What We Do

Five Ways Africa Lives Here

Each program is a doorway. Some enter through music. Some through dance. Some through story. All arrive at the same destination — genuine, living connection to African cultural heritage.

01
Program One

Live Performance Series

Curated concerts and performances featuring African musicians, dancers, and theater companies from across the continent and diaspora. Presented in accessible venues throughout Los Angeles — from intimate cultural spaces to major performing arts centers.

Every performance is an event. Not background entertainment — a focused, intentional encounter with African performing arts at its finest, presented with the production quality the art deserves.

  • Up to six performances in Year 1, scaling as capacity grows
  • Curated across Africa and its global diaspora
  • Reduced and complimentary tickets as resources allow
  • Pre-performance cultural education for audiences
  • Post-performance artist conversations and donor receptions
African live performance — NACAPA Los Angeles
02
Program Two

Artist Residency Program

Multi-week residency programs bringing African performing artists to Los Angeles for intensive creative work, community engagement, and knowledge exchange with local artists, students, and community members.

Each residency is not just about the final performance — it is about the weeks of contact between an African artist and a Los Angeles community. The workshops. The school visits. The informal encounters that leave lasting impressions.

  • Up to two residencies in Year 2, scaling as capacity grows
  • Open or invited process reviewed by curatorial leadership
  • Public showing or lecture-demonstration where feasible
  • School and community engagement where partnerships allow
  • Documentation and archiving of each residency
NACAPA artist residency — African performing artists in Los Angeles
03
Program Three

Cultural Education Workshops

Designed for schools, community centers, after-school programs, weekend intensives, and community learning spaces. Facilitated by African cultural artists, educators, and teaching artists with relevant artistic and pedagogical experience.

Designed for schools, community centers, after-school programs, weekend intensives, and community learning spaces. Facilitated by African cultural artists, educators, and teaching artists with relevant artistic and pedagogical experience.

  • School programs with LAUSD, community schools, and partners
  • Sliding-scale fees with scholarship availability
  • Youth ages 8–18 primary; adults secondary
  • Covers music, dance, theater, oral traditions, and context
  • Curriculum-informed programming tied to relevant standards
African cultural education workshop — youth drumming Los Angeles
04
Program Four

Cultural Immersion Experiences

Designed for families, community groups, students, artists, donors, and curious audiences, these programs make African culture accessible without reducing it to exhibition or entertainment alone.

Designed for families, community groups, students, artists, donors, and curious audiences, these programs make African culture accessible without reducing it to exhibition or entertainment alone.

  • Up to four events in Year 1, subject to capacity
  • Cultural festivals and themed dinner-performance events
  • Fashion and arts showcases tied to performance themes
  • Heritage celebrations tied to African holidays and traditions
  • Food vendors supporting selected cultural experiences
Cross-cultural exchange — African and world arts in dialogue
05
Program Five

Cross-Cultural Exchange Programs

Africa does not exist in isolation; it has always been in conversation with the world. NACAPA is African-centered and outward-facing. Our Cross-Cultural Exchange Programs bring African performing traditions into sustained dialogue with orchestral music, jazz, mariachi, theatre, dance, Indigenous traditions, and other cultural forms in North America and beyond.

These programs support co-creation, shared learning, public performance, research, and documentation while protecting the identity, authority, and integrity of each participating tradition.

  • Co-productions linking African artists with other cultural traditions
  • Collaborative residencies with diverse cultural organizations
  • Public performances and documentation where feasible
  • Academic partnerships for research and interpretation
  • Periodic symposium bringing artists and scholars together
Cross-cultural exchange — African and world arts in dialogue
Preserve
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Celebrate
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Connect

NACAPA · Los Angeles, California · Founded 2026 · 501(c)(3) · EIN: 41-5043697