FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRESS CONTACT: Sarah Holswade or Tara Marie Good, 310.657.5511
Or David Elzer 818.508.1754

SALAM SHALOM
Enemies...Another Love Story
Written by Saleem
Directed by Ty Donaldson

Limited Engagement will open on Saturday, March 6
at the Greenway Court Theatre in West Hollywood!

"Salam Shalom pleads sympathetically for universal respect and understanding..."
  — The San Francisco Bay Guardian, San Francisco

Contact: Sarah Holswade For Immediate Release
Tel: 310.657.5511
Email: sarah@levantinecenter.org

East/West
CONVERGENCES
Artists from Syria and Lebanon

Contact: Sarah Holswade For Immediate Release
Tel: 310.657.5511
Email: sarah@levantinecenter.org

ARTISTS FOR IRAN
A Celebration of the Arts and Human Rights

Who: Visual artists, poets, writers, comedians, actors and more.

What: A night devoted to literary, visual and performing arts highlighting the issues of human rights in Iran and around the world.

Where: Levantine Cultural Center,
5998 W. Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90035

When: Dec. 12, 2009 from 7:30pm to 12am

Details: Free to the public, donations requested, open bar.

A Country Called AmreekaWhat does American history look and feel like in the eyes and skin of Arab Americans? In A Country Called Amreeka:  Arab Roots, American Stories (Free Press; October 6, 2009; $25.00), Syrian-American civil right lawyer Alia Malek weaves the stories of the Arab-American community (3.5 million strong) into the story of America, using lively and moving narratives of real people who have lived history all around the country.  Just as the recent award-winning National Geographic Entertainment film AMREEKA, by Cherien Dabis, blazed new ground in its depiction of a mother and son from the West Bank trying to assimilate in America, Alia Malek’s In A Country Called Amreeka brings to captivating life true stories of a wide variety of Arab Americans navigating the divide between their original heritage and their new world in the United States.

Using film, music and scholarship, on August 5th, speakers will explore the Mizrahim (Eastern Jews):

 

[Los Angeles, May 19, 2009] “inside/outside & other oxymorons” [sic] is a new exhibition that explores the work of three multicultural artists—Sama Alshaibi, Vahé Berberian and Adnan Charara—whose lives of migration and experiences with war, displacement and political instability have given them a unique perspective on identity, culture and society. Their work is created and inspired from the space of the in-between; from the inside and outside of multiple cultures and perspectives. Using diverse mediums, these artists’ works are an expression of their respective journeys. The new Inside/Outside Gallery at Levantine Cultural Center will present more than 30 of their works from June 20-July 31, 2009, with an opening reception on June 20, 6-10 pm, and other art salons to follow. This is the first time any of these works will have been exhibited in Los Angeles. Read artists' bios.

[Los Angeles, May 7, 2009] Levantine Cultural Center presents a salon on the politics and culture of Afghanistan, Friday, May 15, 7-9:30 pm, when authors Paul Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Gould—who as documentary filmmakers and journalists have been visiting Afghanistan since 1981—discuss their new book “Invisible History: Afghanistan's Untold Story” (City Lights 2009), including a DVD presentation followed by Q/A and book signing. They will be introduced by Afghan-American lawyer-activist Mariam Atash Nawabi. The evening includes Afghani-American indie singer Ariana Delawari presenting some of her rock/folk repertoire. The program is copresented by CODEPINK: Women for Peace.

$10 or $20 with autographed book (free entry for members and students with I.D.).Doors open 7 pm. Even 7:30-9:30 pm. Refreshments available.

One Hundred One Levantine Delights

[Los Angeles, April 29, 2009] Since 2001, Levantine Cultural Center (LCC) has been the place in Los Angeles to find public programs on Israelis and Palestinians, Iraq, Iran and North Africa; it has been a rallying point for the Arab/Muslim world to see itself reflected accurately and for the most part, positively, through world-class literary, visual and performing arts programs. Using cultural diplomacy that emphasizes the importance of interfaith relationships, the center presents programs and education to a broad range of constituents in Southern California—to Americans of all cultural backgrounds.