On Tuesday, June 18, 7 pm the Levantine Cultural Center will present a public forum and press conference on uprisings taking place in Turkey.

[JUNE 11, 2013--Los Angeles]—On Tuesday, June 18, 7 PM the Levantine Cultural Center will present a public forum and press conference on uprisings taking place in Turkey. Confirmed speakers to date include UCLA law professor Asli Bali, and Turkish graduate student Ceren Abi, with additional experts to be announced. All invited.

Seemingly overnight, Turkey is in the news as thousands of Turks take to the streets to protest Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government. Erdogan has accused anti-government protesters walking ‘arm-in-arm with terrorism,' remarks that could further inflame public anger after days of some of the most violent riots in decades. As Reuters reported, "Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Turkey's four biggest cities on Sunday and clashed with riot police firing tear gas on the third day of the fiercest anti-government demonstrations in years."

Can you believe it?!

We are just starting our 12th year serving greater Los Angeles. Don Heckman wrote the first LA Times article about us, positively reviewing our first public program, in a Calendar review published June 25, 2001. (We received another thumbs-up review in December 2001 by theatre critic Don Shirley and many more LA Times articles since.) 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

For inquiries, please contact Lulwa Bordcosh or Kameron Myles

310.657.5511

 LEVANTINE-MINT TO HOLD TURKISH ROCK CONCERT FEATURING INTERNATIONAL MUSIC SENSATIONS TWENTY7 AND KUSTAL AS PART OF MUSICAL SERIES, “THE MIDDLE EAST ROCKS”

 [Los Angeles—February 7, 2013] Turkish rock band Twenty7 and singer/songwriter Kustal will perform Feb 23, 8 pm at The Mint, 6010 W. Pico Blvd, Los Angeles. The performance is part of a new series, “The Middle East Rocks,” organized by the Levantine Cultural Center and hosted by venerable L.A. club, The Mint.

Rock, metal, heavy metal, hip hop, jazz and blues are all-American music originals, but they are genres that are constantly being challenged and reinvented by swingers in the Middle East—by singer-songwriters and musicians who are both natively Middle Eastern but strongly western in their tastes and travels. Turkey spans the European and Asian continents and is a bridge culture between east and west. Kutsal is an Istanbul, Turkey born-and-educated rocker with four recordings to her credit, and Band Twenty7 is a top indie band; both Kutsal and Twenty7 rock the house singing in both English and Turkish. This is one in a new series, "The Middle East Rocks," and is a collaboration between the Levantine Cultural Center and The Mint—LevantineMint. Tickets are $12 or $15 at the door, available now online.

WHO: Jack G. Shaheen, media activist
WHERE: Levantine Cultural Center, 5998 W. Pico Blvd., LA 90035, street parking.
PRICE: Free to general public
INFO/RSVPs: Levantine Cultural Center, 323.413.2001, levantinecenter.org.

[Los Angeles-Monday November 27, 2012] Beginning Saturday, December 1st, the Levantine Cultural Center presents a fascinating new exhibit based on the work of film and media scholar Dr. Jack G. Shaheen's work: A is for Arab: Stereotypes in U.S. Popular Culture.

POSTPONED This event has been pushed forward to January 2013. Artists for Peace features a very special performance by Tony Khalifé in an evening of mystical music and dance with influences from Lebanon, India, North Africa and beyond, with special poetry performances by Sholeh Wolpe and Sheila Vossough reciting the poetry of Ahmad Shamloo and Forough Farrokhzad in English and Farsi, also featuring The Forbidden poetry of Iran.