Since 2011 the Alliance for California Traditional Arts has been collecting and documenting cultural treasures throughout the state. Cultural treasures or cultural assets are the people, groups, places, practices, and events that reflect cultural expressions that are valued by the community. By identifying the arts and cultural work within a community as a viable and central resource, members of the community can evaluate and incorporate such cultural resources as essential factors relevant to health and sustainability.
Learn more about the cultural treasures in your community!
In 2011, the Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA) was integrated into the Building Healthy Communities (BHC) programming of The California Endowment to implement the “Activating Cultural Assets Pilot Project.” This project used a method called participatory cultural asset mapping which consists of identifying, supporting and mobilizing existing community cultural resources and capacities for the purpose of creating and achieving a shared vision. One of the project’s goals was to identify community-based cultural assets in four of the targeted communities, to promote their incorporation into the work of the BHC initiative. ACTA conducted field work to identify and document cultural assets in Boyle Heights, Eastern Coachella Valley, Merced and Santa Ana.
