Mission & Purpose

The Association for the Advancement of Filipino American Arts and Culture, also known as FilAm ARTS, is a multi-disciplinary community arts organization whose mission is to advance the understanding of the arts and diverse cultural heritage of Filipinos in the United States. With three public programs – the Annual Festival of Philippine Arts & Culture, the statewide Pilipino Artists Network, and the arts education program, Eskuwela Kultura, FilAm ARTS’ organizational purpose is to engage diverse peoples in cultural arts as a synergistic approach to individual and community self-determination and empowerment.

Values

FilAm ARTS believes in the power of the arts to overcome language barriers and build community through cultural diversity.

1. Engaging people of diverse backgrounds in a common ground venue
2. Creating opportunities and spaces for cultural explorations and inter-cultural dialogue
3. Fostering the traditional arts while nurturing emerging artistic and community voices
4. Stimulating economic growth using the arts in underserved communities, and,
5. Educating and empowering youth to become strong leaders

Achievement Highlights

For 18 years, FilAm Arts is recognized AS A LEADER in community arts not only in Southern California, but also throughout the nation –

• AS A PRESENTER
  • FilAm ARTS is a leading
    presenter of traditional and emerging Filipino American artists and art forms in Southern CA.  The Annual Festival of Philippine Arts & Culture (FPAC) presents over 500 multidisciplinary artists to an audience of 25,000 from all over the country, in collaboration with 200 community organizations, businesses and government agencies, and involving more than 300 volunteers.  FilAm ARTS programs include: concerts; literary programs;film presentations; visual art exhibits and educational programs such as internships, after-school programs, and artist trainings.
  • FilAm ARTS is one of the leading cultural organizations in Los Angeles that sat on the advisory boards of the City of Los Angeles Mayor’s Celebration of the Asian Pacific Heritage Month, the City of Los Angeles’ 32^nd Annual Lotus Festival, and the Smithsonian Institution’s 2006 “Centennial of Filipino American Migration.”
• AS A RESOURCE
  • A lead resource organization in national initiatives such as the Ford Foundation’s Asian Pacific American network “Connect the Arts,” the “Pilipino American Performing Arts Initiative,” the National Hip Hop Summit in New York, and a recipient of The Ford Foundation’s Emerging Voices, New Directions program.
  • The California Community Foundation has identified FilAm ARTS as one of four lead cultural organizations in Los Angeles for their Cultural Arts Pilot Program.
• AS AN ADVOCATE
  • One of the leading cultural arts organizations in California that founded the CA Cultural Alliance, a coalition of artist networks advocating for multicultural arts, that influenced the writing Assembly Bill 716 to create the CA Cultural and Historical Endowment.