Home > News > UCLA Center for Intercultural Performance Receives Grants From the U.S. Department of State and the National Endowment for the Arts

UCLA Center for Intercultural Performance Receives Grants From the U.S. Department of State and the National Endowment for the Arts

Carolyn Campbell (ccampbel@arts.ucla.edu) (310) 825-6540
For Immediate Use Wednesday, June 25, 2003.

UCLA’s Center for Intercultural Performance has been awarded a $200,000 grant from the United States Department of State, through the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Intercultural Public Private Fellows Program; and a $35,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

The Department of State funds will enable the center to offer the UCLA/Asia Pacific Performance Exchange (APPEX) Programs 2004 and 2006. APPEX is an international residency program that promotes understanding and appreciation across cultures, and fosters new ways to experiment, collaborate and interpret artistic expression between American and Asian artists. The NEA grant will support APPEX’s Art of Rice Traveling Theater.

“In these turbulent times, it is particularly gratifying that the Department of State and the NEA recognize the importance of international cultural exchange and are enabling us to provide a unique context in which open dialogue and creative cross-cultural work can take place,” said Judy Mitoma, director of the center.

“Cultural exchange programs not only highlight the creativity and dynamism of American society and the strength that diversity brings to our nation, they also reflect America’s respect for the achievements of other cultures,” said Patricia S. Harrison, assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs.

The UCLA/APPEX Fellows residency programs will take place in Indonesia during the summer of 2004 and in Los Angeles during the summer of 2006. The Center for Intercultural Performance will select an equal number of American and Asian participants from both sides of the Pacific, from the areas of music, dance, theater and puppetry. Asian participants will be recruited from India, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, with a focus on Muslim populations.

The APPEX residency includes master classes and studio workshops, field work, collaborative creative performance workshops, education, outreach activities, and public performances in a wide variety of venues in the United States and overseas. Application details will be available at www.wac.ucla.edu/cip beginning June 30.


The Art of Rice Traveling Theater, a fully produced new work, was created by an extraordinary group of 11 APPEX artists of varying performing disciplines from China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, the Dominican Republic and the United States. Based on the theme of rice, the presentation is an innovative integration of classic and experimental technique in a full evening-length performance.

The project was inspired by the exhibition “The Art of Rice: Spirit and Sustenance in Asia,” which opens Oct. 5 at the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. The center hosted a workshop on the project in Indonesia in spring 2002 and will host another this summer. Performances will take place this fall in Hawaii from Sept. 10–20 and in California from Sept. 21 through Oct. 6. There will be two performances in Los Angeles — on Sept. 27 and 28 — at the Aratani Japan America Theatre.

The Center for Intercultural Performance, an integral part of the Department of World Arts and Cultures in the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture (UCLArts), supports interdisciplinary research, creative experimentation and education at a national and international level. The center serves as a link to the outside professional world by initiating and supporting intercultural exchange and collaboration. Its ultimate purpose is to connect multicultural arts education and research within the university to the work of artists from diverse communities and traditions.