:: December 2004 ::

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All programs free unless otherwise noted.

Through Dec. 31. (Fri-Sun.), 12:00-5 p.m.—"Tracing Identity: An Insider's View of the L.A. Armenian Community," a photo essay by Ara Oshagan

Ara Oshagan's "Traces of Identity: An Insider's View of the L.A. Armenian Community, 2000-2004" is a photo essay curated by Charlie Hachadourian. From family retreats at Big Bear Lake, inmates in Ironwood state prison, and church services in Pasadena, to demonstrations on East Hollywood streets, a youth party in Studio City, a drug-rehab center in Palmdale and a convalescent home in Eagle Rock, among others, the exhibit brings together the strands of a diverse and vibrant Armenian presence across the breadth of the greater Los Angeles area. It addresses issues of identity and displacement common to many immigrant communities.

“Armenians are an extremely diverse community in Los Angeles, although they are united in the common tragedy of the 1915 genocide,” says project director, Dr. Donald E. Miller of USC. “Currently, there are about 250,000 Armenians living in Los Angeles, the largest concentration of Armenians living outside the Republic of Armenia. 'Traces of Identity' captures both the vitality and complexity of this community and powerfully raises the question, 'What does it mean to be Armenian in the 21st century?'"

Oshagan’s photos are intimate images of everyday life. “I know almost everyone I photograph — if not personally, then through a family or community connection,” says the Beirut-born photographer who is also a longtime resident of Los Angeles’ Armenian community. “This allows me a unique portal into their lives and a shared intimacy.” Visit the web site.

Through December 31, 2004. Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, 4800 Hollywood Blvd. (near Vermont Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90027, Gallery phone: 323.644.6269. Gallery hours: Friday - Sunday, 12 - 5 pm.


Dec. 12 (Sat.) —Multi-Ethnic Star Orchestra (MESTO) Holiday Concert

The MESTO (Multi-Ethnic Star Orchestra) concert will be at the United Methodist Church, 7400 Osage Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90045. The church is off La Tijera exit from the 405 Fwy.

MESTO will perform a variety of instrumental and a special vocal compositions for Christmas. For the first time the San Fernando Valley Male Choir under the direction of Mr. Shelly Cohen will collaborate with MESTO.

Guest star singer Anna-Suzette will be on stage with two beautiful songs.

Nabil Azzam will premier his new composition "Jasmine" for qanun and orchestra with qanun virtuoso Lilit Khojayan.

Tickets: VIP $100, general admission $30. (Due to church size, seats are limited).

For Tickets and Information, please call: 310.795.4280 or 310.383.3790. Visit online.


Dec. 16 (Thurs.) 7 pm—Meet the Press: How the Media covers The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict With Journalists Amy Wilentz, Hussein Ibish and Rob Eshman

A panel discussion with journalists Amy Wilentz, Lebanese Daily Star correspondent Hussein Ibish and LA Jewish Journal Editor Rob Eshman. They will address the challenges of covering the conflict, especially since 9/11, and whether media coverage of the region is fair and balanced. Amy Wilentz was the Jerusalem correspondent for The New Yorker from 1995 to 1997. She is author of The Rainy Season, and has written for The Nation, The New Republic, and The New York Times. Hussein Ibish is the Washington Correspondent for the Beirut-based Daily Star, the leading English-language newspaper in the Arab world and the former Communications Director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee he is the author of "The Media and the New Intifada" in The New Intifada (Verso, 2001). Rob Eshman is Editor-in-Chief of The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Before joining the Jewish Journal, in 1993, he wrote and edited at a variety of publications here and in Israel.

In conjunction with Barbara Grover's photo exhibit, "This Land to Me, Some Call Palestine, Others Israel." At the Sherry Frumkin Gallery, Studio 21, 3026 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica Airport, Santa Monica 90495. Ph. 310.397.7493. "This Land" runs through Dec. 31. Gallery hours Wed.-Sat., 11 am - 6 pm. Visit the exhibit web site.


Through Jan. 8—"Prism, Beyond the Focal Plane" Exhibit and Reception

Exhibition through January 15, 2005. Artists from the South Asian and Turkish disapora show new multimedia works, curated by Andaleeb Firdosy. "A map is a curious thing—a totalizing document, yet abstract and disembodied. It is an indispensable reference and completely malleable at once, marking the fires of politics with a sterile hand..." This exhibit is a catalogue of cartographers, artists creating metaphor-models that trace the contours of the globe, catch it through a peripheral glance, and offer up the occasional cross-section. The themes of the five disaporic artists are as varied as their maritime coordinates, yet their statements are expressed in an emergent modal currency, a double vision that draws a line suggesting dimensionality.

Gul Cagin, Arzu Arda Kosar, Meena Nanji, Allan deSouza and Andaleeb Firdosy. 18th Street Arts Center, 1639 18th St., Santa Monica 90405. Info 310.453.3711. See the web site for details. Made possible by The Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts, cosponsored by Artwallah.

Dec. 19 (Sun.) 4 pm—The Art of Interfaith Dialogue

Rabbi Steven Jacobs of Temple Kol Tikva, Dr. Nazir Khaja of the Islamic Information Service and friends will discuss the importance of dialogue surrounding the conflict, and the roles it plays in nurturing tolerance and social change.

In conjunction with Barbara Grover's photo exhibit, "This Land to Me, Some Call Palestine, Others Israel." At the Sherry Frumkin Gallery, Studio 21, 3026 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica Airport, Santa Monica 90495. Ph. 310.397.7493. "This Land" runs through Jan. 8. Gallery hours Wed.-Sat., 11 am - 6 pm. Visit the exhibit web site.

Dec. 19 (Sun.), 6-9:30 pm—Holiday Concert with the Naser Musa-Adam del Monte Ensemble & Special Guest Artists

6 pm reception with refreshments and holiday gift vendors, 7 pm concert.
Location: Hollywood United Methodist Church
Address: 6817 Franklin Ave., Hollywood , 90028
Cross Streets: Highland Avenue / Franklin Avenue

Phone: 310.559-5544. Phone day of concert: 310.402.6469.
Admission: $25 Preferred seating, $18 General Seating, $12 Students (i.d.). Levantine members 20% off and church members 20% off. Groups 20% off.
Reserve your tickets online today.

Um

Moshe

Robyn Friend of Garip Bulbul

Jan. 15 (Sat.), 7:00 pm/Jan. 16 (Sun.) 3 pm—Ustad Farida Mahwash Performs Afghan Concerts

Volunteer with Levantine Cultural Center's Programming Committee

Bring your ideas, enthusiasm and support to the Center by participating in a new Programming Committee, that will cooperate with our Board of Directors in creating new arts programs in the weeks and months ahead. To get on the reservation list for the next meeting, email us now!


Board of Directors Seeks Community Leaders

Levantine Center's Board of Directors is continually in formation, and welcomes inquiries—we are actively searching for more people with our passion and conviction! The board consists of diverse members of the community who are of Middle Eastern/Mediterranean heritage or who have a strong professional or artistic interest in furthering our mission. As directors, board members represent the organization officially, are responsible for its financial health, and make the priority strategic decisions, with counsel from Advisory Board members where possible. Board members work with activists heading specific committes, including the Film/Video, Literary, Education Performing Arts and Membership Committees.

Our Advisory Board is also in formation. Advisory board members are known professionally in their own communities and offer valuable counsel and services to the organization; they are eligible to attend the organization's annual retreat and receive other benefits.

Please contact us at 310.559.5544.

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LEVANTINE CULTURAL CENTER
Cultures of the Middle East & Mediterranean
8424A Santa Monica Blvd., N.789, West Hollywood CA 90069
310.559.5544, info@levantinecenter.org

Levantine Center advocates for, educates about, and in general promotes and supports Middle Eastern and Mediterranean contemporary arts and traditional cultures. We present or cosponsor programs of music, literature, art, film/video, publications, new media and more, often from educational and historical perspectives. While acknowledging the value of entertainment, we emphasize scholarship and substance. We are strongly multidisciplinary and non-sectarian, do not embrace any political or religious doctrine, and are committed to the principle of cross-cultural cooperation. We support the strengthening of ties between all cultural, ethnic and religious communities of the Middle East/West Asia/Levant, as well as between all peoples of Middle Eastern descent in diaspora.

 
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