To inquire about getting events listed, email the Calendar Editor. [Send all photos as small jpegs or gifs.] To learn about previous events, scroll to bottom of the page. All programs free unless otherwise noted.


Jan. 7/8 (Sat/Sun), 8 pm—Djanbazian Dance Foundation Presents "Rumi, the Path to Enlightenment" at UCLA's Ralph Freud Playhouse

Anna Djanbazian's company presents two performances of "Rumi, the Path to Enlightenment" featuring Arsineh Ananian, Narineh Ghazarians, Araz Ranjbar, Melineh Khanbabian, Anna Baibyan, and guest dancers Jonathan Sharp and Kristine D'Andrea and Kenwa Li Newell. Musicians include Mehrdad Naghibian on daf, Kamran Aghtaee on ney and vocalist Shahla Sarookhani, along with vocalist Mary Lee Sanders and poetry recitation by Kenwa Li Newell. "Live, as though Heaven is on earth." —Rumi.

The performances are inspired by the meeting of the mystics, poets and philosophers Molana Jalaledin Rumi and Shams Tabrizi in the 13th century, weaving live percussion, singing, poetry recitation and improvisational signed movement with Djanbazian's exceptional choreographic skills.

Tickets $35 and $45. Ralph Freud Playhouse, UCLA Campus, 245 Charles E. Young Dr. East, Los Angeles 90024. Enter the east side of UCLA campus from the intersection of Hilgard Avenue and Wyton. Parking Structure 3. Info UCLA Box Office 310.825.2101 or Djanbazian Dance Foundation, 818.580.2170.


Jan. 12 (Thurs.), 7:30 pm—"The Arab/Muslim Revolution: the Middle East & the West"

If "they" don't hate "us," why did thousands of North African Muslims in France and Arabs elsewhere in Europe riot against authorities recently? What are the roots of resentment against U.S. and European governments? Is there indeed a "clash of civilizations" pitting Arab/Muslim clerics and believers against Western/Judeo-Christian values? Is Islam in fact undergoing a reformation? Are pluralism and democracy only workable in the “West” or “global north,” or do they have roots in the Middle East? What are we to make between the gaps between “sacred history” and “genuine history”? And how can artists, activists and academics come together as part of a global movement to bridge gaps or the barzakh (Arabic for barrier) between such seemingly disparate forces?

These and other related questions will be the subject of the conference, "The Arab/Muslim Revolution: the Middle East & the West," on Thursday, January 12, 2006 at Levantine Cultural Center. The conference is cosponsored by PEN USA and features Islamic scholar Reza Aslan, author of the bestselling No god but God: the Origins, Evolution,and Future of Islam, and historian Mark LeVine, author of Why They Don't Hate Us: Lifting the Veil on the Axis of Evil.

The conference will be moderated by Soros fellow and journalist Laura Hubber, and will engage in public dialogue on the recent Arab/Muslim riots in France, the insurgency in Iraq, the future of Islam, and the Middle East as represented in the media. The program also features live Arabic music by Mohammed Cahoua and Omar Fadel with guest artist Mark LeVine. The evening includes light refreshments and open bar and is free to the public.

Reza Aslan earned a Bachelor of Arts in Religion from Santa Clara University, a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard University, a Master of Fine Arts in Fiction from the University of Iowa, and is currently a Doctoral Candidate in History of Religions at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Until recently, he was both Visiting Assistant Professor of Islamic and Middle East Studies at the University of Iowa and the Truman Capote Fellow in Fiction at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He has served as a legislative assistant for the Friends’ Committee on National Legislation in Washington D.C., and was elected president of Harvard’s Chapter of the World Conference on Religion and Peace, a United Nations Organization committed to solving religious conflicts throughout the world. He has written for the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, Slate, Boston Globe, the Washington Post, and the Nation and has appeared on Meet The Press, Hardball, The Daily Show, and Nightline. No god but God is his first book. Born in Iran, he now lives in Santa Monica.No god but God was a Los Angeles Times Favorite Book of 2005. Read an extract from Aslan's work.

Mark LeVine Associate Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History, Culture and Islamic Studies at UC Irvine, is a leader of the new generation of historians and analysts of the modern Middle East and Islam. With a command of Arabic, Hebrew, Turkish, and Persian, as well as Italian, French and German, LeVine spent the last eight years living, researching and reporting from the region, including Iraq, Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Morocco. He has interviewed senior international political figures, reported from Beirut's green line, taught Qur'an to Muslim Brothers, performed from Woodstock to Paris to Damascus Gate, lived next door to Hamas mosques, stood against bulldozers, dodged terrorist bombs, and uncovered damning files in dusty archives. He knows the history, politics, religions–and most important, the peoples–of the region as a friend, but with a highly critical eye. Read an excerpt of LeVine's work.

Laura Hubber is a Los Angeles based writer, journalist, and filmmaker. She has been a radio reporter for the BBC World Service for the past ten years, made documentaries in Sarajevo, and worked on a photographic history of the Kurds in northern Iraq. In addition, she has worked as a foreign correspondent in Bosnia and Herzegovina for The San Francisco Chronicle and The European, as well as a Lector and Soros Fellow at Sarajevo University. Her first screenplay, "Postcard from Sarajevo," was a finalist in UCLA's Diane Thomas screenwriting competition, and her most recent script, "Talk about a Revolution," was chosen for the Independent Feature Project’s 2004 screenwriting lab. She is currently working on a novel about exile and memory. She received her MA in Anthropology/Culture and Media Studies at NYU, her MA in English Literature/Critical Theory at the University of Sussex, and her BA in English Literature from Harvard University.

"The Arab/Muslim Revolution: the Middle East & the West" includes a reception and is free to the public. Copies of books by Reza Aslan and Mark LeVine will be available for purchase and signing. Free to the public. Reservations strongly advised. Info 310.559.5544. Or email your name and number in your party to info@levantinecenter.org.

Levantine Cultural Center, 5920 Blackwelder Street, Culver City, CA 90232, two blocks south of the major intersection of La Cienega Blvd. and Washington Blvd., on the border of Los Angeles (La Cienega South exit from the 10 Fwy). For more information contact the PEN USA office at 310.862.1555 ext 358, or Levantine Cultural Center, 310.559.5544.


Jan. 15 (Sun), 7:30 pm—Rare Macedonian-Arabic Fusion Concert of Music and Dance with Goran Alachki, Ljupco Manevski, Naser Musa and Souhail Kaspar

This is a rare U.S. appearance by some of the best performers of Macedonia, joined by some of the most in-demand Arab music artists based in Southern California. Popular Macedonian accordionist Goran Alachki is among the finest musicians in Macedonia, and a teacher at the musical school in Skopje. An arranger, composer and solo artist, he has been a featured guest artist on many Balkan recordings and live concerts, performing with such groups as the Kino Kultura Band. Recently Goran Alachki was designated one of the fifty living treasures of Macedonia by the Macedonian Ministry of Culture.

Goran Alachki will be joined by lead dancer Ljupco Manevski, the dance director of Tanec, the National Folkloric Ensemble of Macedonia. Ljupco has been called the Baryshnikov of Macedonian dance for his high jumps and energetic style. Accompanying Goran and Ljupco are Naser Musa, one of the most versatile vocalists of the Middle East, and master of the oud, along with virtuoso percussionist Souhail Kaspar. Guest percussionists will sit in. This is Goran and Ljupco's first appearance in Southern California. As Macedonia has been called the Catena Mundi, or link between worlds, it is fitting that this Macedonian-Arabic fusion concert will take place at Levantine Cultural Center. The concert is produced by folk artists Jatila Van Der Veen Davis and Steve Davis.

Macedonia is a fascinating country in the Balkans. After 500 years of rule by the Ottoman Empire, Macedonians are struggling to be free of outside interference since they gained independence in 1991. The country includes both Muslims and Christians who live in peace, side by side. Since 1913 this geographic and historical region has been divided between Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria, and only some 40 percent of its original area is occupied by the Republic of Macedonia, which constitutes the western half of the ancient Kingdom of Macedonia. It is bounded to the west by Albania, to the north by Serbia and Montenegro, to the east by Bulgaria and to the south by Greece.

The music and dance of Macedonia are an interesting, beautiful, and haunting blend of joy and sorrow, modern and ancient, modal music and maqam. The evening begins with an opening number including the full ensemble, followed by Goran Alachki and Naser Musa solos. Goran and Naser will then perform Macedonian-Arabic fusion with Souhail Kaspar and guest percussionist Sue Rudniki on tupan. Ljupco will perform two solo dance numbers and will then be joined by Jatila in a suite of Macedonian dances (Sedenka, Zhensko Chamche and Fantzija). The concert's second half will open with a suite of Khaliji (music of the Arab Gulf) songs, and will include more from Goran and Naser, a Ljupco dance solo. Expect a joy-filled, soulful night of music and colorful dance choreography.

Tickets are $15 only and maybe purchased in advance online here:

Jan. 18–22 (Wed-Sun), 8:30 pm—Satirical theatre with Paul Zaloom: "The Mother of All Enemies," world premiere at the Redcat

"One of the most original and talented political satirists working in the theater." The New York Times

The wickedly funny puppeteer and satirist gives new meaning to the term "shadow government" with his latest whirlwind spectacle, a politicized update of the traditional Middle Eastern “Zaragoz” shadow play. Using a glut of low-rent special effects, Zaloom plays out a frenetically comic epic in which his Karagoz, a queer-secular humanist-Quaker-Buddhist-agnostic Arab immigrant artist, somehow outfoxes a horde of pursuing adversaries made up of Homeland Security, Al Qaeda, the Statue of Liberty, the Christian Coalition, Minutemen vigilantes, and Israeli and Syrian agents. Funded in part by Henson International Festival of Puppet Theater.

"Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World" is the hilarious story of what happens when the U.S. Government sends comedian Albert Brooks to India and Pakistan to find out what makes the over 300 million Muslims in the region laugh. Brooks, accompanied by two state department handlers and his trusted assistant, goes on a journey that takes him from a concert stage in New Delhi, to the Taj Mahal, to a secret location in the mountains of Pakistan.

Written and directed by Albert Brooks, "Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World" is a funny and insightful look at some of the issues we are dealing with in a post-9/11 world. The comedy also stars Sheetal Sheth, John Carroll Lynch, Jon Tenney, and Fred Dalton Thompson. Visit the Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World web site.

Jan. 22 (Sun.), 5:30-9:30—Moroccan Mediterranean Soirée in Playa Vista

Produced by Camelia Naciri Al-Hashim. this exclusive evening begins at 5:30 p.m. with a social hour and screening of director Assia Lakhlifi’s short movies. There will also be a slide show of Morocco and other Mediterranean countries, plus artists' slides as well as a jewelry presentation by Fouzia Mehiaoui. At 6:00 p. Samy Farag's Sphinx Record Band will perform accompanying vocalist Fella singing Moroccan, Egyptian and Lebanese songs. A swirling dervish will perform and there will be belly dancing and dinner, catered by Tagine of Beverly Hills. Special guest Ferial Masry, candidate for the 37th Assembly District of California, will be a featured speaker.

The master of Gnawa music, Hassan Hakmoun is also slated to appear. Said Peter Gabriel of this beloved gnawa master, "I love his extraordinary voice and he has a fantastic way of blending his Moroccan roots with a variety of Western and African styles to produce music that is fresh, modern, yet familiar." Later in the evening, Naima Alami will sing Oum Kalthoum, Samira Said, Warda, and Chkara.

Tix are $25 and $5 for parking (no tickets will be sold at the door so you must book ahead!). At the Center Point Club, 6200 Playa Vista Drive, Playa Vista, CA 90094. Advance reservations and info: 310.402 4030.

Directions. I-405 south toward Long Beach/LAX - go 3.8 mi. Take the Jefferson Blvd. exit - go 0.2 mi. Turn on JEFFERSON BLVD - go 1.9 mi. Turn on PLAYA VISTA DR - go 0.3 mi. Make a U-turn at BAY PARK DR onto PLAYA VISTA DR - go 0.1 mi. Arrive at 6200 PLAYA VISTA DR, PLAYA VISTA, on the right.

The groundbreaking New York Arab American Comedy Festival (NYAACF) comes to Los Angeles for three nights, Tues, Jan. 24–Thurs., Jan. 26. This LA run follows the overwhelming success of the third annual NYAACF held in New York City from November 13-17, 2005, during which more than a thousand people attended the five nights of sold-out events.

The NYAACF — the only festival in the country exclusively dedicated to celebrating the humor of Arab-Americans — will feature its unique brand of edgy comedy with two nights of comedic theater shows and one night of stand-up comedy. No topic is off-limits as the theater pieces comedically tackle such topics as Hollywood’s casting of Arabs, Arab-Americans’ fear of Arab terrorists, and even lessons on how to be a "real Arab." The stand-up comedy show will present the top Arab-American comics in the country as these award winning comedians from NY and LA come together for one special evening. THE NYAACF is cosponsored by Levantine Cultural Center, ADC, Arab-American Institute and the Palestinian American Women's Association.

Created in 2003, the NYAACF is both a showcase for talented Arab-American performers and writers as well as a vehicle to dispel negative stereotypes about Arab-Americans. Given the difficulties persons of Middle Eastern descent have faced over the last several years, in this country and abroad, the Festival provides a powerful mix of unique political observations and comic relief. In its first three years, the Festival has attracted positive media coverage for both the artists and the Arab-American community, as it has been featured on CNN, NPR, BBC and in newspaper articles from New York to Australia. Past participants have included two-time Emmy award winning actor Tony Shalhoub, award winning actress Kathy Najimy and most recently M*A*S*H’s Jamie Farr.

The LA festival will showcase the best plays, actors and comedians from the first three years of the NYAACF as these talented performers travel from New York to LA. The performers scheduled to appear in LA include Leila Sbitani, the current host of the popular Nickelodeon show, "Hi-Jinks"; actor Ramsey Faragallah, who starred off-Broadway in the highly acclaimed "Guantánamo: Honor Bound to Defend Freedom," and was featured in the hit movie, "The Interpreter"; actor Piter Marek, who co-starred in the TNT mini-series "The Grid"; LA based comedians Ahmed Ahmed, who receieved the Richard Pryor award at last year’s Edinburgh Festival in Scotland and Aron Kader, who has been featured on Comedy Central’s "Premium Blend" and Fox’s “The Bernie Mac Show; Israeli-Arab actress Hend Ayoub who is co-starring in the award winning and critically acclaimed feature film "Private" which recently opened in LA; and Festival co-founders Dean Obeidallah, a comedian who was awarded The Bill Hicks Spirit Award in October for "thought- provoking comedy" by the NY Underground Comedy Festival and who has appeared recently on CNN, NPR, and the national Air America radio network; and Maysoon Zayid, comedian and actress, who has been featured on NBC’s Nightly News, MTV, and "As the World Turns."

Latest news: Since the Arab-American Comedy Festival theater shows on Tuesday and Wednesday at 8:00 PM sold out so quickly, we just added a 10:00 PM show on Wednesday, January 25 at the Hudson theater. Tickets are now available. To purchase tickets, please visit www.plays411.com/nyarab or call 323.960.7745. We hope you can attend this show.

There are still a limited number of tickets available for the Thursday, January 26 stand up comedy show at The Laugh Factory.

All tix are $20. The theater shows will be held Tues., Jan. 24 and Wed., Jan. 25 at 8:00 pm at the Hudson Mainstage Theater. Tickets can be purchased through Plays411 at www.plays411.com or by calling 323.960.7745. The stand-up comedy show will be held Thurs., Jan. 26 at 7:45 pm at The Laugh Factory in Hollywood; tickets can be purchased by calling 323.656.1336 or by visiting the Laugh Factory’s website.

Jan. 25 (Wed), 8 pm—Folkworks Magazine presents Middle East Folk Music Recital at the Craft and Folk Arts Museum

The Craft and Folk Art Museum presents a Middle Eastern folk music recital with Yuval Ron and two master drummers from Israel, Avi Agababa and Dror Sinai. Oud and saz player, composer and world music producer Yuval Ron will host two percussion masters of unique styles in a rare L.A. appearance. The concert will be presented by Folkworks Magazine at the Craft and Folk Arts Museum and will feature Hebrew and Arabic songs from Israel, Yemen, Iraq, Bukhara,Tunisia, Andalusia and more. Dror Sinai of a Yemenite-Jewish heritage has played with many groups and internationally known musicians, among them Yair Dalal, Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Yuval Ron and Alessandra Belloni. Avi Agababa of Iraqi-Jewish heritage is one of the foremost percussionists in Israel today. A musician with various musical backgrounds and knowledge, Agababa performed internationally with Yair Dalal, Chava Alberstein and many of the foremost Israeli artists in the last twenty years. Yuval Ron is an international composer, performer, educator and record producer. For more info visit yuvalronmusic.com.

Levantine Cultural Center members/subscribers receive $3 off at the door (tix $15). General admission $18. Craft and Folks Art Museum, 5814 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036. Info: mail@folkworks.org or info@yuvalronmusic.com.

[ [from left to right: Maz Jobrani, Elham Jazab, David Justin, Peter Shahriar, Nasry Malak, Helen Maalik]

Jan. 27 (Fri), 8 pm—Satire & Comedy Return to Levantine Center with "Middle East Comic Relief 2"

When the news out of Iraq, Israel-Palestine, Syria, Lebanon or Iran is gloomy—when isn’t it?—who best to turn to than the satirists and comedians of Middle Eastern heritage to relieve our anxiety? Following the hilarious and SOLD OUT "Sultans of Satire: Middle East Comic Relief" show in Nov., on Fri., Jan. 27, six very funny and very savvy stand-ups will provide more comic relief and political insight into some of our worst nightmares in "Middle East Comic Relief 2". Emceed by Peter "the Persian" Shahriar at Levantine Cultural Center in Culver City, the night features a group of young Americans of Iranian, Egyptian, Syrian and Jewish/Israeli heritage—comics who also work steadily as dramatic actors in film, television and theatre..

Maz Jobrani, Peter Shahriar, Helen Maalik, David Justin, Nasry Malak and Elham Jazab come to Levantine Cultural Center for another evening of edgy humor, where they are certain to lampoon sacred cows, take poetic license and otherwise eliminate common ennui. Levantine Center is pleased to include two New York stand-ups from the New York Arab American Comedy Festival, Helen Maalik and Nasry Malak, as special featured performers. For full artist bios please see the Middle East Comic Relief 2 page.We suggest you purchase your tix early, as our November show "Sultans of Satire" sold out :

Jan. 28 (Sat), 8 pm—Shakila Live at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium

Jan. 28/29 (Sat/Sun), 8 pm/3 pm—Getty Center's Sounds of L.A. Features Omar Faruk Tekbilek

Omar Faruk Tekbilek and his ensemble kick off this year's Sounds of L.A., the Getty's annual concert series celebrating Los Angeles's varied musical geography. A virtuoso multi-instrumentalist, Faruk blends Middle Eastern folk rhythms, traditional Sufi harmonies, and contemporary Turkish influences into an exhilarating new sound. Faruk brilliantly interprets the religious, folk, and contemporary music of the Middle East, transcending political boundaries while celebrating traditional lyrics and rhythms.

Tekbilek is a virtuoso on several traditional Near Eastern string and percussion instruments and a master of dozens more. He recently performed live with Youssou N'Dour and the Cairo Orchestra in a stand-out performance at UCLA's Royce Hall. This performance will feature Tekbilek and his ensemble, as well as special guests.

Free; reservations available beginning Thursday, December 22, at 9:00 a.m. Click here for further info and to make reservations.

Jan 30 (Mon), 8 pm—Films by Iranian women directors Mania Akbari and Rakhshan Bani-Etemad and Mohsen Abdolvahab: Gilaneh, Los Angeles premiere at the Redcat

The REDCAT presents "Gilaneh" (Iran, 2005, 84 min., 35mm), preceded by: Six Video Arts (Iran 2003-2005, 30 min., DVD, Los Angeles Premiere) by Mania Akbari. In these reflexive, experimental short pieces ("Self," "Repression," "Sin," "Escape," "Fear" and "Devastation"), Akbari reveals the complex layers of a contemporary Iranian woman’s psyche. She explores the formal possibilities of video art – variations on form, shape, color, movement, rhythm, sound-track and multi-screen image – to express the tension between tradition and desire, rituals and self-expression.

Trained as a painter, Akbari veered toward cinema in 2000, first as a director of photography, then as an assistant director. In 2002, she starred in Abbas Kiarostami’s "Ten." In 2003, she co-directed the documentary "Crystal," and in 2004 wrote, directed and acted in her first feature, "20 Fingers," that won the Venezia Digitale Prize at the Venice Film Festival.

In "Gilaneh," Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, Iran’s premier woman director, teams up with long-time collaborator Mohsen Abdolvahab to condemn the horrors of war. In 1988, peasant widow Gilaneh sees her son Ismaeel (Bahram Radan) drafted into the Iran-Iraq War. Her pregnant daughter Maygol (Baran Kosari) decides to go to Tehran to look for her husband who has stayed behind. Gilaneh accompanies her in her perilous, difficult journey, while frightened inhabitants and shell-shocked soldiers flee in the opposite direction.

The film’s second half jumps ahead 15 years: Gilaneh is now caring for the bedridden Ismaeel—a war veteran ravaged by chemical weapons—as the United States begins its assault on Baghdad… Graced with an extraordinary performance by Fatemeh Motamed Arya as Gilaneh, the film is a timely reminder of what the Iran-Iraq War, and later the US War against Iraq, felt from the point of view of disempowered Iranian peasants – as well as tribute to the quiet, powerful, yet bitter, resilience of women in time of war.

"Gilaneh" marks Rakhshan Bani-Etemad’s return to her efforts to document the Iran-Iraq war at the beginning of her career. She produced a number of television documentaries on the subject, that were quite controversial at the time. In 1989, she directed her first feature, "Off the Limits," a comedy attacking bureaucratic mores, and continued with a series of award winning films, often centered on female characters ("Nargess," 1992; "The Blue Veiled," 1995; "Under the Skin of the City," "2000") and exploring a combination of documentary and fiction ("The May Lady," 1998). In 2002, she directed a feature-length documentary on the Iranian elections, shown at REDCAT in February 2004.

A collaborator of Rakhshan Bani-Etemad since "Nargess", Mohsen Abdolvahab has edited more than thirty documentaries and features, and directed many documentaries including "Lokh Mazar" (2000), "The Wives of Haj Abbas" (2001) and "The Heritage of the Sun" (2002). "Gilaneh" is his first feature film as co-director.

Screening organized with the collaboration of the UCLA Film & Television Archive in conjunction with The 16th Annual Celebration of Iranian Cinema (Jan 13–Feb 11).

Please Note: Gilaneh will not be shown at the UCLA Film & Television Archive, but screened at REDCAT only. General admission $8. Tix/Info: 213.237.2800 Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater, 631 West 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

Volunteer with Levantine Cultural Center's Programming Committee

Bring your ideas, enthusiasm and support to the Center by participating in our Programming Committee, which cooperates with our Board of Directors in creating new arts programs in the months ahead. Visit our volunteer opportunities page. 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.

Submit your calendar listings to our calendar editor now.


To subscribe to our listserve and receive our special updates (which include free ticket giveaways, articles and more), either visit our Sign-up page or send a message to: info@levantinecenter.org and include Subscribe Me in the subject box. Be sure to give us your first and last name and how you heard about us!

To join/support Levantine Cultural Center, simply go to our membership page and fill in the blanks, use your credit card, or print and mail in your check for $60 or $120 or $250 annual membership dues to: Levantine Center, 5920 Blackwelder Street, Culver City CA 90232.

LEVANTINE CULTURAL CENTER
Cultures of the Middle East & Mediterranean
5920 Blackwelder Street, Culver City, CA. 90232
310.559.5544, info@levantinecenter.org

Levantine Cultural Center, founded in 2001 as a not-for-profit arts organization, 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.

 
See what Levantine Center has been up to and take note of other recent cultural events.

Back to Top