Oakland

Returning master drummer Jorge Alabe Bezerra (2010) comes back to the program to work with apprentice Robert Lopez in the Candomblé drumming tradition of the African Diaspora in Brazil.

Nzingha Camara with students (L), and dancing together with her apprentice, Amber Tell, accompanied by drummer Imani Afi and Shine Muwasi All Woman Drum Company. Photo: Jaime Milner (L).
Nzingha Camara with students (L), and dancing together with her apprentice, Amber Tell, accompanied by drummer Imani Afi and Shine Muwasi All Woman Drum Company. Photo: Jaime Milner (L).

Nzingha Camara + Amber Tell, Los Angeles

Nzingha Camara will provide knowledge and expertise to her apprentice Amber Tell in the traditional folk dances of the Bambara people of Guinea, Mali, and Senegal.

Master cartonería artist Rubén Guzmán Campos (L) and his apprentice Vanina Doce-Mood (R). Photos courtesy of the artists.
Master cartonería artist Rubén Guzmán Campos (L) and his apprentice Vanina Doce-Mood (R). Photos courtesy of the artists.

Rubén Guzmán Campos + Vanina Doce-Mood, Oakland

Returning master artist Rubén Guzmán Campos (2001 + 2004) will be working with apprentice Vanina Doce-Mood in cartonería, a Mexican tradition of figurative papier mâché sculpture.

Master Pangalay dancer Peter Deguzman (L) and his apprentice Jasmine Orpilla (R). Photos courtesy the artists.
Master Pangalay dancer Peter Deguzman (L) and his apprentice Jasmine Orpilla (R). Photos courtesy the artists.

Peter Deguzman + Jasmine Orpilla, Newhall + Los Angeles

Peter Deguzman will be working with his apprentice, Jasmine Orpilla, to enrich her understanding of the Amilbangsa Method of Philippine Pangalay dance.

Master dancer Naomi Diouf (L) and her apprentice Nikka Maynard (R). Photos: Lily Kharrazi/ACTA (L) and Cliff Warner (R).
Master dancer Naomi Diouf (L) and her apprentice Nikka Maynard (R). Photos: Lily Kharrazi/ACTA (L) and Cliff Warner (R).

Naomi Diouf + Nikka Maynard, Castro Valley + San Leandro

Returning master artist Naomi Diouf (2003), an expert in West African dance, history, costume, song, and culture, will be working with her apprentice Nikka Maynard in multi-disciplinary African folklore performance and art.

Master performer Yuriko Doi (L) and her apprentice Nick Ishimaru (R). Photos courtesy of the artists.
Master performer Yuriko Doi (L) and her apprentice Nick Ishimaru (R). Photos courtesy of the artists.

Yuriko Doi + Nick Ishimaru, Sausalito + San Francisco

Master artist Yuriko Doi (2008) returns to the program to deepen the knowledge of apprentice Nick Ishimaru in Kyogen, a form of traditional Japanese comic theater.

Apprentice Katherine Ko (L) and Master Sue Hee Ko (R). Photos courtesy of the artists.
Apprentice Katherine Ko (L) and Master Sue Hee Ko (R). Photos courtesy of the artists.

Sue Hee Ko + Katherine Ko, Los Angeles

Apprentice Katherine Ko will be mentored by her mother, master Korean dancer Sue Hee Ko, in the tradition of Kyobang Tagomu, or Korean Big Drum dance.

Master Doyra drummer Abbos Kosimov (L), and with his son, Akhror (R). Photos courtesy of the artists.
Master Doyra drummer Abbos Kosimov (L), and with his son, Akhror (R). Photos courtesy of the artists.

Abbos Kosimov + Akhror Kosimov, Sacramento

Returning to the program is master drummer Abbos Kosimov (2009) who will be working with his son, apprentice Akhror Kosimov, to further develop his skills in Uzbek doira frame drum.

Apprentice Mary Alfaro (L) with Master musician Jesus Martinez. Photos courtesy of the artists.
Apprentice Mary Alfaro (L) with Master musician Jesus Martinez. Photos courtesy of the artists.

Jesus Martinez + Mary Alfaro, Los Angeles + San Fernando

One of our younger master artists, Jesus Martinez, will mentor his musical collaborator, apprentice Mary Alfaro, in the techniques and repertoire of the requinto romántico, a soprano melodic guitar played in trio romántico, a form of bolero music rooted in Mexico, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.

Master basket weaver Maggie Peters (L) and her apprentice Nelia (R). Photos courtesy of the artists.
Master basket weaver Maggie Peters (L) and her apprentice Nelia (R). Photos courtesy of the artists.

Margaret Peters + Nelia Marshall, Willow Creek + Hoopa

Master basket weaver Margaret Peters (2014; Yurok) returns to the program to deepen the knowledge of her apprentice Nelia Marshall (Hupa) in the Yurok, Karuk, and Hoopa cultural practice of making traditional baby baskets.

Master Kathak dancer Farah Yasmeen Shaikh with her apprentice Sreoshi Sarkar (L), and Sreoshi in movement (R). Photos: Prateek Sarkar
Master Kathak dancer Farah Yasmeen Shaikh with her apprentice Sreoshi Sarkar (L), and Sreoshi in movement (R). Photos: Prateek Sarkar

Farah Yasmeen Shaikh + Sreoshi Sarkar, Menlo Park + Los Altos

Master dancer Farah Yasmeen Shaikh (2007), previously an ACTA apprentice to the late Chitresh Das, returns to the Apprenticeship Program this year to mentor apprentice Sreoshi Sarkar in North Indian Kathak dance.

Master basket weaver Dixie Rogers (L), and her apprentice Julia McCovey (R). Photos courtesy of the artists.
Master basket weaver Dixie Rogers (L), and her apprentice Julia McCovey (R). Photos courtesy of the artists.

Dixie Rogers + Julia McCovey, West Sacramento + Hoopa

Dixie Rogers (Karuk), former apprentice in basket weaving to master artists Kathy Wallace (2003) and Wilverna Reece (2014, 2016) will be working with her cousin, apprentice Julia McCovey (Yurok, Karuk) in the techniques and cultural frameworks of making traditional Karuk baby baskets.

Master musician Rumen Shopov (L), and with his apprentice Jesse Kiril Stremski-Andrews (R). Photo: Shira Cion
Master musician Rumen Shopov (L), and with his apprentice Jesse Kiril Stremski-Andrews (R). Photo: Shira Cion

Rumen Shopov + Jesse Kiril Stremski-Andrews, Berkeley + Oakland

Master Balkan Romani musician Rumen Shopov (2012) returns to train his apprentice Jesse Kiril Stremski-Andrews in the repertoire and form of Svatbarska Musika, or Bulgarian and Romani wedding music.

Master dancer Wilfried Souly (L) and his apprentice Aaron Kwesi Mason (R). Photos courtesy of the artists.
Master dancer Wilfried Souly (L) and his apprentice Aaron Kwesi Mason (R). Photos courtesy of the artists.

Wilfried Souly + Aaron Kwesi Mason, Los Angeles

Master dancer and choreographer Wilfried Souly takes on apprentice Aaron Kwesi Mason in deepening the movements and knowledge of the traditional dance forms of the Mande region of West Africa.

Master artist Tobaji Stewart at the Oakland Juneteenth commemoration in 2013. Photo: Lily Kharrazi/ACTA (L). Tobaji with his apprentice, Acacia Woods-Chan (R). Photo courtesy of the artists.
Master artist Tobaji Stewart at the Oakland Juneteenth commemoration in 2013. Photo: Lily Kharrazi/ACTA (L). Tobaji with his apprentice, Acacia Woods-Chan (R). Photo courtesy of the artists.

Tobaji Stewart + Acacia Woods-Chan, Oakland

A previous ACTA master artist in batá drumming, Tobaji Stewart (2013, 2016), will share with his apprentice Acacia Woods-Chan the expressions and form of the sung liturgy of call-and-response Lucumí sacred songs.

Master vocalist Mahsa Vahdat (L) with her apprentice Adrienne Shamszad. Photos courtesy of the artists.
Master vocalist Mahsa Vahdat (L) with her apprentice Adrienne Shamszad. Photos courtesy of the artists.

Mahsa Vahdat + Adrienne Shamszad, Oakland

Apprentice Adrienne Shamszad will be mentored by master musician Mahsa Vahdat in traditional Persian singing, exploring the musical modes, melodies, and peoms rooted in the spiritual texts and literature of Iran.

Master Baoshan Wang (L) and his apprentice Jon Wai-keung Lowe. Photos courtesy of the artists.
Master Baoshan Wang (L) and his apprentice Jon Wai-keung Lowe. Photos courtesy of the artists.

Baoshan Wang + Jon Wai-keung Lowe, Hayward + Berkeley

Master artist Baoshan Wang will further mentor his apprentice Jon Wai-keung Lowe in the intricacies and styles of Jingju, or Beijing opera – a form of Classical Chinese drama.  

The Alliance for California Traditional Arts’ Apprenticeship Program is supported with generous funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Walter & Elise Haas Fund, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, with additional support from the California Arts Council, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, and individual contributors supporting one or more apprenticeships.

Read the full Press Release .

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