Imagine yourself listening to a political refugee from Hmong descent — now a professor at California State University, Fresno teaching Hmong language — sharing his journey as he escaped the war zone from his native country of Laos? Or walking through an artistically interactive gallery having conversation with religious leaders and cultural practitioners from the Punjab community learning about their living traditions, cuisine and history? Or the opportunity to reflect back on your own community by conducting a community assessment? These and other life-lasting experiences is what I gathered as alumni of the Tamejavi Cultural Organizing Fellowship Program. Now, the opportunity is yours to be part of Temejavi — a festival once recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts, “Tamejavi Festival has become an essential part of life in the Central Valley, bringing to light the rich, diverse culture that makes up this region”– through the Tamejavi Cultural Organizing Fellowship Program.
The Tamejavi Cultural Organizing Fellowship Program (TCOFP) was launched in the fall of 2011, TCOFP is a fellowship program designed to strengthen the cultural organizing skills of Central Valley’s emerging cultural leaders from underserve communities. Ten cultural leaders will be selected to participate in TCOFP second cycle starting April 2014 ending October 2015. Selected fellows will learn the basic principles of popular education, participatory action research, and cultural organizing. They are also provided with resources to inspire the collective artistic and cultural creativities within and beyond their own communities. Continue reading