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The Culture Keepers

The Culture Keepers

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A Bay Area Storytelling Project

The Culture Keepers brings together visionary artists with trusted storytellers to document how cultural work shapes a sense of belonging, offers respite across communities, inspires and shapes our world, and builds shared power in the region. By offering a unique look into the practices, lives, and communities of Bay Area artists and creatives, The Culture Keepers invites each of us to ask: how are we tending to the culture that makes the Bay Area a place we love?

Meet The Culture Keepers
  • Culture Keeper

    Ray Ryda

  • Culture Keeper

    Erik Wright

  • Culture Keeper

    Adimu “WolfHawkJaguar” Madyun

  • Culture Keeper

    Loveli “Revlon” Mohair

  • Culture Keeper

    Cecilia Cassandra “La Doña” Peña–Govea

  • Culture Keeper

    Jon Bernson

  • Culture Keeper

    Sophia Tupuola

  • Culture Keeper

    Bria Woodland

Audio Interviews

Short Films

Written Pieces

Resident Storytellers

We invite leading storytellers, journalists, writers, and filmmakers who are trusted and beloved in their communities to produce stories in various mediums – film, audio, photos, audio interviews, and written word. Our resident storytellers operate with respect, humility, and a deep sense of responsibility for how stories travel.

Meet our Resident Storytellers

Featured Stories

Through film, audio interviews, photography, and the written word, The Culture Keepers spotlights the artists and culture makers offering us sustenance and healing in a time of global upheaval. Meet the Culture Keepers.

  • Written Piece

    San Francisco Hyphy Lil’ Mami

    In a city constantly being rebranded and resold, La Doña remains one of its truest storytellers.  For Cecilia Cassandra “La Doña” Peña–Govea, music is a tool you offer your community to grieve and celebrate. Growing…

    More: San Francisco Hyphy Lil’ Mami
  • Written Piece

    Mending While Expanding: The Care Practice of Tosha Stimage

    Editor’s Note When we asked Tosha Stimage who she wanted to have write a piece on her, she emphatically chose bloodstone to write this piece–as an offering. So, he did with the reverence and care…

    More: Mending While Expanding: The Care Practice of Tosha Stimage
  • Written Piece

    Erik Wright, a 32 year-old creative from North Oakland, is a Dark Magician

    Wright, who is also a singer, dancer, filmmaker and manager for the Chiller Gang collective, says the title of Dark Magician isn’t necessarily about what he does, but more about what he’s experienced in life. “I’ve…

    More: Erik Wright, a 32 year-old creative from North Oakland, is a Dark Magician
  • Written Piece

    Ray Ryda’s Hood Ministry, An Origin Story

    Ray Ryda walks into Oakland’s Souley Vegan restaurant–six foot two and lanky, a plush forest green jacket, bright jewelry, and glasses adorned in gold. He carries with him and a presence that’s felt.  He gives…

    More: Ray Ryda’s Hood Ministry, An Origin Story
  • Written Piece

    Time Traveling with Eryn Kimura

    When I spend time with someone who was also born and raised in San Francisco, also calls it Frisco, and also grew up in the eighties and nineties riding MUNI, we eventually stumble across the…

    More: Time Traveling with Eryn Kimura
  • Written Piece

    POUND THE GROUND

    A CHANT’S ENCOUNTER WITH EAST OAKLAND’S CONTROVERSIAL KUMU I’m hoofing it to catch a 57 bus that cuts across the entire city to Kumu Hula Mark’s Halau, the Academy of Hawaiian Arts (AHA), which is…

    More: POUND THE GROUND

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Project Highlights

The Power of a Change In Perspective

Don’t underestimate the power of a change in perspective. Simply rephrasing the question “why did this happen to me?” to...

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Time Traveling with Eryn Kimura

When I spend time with someone who was also born and raised in San Francisco, also calls it Frisco, and also grew up in...

Read

Paola de la Calle is Never Empty-handed

San Francisco has a way of finding its people. For artist Paola de la Calle, it was a print of a Zapatista portrait whea...

Read

Jackie Keliiaa

Jackie Keliiaa, Bay Area comedian and creator of Good Medicine Comedy, an all-Native comedy showcase.

Bria Woodland

Bria Woodland is a young Black Soulaan womxn, poet, activist, and community organizer from Oakland, CA.

Ray Ryda

Ray Ryda is a rapper, mentor, and community organizer from East Oakland, CA.

The Culture Keepers

The Culture Keepers exists because the artists,culture keepers, and cultural organizations who sustain the Bay Area’s soul deserve to be seen and supported at the scale of their impact. In service to the cultural sector, we uplift the role of artists and culture keepers in making the Bay Area and our world a place we want to live and thrive in.

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