CA Arts Council Awards EBALDC with Grant to Support In-House Hip-Hop Residency Program
California Arts Council Awards the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation with Grant to Provide Havenscourt Youth with Culturally Responsive, Dance-Based Learning Experiences.
Oakland, CA – The East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC) is pleased to announce a $38,000 grant award from The California Arts Council to support our in-house Hip Hop Residency Program.
Working with Destiny Arts Center, EBALDC’s Hip Hop Dance Residency Program has brought movement and performance arts to Lion Creek Crossings youth in the Havenscourt neighborhood of East Oakland that is rooted in the African/ Diasporic and African American culture which many of the children belong to. The program not only engages the youth in dance but also teaches them the roots and history of Hip- Hop dance, African Drumming, African Dance, and Breaking. Highlighting erased histories and promoting civic activism, the Hip Hop Residency Program also provides instruction on Black History Diaspora, Origins of Hip Hop, History of Oakland, Ohlone Land and Indigenous Plants, International Holiday Unit, Yemeni Diaspora and Culture, Graffiti Artists and Art, Digital Story Telling and has events that are inclusive of our families’ cultures and religious beliefs.
Comments EBALDC’s Youth Program Coordinator Kevin Celeridad, “We are honored to be a recipient of this grant from The California Arts Council. It will ensure that youth in the Lions Creek Crossing community continue to have access to a positive and safe environment for fostering self-expression, self-agency, and relationship-building through the art of movement. Our partnership with Destiny Arts Center and its far-reaching impact on youth at Lion’s Creek Crossing will continue to be an essential part of youth programming for years to come.”
EBALDC was featured as part of a larger announcement from the California Arts Council, with grant awards for its Cycle B programming totaling more than $41 million across more than 900 grants supporting nonprofit organizations and units of government throughout the state.
“The resilience and creativity of California’s arts and cultural field in these last three years has been remarkable,” said California Arts Council Director Jonathan Moscone. “We are proud to be able to support the great work that California’s artists, culture bearers, and cultural workers are doing within our communities as an indelible part of our state’s identity.”
“As an Oaklander – born and raised – who has chosen to stay in Oakland and work for an organization like EBALDC so I can help empower the next generation of Oaklanders, I am especially appreciative of this grant,” says Maria Contreras, EBALDC’s Youth Programs Manager for College and Career Readiness. “It will allow EBALDC to do what we do best – support staff like me to help our youth and the greater community. This means a lot.”
To view a complete listing of all California Arts Council Cycle B grantees by county, visit this link. For a complete listing of Cycle B grantees by organization, go to this link.
About the California Arts Council
The California Arts Council is a state agency with a mission of strengthening arts, culture, and creative expression as the tools to cultivate a better California for all. It supports local arts infrastructure and programming statewide through grants, initiatives, and services. The California Arts Council envisions a California where all people flourish with universal access to and participation in the arts.
Members of the California Arts Council include: Lilia Gonzáles-Chávez, Chair; Consuelo Montoya, Vice Chair; Gerald Clarke, Vicki Estrada, Jodie Evans, Ellen Gavin, Alex Israel, Phil Mercado, and Roxanne Messina Captor. Learn more at www.arts.ca.gov.