Mission 

Levantine Cultural Center promotes a greater understanding of the Middle East and North Africa by presenting artistic and educational programs that bridge political and religious divides. In a search for common ground, the Center fosters discussions among artists and thinkers and offers classes and workshops that serve diverse ethnic communities.

Cultural Context
Levantine Cultural Center includes majority and minority cultures, stretching from the historical Al-Andalus of southern Spain and Morocco to the Balkans, Greece, Turkey and across North Africa and the Middle East as far as Afghanistan and Pakistan. It includes the creative work of Arabs, Jews and other ethnic/religious groups with Mideast origins who are living in the West.

Vision
Levantine Cultural Center produces or cosponsors artistic programs that encourage cross-cultural and multidisciplinary collaborations, and that give voice to issues and experiences of underrepresented Middle Eastern communities in order to bring informative and alternative information on these communities to the American public and media.

We partner with community groups and artists that engage in cross-cultural initiatives or the education of a broader public with cultural/social relevance. We strive to work collaboratively with multigenerational, multiethnic, multidisciplinary and/or broad geographic communities in response to cultural/social issues articulated by those communities.

Levantine Cultural Center seeks to support the publication and dissemination of research that substantiates the importance of the arts in influencing social change; and the dissemination of information about collaborative projects that leads to effective public education about Mideast cultures and issues.

Levantine Cultural Center is strongly non-partisan and non-sectarian. We do not espouse any political or religious doctrine, and we are committed to the principles of cross-cultural cooperation.

Mid-term Goal
Raise $750,000 to $1,000,000 in FY 2009 to help fund the next three years, allowing for the addition of professional staff members (executive director, development director, program manager) and expansion of our facility so that we can meet the current demand for both programs and classes. We seek to expand our performance space from a capacity for approximately 100 people to a space that can accommodate 250-300 people; we also require additional office space and classrooms (for language, music and dance classes), along with a conference room.

 

Long-term Goal

Launch a capital campaign in 2010 with the objective to raise $100 million for the creation of a landmark Middle Eastern arts complex for Southern California.