activities · 12
what they do
direct service · 8
- Community Engagement and Development InitiativesOrganizes and implements community engagement and development initiatives, such as "sense of place" pilot projects, heritage micro-entrepreneurship initiatives, pop-up folklife festivals, story sharing events, and foodways markets. This also includes mobilizing communities through activities like planting trees, painting streets, and hosting events as part of transformation plans.
- Cultural Organizing and Youth EngagementOperates the Center for Cultural Organizing, housed in a newly acquired property, and runs programs like VozFrontera in Nogales, Arizona. VozFrontera provides youth engagement, leadership, local arts incubation, documentary arts mentoring, artist- and scholar-in-residence programs, and co-working lab space for young leaders and entrepreneurs.
- Documentation and Curation of Borderlands CultureCurates programs and exhibits and edits BorderLore, an online publication focused on borderlands culture and heritage. This includes sharing the heritage, traditions, and stories of Loom Artists, documenting oral histories related to the Tucson Meet Yourself festival, and highlighting individuals involved in community building and tradition passing.
- End-of-Life Cultural Care Programming End-of-Life Education ProgramsDevelops and implements programming focused on cultural practices related to end-of-life care. This includes launching new exhibits, collaborating on museum exhibits, and documenting and curating events to share cultural knowledge of traditions and practices related to end of life, grief, mourning, and death in Southern Arizona's diverse communities.
- Folklife Education and Training Hands-On Natural History & Traditional Skills WorkshopsOffers a periodic series of "This Is Folklife" classes and workshops, including cultural immersion experiences, focused explorations of culture, and skill-based trainings in folklife and ethnography. This also includes multi-day Ethnographic Field Schools for non-academic adult learners, providing cultural immersion and training in cultural analysis and documentation skills developed collaboratively with host communities.
- Master-Apprentice Artist Award Program Artist Support ProgramsProvides direct support to heritage-based artists in the Greater Southwest and U.S.-Mexico Border Corridor region through a Master-Apprentice Artist Award program. This program supports teaching-learning relationships between master traditional artists and apprentices with $5,000 for master artists and $500 for apprentices, covering fees, materials, and travel for cultural knowledge exchange. In 2025, ten master-apprentice pairs were selected, representing diverse cultural traditions.
- National Folklife Network Administration Cultural Heritage in Civic PracticeServes as the administrator and cooperating partner for the National Folklife Network (NFN), an initiative aimed at strengthening folklife infrastructure and advancing cultural equity in rural and urban communities across the United States.
- Organizing the Tucson Meet Yourself Folklife Festival Community Live Music SeriesProduces a free, three-day folklife festival in downtown Tucson, featuring over 500 artists, tradition bearers, musicians, dancers, and cooks who share cultural practices including food, music, craft, and storytelling. This is one of the longest consecutively running folklife festivals in the United States, ongoing for over five decades.
research · 1
- Participatory Action Research and Community-Based Documentation Cultural Heritage in Civic PracticeManages participatory action research (PAR) projects and community-based documentation projects. This includes administering the Folklife PAR Network, an online and in-person platform for artists and communities to share tools and resources, and conducting ethnographies and needs assessments to inform community development and program creation.
capacity building · 3
- Fellowship and Mentorship Programs Artist Support ProgramsAdministers fellowship programs like the Creative Currents Peer Learning Fellowship (CCF) pilot program to support the transmission of cultural knowledge in folk and traditional arts, and the Plain View Fellowship program to support documentarians and artist-researchers in documenting folklife, culture, and heritage in the Greater Southwest and Northwest Mexico. The organization also convenes cohorts of documentary artists for learning exchanges and peer mentoring.
- Support for Native American Artists and CommunitiesHosts museum series to support emerging Native American artists and works with Yaqui and Yoeme communities in Sonora and Arizona to explore the connection between wheat cultivation/preparation and tribal resiliency, assisting them in developing an economic recovery strategic plan.
- Support for Traditional Artists and Cultural PracticesProvides support to traditional artists and cultural practices through various initiatives, including facilitating the sale of handmade artwork, supporting teaching-learning relationships, and offering grants for programming. This also includes supporting partner organizations by leveraging institutional access to resources and networks.
strategies · 19
how they think
Theories of action extracted from this org's own source material. Click any to see the full field of orgs running the same approach.
- Art for social change and environmental awareness art for social changeDeploys innovative art installations to raise public awareness and promote remembrance of critical social and environmental issues, such as water contamination.
- Artist-centered investment and mutual support artist-centered investmentSupports artist-led resilience and community development by providing resources through an Artist Investment Fund that fosters networking and mutual aid among traditional artists.
- Coalition building for folklife collaboration coalition buildingBrings together individuals and organizations focused on folklife to facilitate idea exchange, coalition building, and collaborative action.
- Community land trust for regenerative wealth community_land_trustSeeks to restore regenerative wealth and community power through the creation of a Community Land Trust with an urban environmental focus, grounding cultural equity in land access.
- Community-based cultural celebration community-based celebrationUses free, public folklife festivals to showcase everyday cultural practices—such as food, music, craft, and storytelling—as a mechanism for community building and cultural visibility.
- Cultural documentation and voice amplification cultural documentationEmploys documentation and media amplification to elevate the voices of artists and cultural workers, ensuring their stories and practices are preserved and publicly recognized.
- Cultural organizing for community empowerment cultural organizingUses art, culture, and folklife practices as tools for cultural organizing to connect communities and empower residents to confront harmful legacies and policies.
- Equity-centered cultural practice equity-centered practiceAdvances equity by redistributing resources and creating inclusive spaces that prioritize historically marginalized cultural communities in programming and access to support.
- Inclusive folklife programming inclusive_folklife_supportSupports a broad spectrum of traditional art forms—including handcrafts, occupational folklife, oral traditions, and performing arts—to ensure diverse cultural expressions are represented and sustained.
- Integrating traditional knowledge into climate resilience cultural knowledge for climate resilienceLeverages traditional cultural knowledge and folklore as vital resources in discussions about climate resilience and long-term community planning.
- Knowledge sharing through folklorist insights knowledge sharingExpands public understanding of traditional knowledge by publishing accessible insights through initiatives like the “Thinking Like a Folklorist” column.
- Lead from behind community engagement lead from behindCenters traditional knowledge and self-representation by using a “lead from behind” approach that prioritizes community agency in cultural programming and decision-making.
- Master-apprentice model for cultural continuity master-apprentice modelEnsures intergenerational transmission of traditional cultural practices by supporting master-apprentice relationships that preserve and adapt heritage arts within cultural communities.
- Narrative change through borderland storytelling narrative change through storytellingUses storytelling to shift dominant narratives about the US-Mexico border region and migration from ones of danger and chaos to those centered on understanding, respect, and cultural upliftment.
- Participatory action research for community knowledge participatory_action_researchUses Participatory Action Research (PAR) to recognize and leverage the knowledge of individuals impacted by inequity, enabling communities to investigate, analyze, and share their lived experiences for collaborative change.
- Peer learning beyond apprenticeship peer learning initiativeExpands knowledge exchange in the folk arts sector by fostering peer-learning partnerships among folklorists, cultural workers, and heritage arts animators beyond traditional master-apprentice models.
- State folk arts partnership and public folklore public_folkloreOperates as the designated State Partner for Folk Arts in Arizona, collaborating with traditional communities through public folklore practices supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and Arizona Commission for the Arts.
- Supporting adaptive cultural practices adaptive cultural practiceEnables communities to adapt cultural traditions and celebrations in response to crises such as the pandemic, maintaining cultural continuity under changing conditions.
- Year-round support for traditional artists year-round artist supportProvides sustained, year-round support to traditional artists through programs like the Master-Apprentice Artist Award, increasing accessibility to services and resources for folk artists.
named programs · 8
what they call their work
End of Life: Continuum
Program documenting cultural traditions, expressions, and practices related to death, grief, and mourning in Southern Arizona communities
Ethnographic Field Schools
Multi-day training programs in cultural documentation and analysis for non-academic adult learners, developed in collaboration with host communities
Master-Apprentice Artist Award
Annual program providing $5,000 to master traditional artists and $500 to apprentices in Arizona to support one-on-one mentorship and transmission of cultural practices
Plain View Fellowship
Pilot program supporting documentarians and artist-researchers in documenting overlooked folklife and heritage in the Greater Southwest and Northwest Mexico
Reclaiming the Border Narrative
Three-year storytelling initiative (2020–2023) supporting narratives that reframe perceptions of the U.S.-Mexico border region and migration
This Is Folklife Classes & Workshops
Series of public workshops offering cultural immersion, focused explorations of culture in action, and skill-based trainings in folklife and ethnography
Thrive in the ’05
Community-centered collaboration in Tucson’s 85705 zip code using cultural heritage and creative placemaking to support neighborhood transformation
VozFrontera
Youth-focused program in Nogales, AZ offering arts mentorship, artist residencies, and co-working space for young leaders and entrepreneurs
relationships · 47
who they work with
- ALIANZA PARA EL FOLCLOR Y EL PATRIMONIO CULTURAL DEL NORTE Partner — Collaborative partnership focused on cultural heritage and folklife.
- ARTISTS AT WORK Partner — Collaborative partnership engaging artists in community-based projects.
- Alliance for California Traditional Arts Partner — Cooperating partner for the National Folklife Network.
- American Council of Learned Societies Funder — Funded the "Folk & Traditional Artists in Arizona – A Survey of Support" project.
- Arizona Commission for the Arts Government — Designated State Partner for Folk Arts
- Arizona Commission on the Arts Government — Partial funder of the SFA Master-Apprentice Award
- Arizona Commission on the Arts Partner — Collaborated on "Folk & Traditional Artists in Arizona – A Survey of Support" and received guidance for the "Arizona Creative Communities Initiative."
- Arizona Public Media Partner — Partnered on media coverage and programming related to folk arts and cultural traditions.
- Arizona State Museum Partner — Collaborated on an exhibit about cultural practices at end-of-life.
- Arizona State University Partner — Collaborated with Herberger Institute on regional cultural development.
- Arizona State University’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (ASU HIDA) Partner — Received guidance from SFA for the "Arizona Creative Communities Initiative."
- ArtPlace America Funder — Provided a 2017 National Creative Placemaking grant for the VozFrontera program.
- Borealis Philanthropy Partner — Partnered on the "Reclaiming the Border Narrative" initiative.
- Center for Cultural Power Partner — Partnered on the "Reclaiming the Border Narrative" initiative.
- Chicanos por la Causa Partner — Organization led by board member Alicia Nuñez, President and CEO
- City of Tucson Partner — Government agency employing board member Neto Portillo Jr. as Public Information Officer for Housing and Community Development Department
- City of Tucson Partner — Partnered with the City of Tucson on the La Doce Barrio Foodways Project.
- City of Tucson Partner — SFA was a partner in implementing the "Thrive in the ’05 Transformation Plan" adopted by the Mayor and City Council.
- City of Tucson Mayor’s Office Funder — Supporter of the organization's work.
- City of Tucson Ward 1 Funder — Supporter of the organization's work.
- Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona Partner — Partnered with the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona on the La Doce Barrio Foodways Project.
- Community Foundation for Southern Arizona Partner — Partnered with the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona on the La Doce Barrio Foodways Project.
- First Peoples Fund Partner — Cooperating partner for the National Folklife Network.
- Ford Foundation Funder — Initiated the "Reclaiming the Border Narrative" effort in partnership with SFA and other organizations.
- Monument Lab of Culture Trust Greater Philadelphia Funder — Supporter of the organization's work.
- National Association of Hispanic Journalists Partner — Partnered on the "Reclaiming the Border Narrative" initiative.
- National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures Partner — Partnered on the "Reclaiming the Border Narrative" initiative.
- National Endowment for the Arts Funder — Provided seed funding for the expansion of Southwest Folklife Alliance's scope.
- National Endowment for the Arts Government — Partial funder of the SFA Master-Apprentice Award
- National Endowment for the Arts Government — State Partner for Folk Arts in collaboration with Arizona Commission for the Arts
+ 17 more