"Women Without Men" received Venice's Silver LionIf you've been receiving updates from the Levantine Cultural Center, you already know that we were founded during the summer of 2001 to champion a greater understanding of the Middle East and North Africa. We do this by presenting artistic and educational programs that bridge political and religious divides. In a search for common ground, the Center also fosters discussions among artists and thinkers and offers classes and workshops that serve diverse ethnic communities.

As we come to the conclusion of 2010, we want to let you know why we're proud:

· We operated with a budget of $155K
· Our staff consisted of volunteers/interns working about 700 hours per month
· We produced 52 programs of film, art, theatre, comedy, music, literature, and public fora (such as There Is No 'Us and Them': A Public Forum on Cultural Diplomacy)
· Over 7,000 people attended programs
· More than 100,000 kept in touch online

• UNIQUE We are the only nonprofit organization in Southern California that consistently presents Middle Eastern and North African cultural arts programs, with a view to providing Americans with a more nuanced, informed picture of the region-and creating stronger bonds between diverse ethnic communities.

• BOLD We don't shy away from provocative ideas, controversial debate or progressive points of view-unlike most arts organizations that fear upsetting their elite donors. (Witness the MOCA anti-war mural that just got whitewashed in a stunning act of censorship by the very institution that commissioned the mural.) Whether presenting Palestinian authors, taking an in-depth critical look at Israeli cinema, or reviewing what the Iranian landscape is really like for artists and journalists, our programs never pull punches.

• PROLIFIC We're proud of the fact that we presented over 50 public programs in 2010, running on a virtual shoestring. Whether films, music, literature, art exhibits or educational events, the LCC made the most of limited means, and reached over 7,000 people. No arts organization is better at stretching a dollar than we are. We invest the majority of our funds in programs and services-not buildings and fancy marketing campaigns.

• PASSIONATE VOLUNTEERS The LCC does what it does with the labor of volunteers, interns and board members. Did you know that it takes about 700 hours of labor each month to run the center? The people who make the LCC possible are passionate about Middle Eastern culture, and the need to broaden American perceptions of the Arab/Muslim world. They-and you-are the stakeholders who are the bedrock of what will become the permanent Middle Eastern arts center for Los Angeles, with a museum, library, galleries, artist studios, theatres, offices for multiple nonprofit organizations, and more.

• SAFE SPACES/PUBLIC FORUMS The LCC is one of the few organizations in the country presenting public cultural programs that give Americans opportunities to learn about, for instance, Gaza, Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, and U.S. foreign policy in the region. Indeed, the LCC provides a space and a consistent forum to discuss the Middle East and North Africa-past, present and future.

Here are just a few of the upcoming programs for 2011:

January:

• Screening, discussion of, and reception for Shirin Neshat's beautiful feature film, Women Without Men, set in Iran during the overthrow of democratically-elected Mohammad Mossedegh (New Voices in Middle Eastern Film).
• Jerusalem professor Basem Ra'ad presents his recent book, Hidden Histories, Palestine and the Eastern Mediterranean (Pluto Press), which substantially shifts our understanding of the early cultures of Palestine and their contributions to Eastern Mediterranean cultures and religions.
• New art exhibit opens featuring the work of Khalid Hussein, whose portraiture captures the spirit of great painting while playfully examining the politics of identity.

February

• The first annual Women's Voices from the Muslim World: A Short Film Festival launches with a downtown L.A. loft party and culture jam, featuring performance art and a silent auction, cosponsored by the New York-based nonprofit Women's Voices Now and the LCC.
• New Voices in Middle Eastern Film in association with the UCLA Film & TV Archives presents the LA premiere of writer/director Mohammad Rasoulof's stunning feature The White Meadows. The film expertly weaves poetry, mythology, metaphor, and the absurd to tell the fable-like story of Rahmat, who sails from island to island on salt-filled Lake Urmia to collect tears as people unburden their sorrows into glass jars.
• The Sultans of Satire, LCC's long-running Middle Eastern comic relief show, returns after a hiatus to lampoon American and Middle Eastern cultures, mercilessly skewering our sacred cows.

March

The North African Music Caravan, a concert with Moroccan, Tunisian and Algerian bands (MoMo Loudiyi, MC Rai, Cheb i Sabbah), with a special tribute to the musical career of composer Richard Horowitz, cofounder of The Gnaoua and World Music Festival in Essaouira, Morocco, who famously contributed the music for Bertolucci's The Sheltering Shy.