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.


Through Oct. 15—Special online fund drive to save Levantine Cultural Center

Levantine Cultural Center (LCC) is a grassroots organization supported by membership fees, event admissions and the kindness of many volunteers. There are over 2,000 subscribers on the LCC list, hundreds of members, and over 50,000 visitors come to this web site each month. However, we find ourselves at a challenging financial turning point, and ask for your support. Please visit our Contribute Now page to learn more.


Oct. 1 (Sat), 8 pm—WEHDA WORLD MUSIC Arab American Unity Concert, World Festival of Sacred Music

Kan Zaman Takht Ensemble (Arabic) & Salaam Suite (USA) directed by Wael Kakish & Paul Livingstone with additional artistic collaboration by Naila Azad, Nakeiltha (Nikki) Campbell, Dr. Oop & Kmillion, Peter
Jacobson, Alfred Madain, Johanna Moore, Houman Pourmehdi, Gisa Vatcky & Faisal Zedan.

The event will feature a world premiere performance of 'Al Takween' for western/middle eastern chamber
ensemble & the Salaam Suite cd release by Paul Livingstone featuring members of Ozomatli, Quetzal & Kan Zaman Ensemble. Performances from traditional Muwashshahat (sacred sung poetry developed in 8th and 9th century Arab Spain) to contemporary multi-lingual songs & improvisations crafted with infusions of Indian, Latin, Hip Hop, reggae & rock musical styles celebrate our common aspirations for justice, unity & the sanctity of human life.

Wehda is an Arabic word meaning unity, to become one. Kan Zaman Takht Ensemble and Salaam Suite perform traditional and creative world music with a diverse cadre of Arab and American artists encompassing classical, folk and popular styles led by Wael Kakish and Paul Livingstone. Performances from traditional Muwashshahat (sacred sung poetry developed in 8th and 9th century Arab Spain) to contemporary multi-lingual songs and improvisations crafted with infusions of Indian, Latin and popular music styles celebrate our common aspirations for peace and unity.

With the intention to help empower individuals to educate others to transcend stereotypes and intolerance, a dialogue—Islam, Christianity & Judaism: Promoting a Culture of Peace—will be held on Friday, September 30 at 12.30pm at Occidental College's Herrick Chapel with clergy, artists and the community exploring the religious foundations of peace and world justice.

This event is an expression of hope and faith that peace is within reach. Presented by Occidental College and Sangeet School of World Music.
 
Venue: Thorne Hall, Occidental College, 1600 Campus Road, Los Angeles, CA 90041. Tix: $15; $5 students. Ticket info: 323.258-1424 -or- www.inhouseticketing.com.


Through Oct. 2—World Festival of Sacred Music

2005 World Festival of Sacred Music-Los Angeles stretches from
Sept. 17th - Oct. 2nd, with 1000 artists and 43 events over 16 days. "...one of the planet's biggest and most intriguing world-music festivals." - New York Times, May 2005

"With the success of the 1999 and 2002 World Festival of Sacred Music - Los Angeles (WFSM-LA), a powerful coalition of arts, faith, cultural, community, and environmental groups announce the 2005 Festival. WFSM-LA is the largest citywide Festival in Los Angeles offering forty-three events over sixteen days in venues across Los Angeles region from September 17th to October 2nd.  
"From the Throat singers of Tuva, Siberia to music from the Czech Republic, Korea, Thailand, Mexico, and the magnificent diversity of Los Angeles artists - the Festival provides opportunities for you to cross boundaries of religion, class, culture, race, and language, to share cultural traditions and to contemplate the spiritual, ethical and ecological questions of our times.

"The 43 events in the Festival are an invitation to our many communities to witness music both familiar and new. Through music, each person in the audience can expand their definition of who they are as members of this city, go beyond the familiar, and explore the potential of intercultural and interfaith collaboration." —Judy Mitoma, Festival Director.

Ticket info: UCLA Central Ticket Office 310.825.2101.


Oct. 8 (Sat), 2:30 pm—Skirball Screens "Algeria in a Smile: Souad Massi" documentary on an Algerian folk star

With her mix of folk, rock and traditional Algerian music, Algerian singer/songwriter Souad Massi is an integral part of the new wave of North African music. This illuminating documentary takes viewers into Massi's inspiring creative world. In French with English subtitles. (France, 2003, 52 min.)

Free. No reservations necessary, at the Skirball, 2901 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles 90049.

Through Oct. 16—Heather Raffo's "9 Parts of Desire" at the Geffen Playhouse

Los Angeles Premiere of the one-woman show about Iraq, written and performed by Heather Raffo. Two segments of the play were originally presented by Levantine Cultural Center in December 2001 under the guise of the Millenium Project. Raffo went on to perform the play in London and Edinburgh before landing an off-Broadway run last year that received accolades across the board. Read our page about the New York run.

It is "a work so compassionate, so heart-breaking, so soul-shatteringly human, that it promises to change forever the way you’ll think about the women (indeed the people) of the Middle East." Heather Raffo, an Iraqi-American journalist, playwright, and performer, has captured the psychic lives of nine Iraqi women brutalized by the Saddam regime. She will take your breath away, as she has done for audiences in London and New York. Nine Parts of Desire is a very special Los Angeles theater event.

"A Triumph! Thrilling! An example of how art can remake the world!" -John Lahr, New Yorker

Buy tix online here.

At the Geffen's Brentwood Theater. Click here for address/directions.

VIP PACKAGES AVAILABLE! This package is the ideal solution for "date night" a special event or the total theater going experience. Get the best seat in the house, dinner at Westwood's Palomino Restaurant, Rotisseria & Bar and parking all for one low price of $145.00/person. Seating is limited so call 310.208.6500 Ext. 142, or click here to take advantage of this offer and reserve the hottest theater seat in LA.


Oct. 13 (Thurs) 12-2 pm—Convergence and Its Discontents: European Integrations and Social Disintegrations, the Case of Greece at UCLA

A public lecture by Professor Constantinos Tsoukalas co-sponsored by the Center for European and Eurasian Studies the and Onassis Public Benefit Foundation. Constantinos Tsoukalas is Professor of Sociology, University of Athens, Greece. Tsoukalas will speak on implications of Greece's integration in the European Community. The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information please contact Vera Wheeler, tel. 310.825.4060 or email her.

UCLA, 6275 Bunche Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095.


Oct. 14 (Fri), 8:00 pm—Graphic Novelist Marjane Satrapi at Royce Hall

Drawing comparisons to Art Spiegelman's Maus, Marjane Satrapi's critically acclaimed, eloquent black-and white graphic novels Persepolis (vols. 1 and 2) are wise, funny and heartbreaking memoirs of growing up during and after the Islamic Revolution. Her charming follow-up Embroideries explores the lives of Iranian women, young and old. Heartbreaking and hilarious, "Satrapi's tales are riveting and revealing ... providing readers with a rare perspective: a picture of life in a country most American's know very little, and a viewpoint of the world we almost never see" [Seattle Weekly]. "You’ve never seen anything like Persepolis — Marjane Satrapi may have given us a new genre."
— Gloria Steinem

Presented by UCLA Live. Tickets: $30, $25, $18, UCLA students $12. Call 310.825.2101 or click here. Levantine Cultural Center member save 15%. Use code SAT15.



Reserve your tickets in advance. Send checks to Levantine Center, 5920 Blackwelder St, Culver City CA 90232, or use this button:

Oct. 18 (Tues.), 7:30 pm—International Chess Grandmaster Jennifer Shahade Presents Her Book Chess Bitch and Plays 10 Audience Members at Levantine Center

"'Tis all a checkerboard of nights & days/Which Fate, with men for pieces plays..." —Omar Khayyam

Read new Village Voice interview with Jennifer.

At age 24, Lebanese American Jennifer Shahade is already an international chess icon. She is the two-time winner of the American Women’s Championship (2202, 2004) and has represented the U.S. in international competitions throughout the world, including Russia, China, Spain, India, Eastern Europe and Brazil.

A native of Philadelphia and resident of Brooklyn, Shahade is a women’s chess grandmaster and 2002 graduate of New York University, where she earned a degree in comparative literature and was editor of the literary magazine Brio.

When Jennifer isn’t traveling the world competing in women’s and men’s tournaments and championship competitions, she is involved with the nonprofit Chess-In-The-Schools program in New York City, where she coaches inner city youths, including the three-time National Junior High School Championship team, I.S. 318.

Free Admission. Cash bar. The author will read from and sign her book, following an introduction by international master Anthony Saidy, author of The World of Chess. The first 10 purchasers of her book who wish to play Jennifer will get their chance—simultaneously! Levantine Cultural Center, 5920 Blackwelder Street, Culver City 90232 (closest major cross-streets are La Cienega and Washington Blvds.). Info: 310.559.5544.

Oct. 20 (Thurs), 7:30 pm—Visiting Moroccan writer Laila Lalami Presents Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits at Beyond Baroque

"Ambitious debut about a group of young Moroccans looking for jobs and a better life." —Kirkus Reviews

Laila Lalami was born in Rabat and educated in Morocco, Britain, and the United States. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Mizna, The Baltimore Review, First Intensity, The Los Angeles Times, The Los Angeles Review, The Oregonian, The Independent, The Nation, and will soon be anthologized. Her debut book of fiction, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, has just been published by Algonquin Books. She is also the editor of the literary blog Moorishgirl.com. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

From Laila about the writing of her book:

The news was relegated to the bottom of Le Monde’s online page—fifteen Moroccan immigrants had drowned while crossing the Straits of Gibraltar on a fishing boat. They had left Tangier on a summer night, trying to navigate the short distance—only ten miles—that separates their homeland from Spain, and from the rest of Europe, where they hoped to make a new life for themselves. The boat was overloaded and ill equipped to handle the strong Mediterranean currents, and it capsized a couple of miles away from the coast. There were no survivors.

I read the article from my desk, in Los Angeles, where I was working as a computational linguist. By then, I had been living in America for eight years and I was always hungry for news about Morocco. I thought at first that the disaster was an isolated incident, a blip, a bizarre turn of events. Over time, however, the incidents seemed to multiply. Nearly every week in the summer of 2001 there was a report about arrests by the coast guards on either side of the Mediterranean. Read more...

Copresented by Levantine Cultural Center and Beyond Baroque, at Beyond Baroque Literary/Arts Center, 681 Venice Blvd., Venice 90291. 3/4 of a mile west of Lincoln. Street parking. Copies of the book will be available and will be signed by the author. Light refreshments. Suggested donation $10/$7 members. Info: 310.559.5544 or 310.822.3006.

Read Kirkus review.


Oct 20 (Thurs.) 7:30 pm—Special Advance Screening of "Paradise Now" Features Director Hany Abu-Assad at the DGA

Amnesty International, USC's School of Public Diplomacy and Levantine Cultural Center present a preview screening of Hany Abu-Assad's "Paradise Now." The director will be present. Limited seating.

"Paradise Now" is the story of two young Palestinian men as they embark upon what may be the last 48 hours of their lives. Winner of multiple prizes at the 2005 Berlin Flim Festival, and warmly received at the Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals, the film has also been invited to the upcoming New York Film Festival. Directed by Hany Abu-Assad ("Ford Transit," "Rana's Wedding"), it stars Kais Nashef, Ali Suliman and Lubna Azaba. The film opens in limited release Oct. 28.

7:30 pm, Directors Guild of America, 7920 Sunset Blvd., corner of Hayworth, Los Angeles 90046. RSVP line: 818.954.6214.

Read a review of the film by May Alhassen.


Oct 21 (Fri.) 8:00 pm—The King's Singers & Sarband Sacred Bridges at UCLA's Royce Hall

Hailed for their radiant a capella voices, England's Kings Singers are joined by the Sephardic sounds of Sarband in a celebration of the rich connections between the music of the Orient and Occident. Drawing upon a colorful palette of instruments and vocal techniques, the program focuses on the timeless psalms of David as a source of spirituality and a bridge between Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Presented by UCLA Live

Tickets: 310.825.2101 or click here.

Levantine Cultural Center members receive 15% off tickets. Click this link for more info.


Oct. 21-Nov. 27 (Fri), 7:30 pm—Aram Saroyan's new play" At the Beach House" Opens at The Lost Studio, Stars Alanna Ulbach and Orson Bean

"Hollywood has certainly been skewered by some talented writers, but Aram Saroyan's probing, funny glimpse into that unique universe can stand with the best of them."
—Publishers Weekly

Aram Saroyan's first play, "At the Beach house," takes us even deeper into the movie-star world that, as the son of writer William Saroyan and the stepson of Walter Matthau, the playwright came to know first hand in his own family. The play receives its world premiere in 2005 in Los Angeles.

"At the Beach house" charts a day in the life of the extended family of an aging movie star and his wife, Clyde and Wanda Harrow, at their second home in Malibu. The action focuses on Wanda's thirtysomething daughter, Angela, who is staying at the house, and the effort of friends and family to get her into rehab. The play stars Orson Bean as the movie star patriarch, and Alanna Ubach, the brilliant young actress seen most recently in "Meet the Fockers," as Angela.

Saroyan's insider knowledge of the scene and its players informs an unforgettable family portrait in a play by turns harrowing and funny. Indeed, Saroyan's beach house may well become a permanent fixture of the theatrical landscape of Hollywood. Read Aram Saroyan's bio.

The Lost Studio, 130 South La Brea, Los Angeles CA 90036. Tickets: 323.960.7721 or on-line at www.plays411.com.


Oct. 23 (Sun) 1 pm - 10 pm—The Center for Iranian Jewish History (CIJOH) Fêtes Its 10th Anniversary with Lectures, Films, Dinner & Special Appearance by Shoreh Aghdashloo

(Re)Discover the rich history of the Jews of Iran through a day-long event that includes lectures, a film Festival, book fair, and CIJOH's closing ceremony dinner.

Lectures in the Magnin Auditorium, free admission, limited seating, on a first come first serve basis. Morning Session (11:00 AM - 1:30 PM), 1- Iranian Studies Today – New Trends and Old Challenges, David Menashri, Ph.D., Tel Aviv University, Israel. 2- The Goy Boy in the Heart of Mahalleh, Sadred-Din Elahi, Ph.D., San Francisco, CA. Afternoon Session (2:30 PM - 6:00 PM): 1- Like a Phoenix from its Ashes: The Story of the Jews of
Iran (in English), Houman Sarshar, Ph.D., New York. 2- The Interviewer and the Interviewee
Nasrin Rahimieh, Ph.D., McMaster University, Canada; Parviz Neman, Oxford, England. 3- Presentation of the “Ayoub Yousefzadeh Award” to Selina Ellis and Sit under the Sukkah at Founders Courtyard during the day

Documentary Film Festival, Haas Conference Center, free admission, limited seating, on a first come first serve basis. (11:00 AM - 6:00 PM). Films in Persian: *Morteza Khan Neydavood: Master Musician; *Soleiman Haim: Lexicographer; *Moshfegh Hamedani: Translator & Journalist; *Youna Dardashti: Vocalist; *Hakham Yedidia Shofet: Chief Rabbi; *Habib Levi: Historian; *Moshe Katsav: Israeli President; *Jamshid Kashfi: “Majles” Representative *Shamsi Hekmat: Philanthropist; *Esther’s Children: History of Iranian Jews
*The Anussim of Mashhad * Haggadah Parsi *Jewish Monuments in Iran *Saray-e Saalmandaan-e Tehran *Second Home: Ettefaugh School

Films in English: *The Making of a Man *A Mother for Shamsi (Mahalleh)

Closing Ceremony Dinner Ahmanson Ballroom, (8:00 PM – 11:00 PM). Admission: $60.00 per person. Dedication of Oral History Project to: Tel Aviv University - Center for Iranian Studies UCLA - Jewish & Middle Eastern Library. A tribute to: Lord David Alliance of Manchester CBE, Laura & David Merage, Library Placement Project. CIJOH Friends Revisited
In Memoriam. Special appearance by: Shohreh Aghdashloo

At Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 North Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles, 90049. FREE PARKING
Info: 310.472.3012,

Buy ticket online at: www.IranianHotline.com. Tickets at: Ketab Bookstore, 1419 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles 90024. Tel: 310.477.7477 or 818.908.0808. Visit the CIJOH web site.


Oct. 24-26 (Mon/Tues/Wed), 7:30 pm—"Nonviolence Movements in Palestine and Israel"

Palestinian Ayed Morrar and Israeli Jonathan Pollack will discuss the grassroots nonviolent campaign of resistance to the construction of Israel's Wall in the West Bank. Both have played a vital role in this struggle. Organized by I-Witness Palestine; an LA based group
focusing on training, funding, and support for members of the SoCal community wishing to travel to Palestine and bear witness to the Israeli occupation.

Mon., Oct. 24 7:30pm: Cal State University, Los Angeles, 5154 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032. Location: King Hall D-138. Info: 323.343.4780.

Tues., Oct. 25 7:30pm: The Peace Center of the United Methodist Church at USC, 817 34th St, Los Angeles, CA 90007 (corner of Hoover and Jefferson).

Wednesday, October 26 7:30pm, Cal State University, Fullerton, 2555 E. Nutwood Ave. Fullerton, CA 92831. Location: Langsdorf Hall 321.

For further info on the tour email the I-Witness folks, or visit IWitness Palestine's site.


Oct 25th-Oct. 30 (Tues-Sun)—My Daily Constitution Discussion Series

• Tues, Oct. 25, 7 - 9 pm: "The Rights of Immigrants, Documented and Non Documented, Under the U.S. Constitution." Discussion led by: NIELS FRENZEN, Clinical Associate Professor of Law, University of Southern California School of Law; Director, USC Law School Immigration Clinic. Rock Rose Gallery (Highland Park), 4108 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles 90042. 323.222.4740.

• Wed. Oct. 26th, 7 - 9 pm: "The USA Patriot Act and the U.S. Constitution." Discussion led by: LAURIE L. LEVENSON, Professor of Law & William M. Rains Fellow; Director, Center for Ethical Advocacy, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles. The Novel Café, 212 Pier Ave, Santa Monica 90405. 310.396.8566.

• Thurs. Oct. 27th, 8 pm: Post-Play Discussion Following: "WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ," Directed by SIMON LEVY. Discussion: "War and the U.S. Constitution. "led By: ALLAN IDES, Professor of Law & William M. Rains Fellow, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, & SIMON LEVY.
The Fountain Theatre, (East Hollywood), 5060 Fountain Ave., Los Angeles 90029. 323.663.1525. [Limited number of discounted tickets (at $15.00) available through MDC.
Send e-mail to Linda Pollack with name, number of tickets requested, and phone number. You will be contacted with confirmation. Discounted tickets must be ordered before October 24th.

• Fri. Oct. 28th, 8-10 pm: "The Right to Vote: America's Flawed Constitution and the Struggle for Democracy." Discussion led By: ANDREW GUMBEL, U.S. Correspondent, the Independent (London); Author: Steal This Vote: Dirty Elections and the Rotten History of Democracy in America (Nation Books, 2005). The Three Clubs (Hollywood), 1123 N. Vine St., Los Angeles, 90038. 323.462.6441

• Sat. Oct. 29th, 12-2 pm: "The U.S. Prison System and Constitutional Democracy."
Discussion led By: JOE DOMANICK, Senior Fellow, Annenberg Institute for Justice and Journalism, University of Southern California. KAOS NETWORK (Leimert Park), 4343 Leimert Blvd., Los Angeles, 90008. 323.296. 5717

• Sun. Oct. 30th: 5-7 pm: "Case Study - The Port of Los Angeles at San Pedro: Balancing Constitutional Democracy with Homeland Security." Discussion led by: DAVID ARIAN, Past President, ILWU Local 13; Founder, Harry Bridges Institute, San Pedro, and PETER GRAVETT, President/CEO Sentinel Systems Inc.; Retired Watch Commander, Los Angeles Police Department; Retired Major General, U.S. Army. Angels Gate Cultural Center, Building H, 3601 South Gaffey Street, San Pedro, 90731. 310. 519.0936


Oct. 26 (Wed), 7 pm—Zainab Salbi Reads From New Book on Iraq

Zainab Salbi reads "Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny: Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam" at Dutton's Bookstore, 447 N Canon Dr, Beverly Hills. 310.281.0997.


Oct. 26 (Wed), 7 pm—Ilan Pappé on "Israel and Palestine: The Peace Charade"

Ilan Pappé is a senior lecturer in the department of Political Science at Haifa University and the Chair of the Emil Touma Institute for Palestinian Studies in Haifa. He is also the Academic Director of the Research Institute for Peace at Givat Haviva. He has written extensively on the politics of the Middle East, and is well known for his revisionist interpretation of Israel's history and as a critic of its policies towards the Palestinians.
His most recent book is A History of Modern Palestine. One Land, Two Peoples.

Free to the public. Refreshments will be served. Westwood United Methodist Church, 10497 Wilshire Boulevard, corner of Warner, Los Angeles 90024. Co-sponsored by Women In Black-Los Angeles, the Palestine Aid Society, and the Muslim Public Affairs Council.


Oct. 28 (Fri), 3pm—"Baghdad and Hollywood" Lecture

Professor Michael Cooperson will discuss Baghdad in the Classical Age of Harun Al-Rashid as seen in Hollywood films. This period was immortalized in "The Book of One Thousand and One Nights."

This presentation is part of a lecture series held in conjunction with the exhibition "Seducing America: Selling the Middle Eastern Mystique," on display at the Powell Library Rotunda thru December 16. Other presentations include "One Thousand and One Bites: Food in the Tales" by Charles Perry, Los Angeles Times (November 5, 8 pm, RSVP 310.206.4608, cbrown@library.ucla.edu), and "Rebecca Came Back from Mecca and Other Follies from the Annals of American Orientalism" by Jonathan Friedlander, UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies (December 1, 3 pm).

Powell Library, Room 270-1, UCLA campus.


Oct. 29 (Sat), 7:30—"Beyond Text: The Constitution" with Simone Forti, Stephen Yagman, Carmela Hermann, Jen Benka and Section 8

Artists, attorneys, activists, poets and dancers will interpret the text of the U.S. Constitution.

BENKA organized for NARAL-WI and the 9to5 National Association of Working Women. She has published in The Progressive, Ms. Magazine, Failbetter, Tarapulin Sky, So to Speak, and Off Our Backs. She is author of the indy comic book Manya and her new book A Box of Longing with 50 Drawers: A Revisioning of the Preamble to the Constitution uses the preamble of the Constitution for a poem series. STEPHEN YAGMAN is one of the country's leading, and most successful, attorneys defending Americans' political freedom and civil liberties. He has defended targets at Ruby Ridge, won a landmark case for the Guantanamo detainees (the transcript performed as a play at Beyond Baroque in 2004) and prevailed against officially-sanctioned suspension of Constitutional rights by law enforcement. CARMELA HERMANN, founder of Making Dances Workshop, has presented at Highways Performance Space, The Getty Center, Sushi, Arts in Action and the Dance Moving Forward Festival, as well as in Pennsylvania at the New Arts Program. She will perform a duet, drawn from the Constitution and federalism, with SIMONE FORTI, one of the country's leading improvisational choreographers. Forti has performed all over the world, is a 2005 Guggenheim fellow, and her roots are in the New York 1960s era of dialogue between poets, visual artists, dancers, and musicians. She is author of Handbook in Motion (Nova Scotia) and Oh, Tongue (Beyond Baroque). She will close the night with a solo. The Project Room features Total Freedom, a show by SECTION 8, an entity that has staged interventions in galleries, with museums, on the streets, and in malls around the world.

Beyond Baroque, 681 Venice Blvd. Venice 90291. 310 822.3006.


Oct. 31 (Mon), 7:30 pm—Free UCLA lecture on "After al-Andalus: Sephardic Society in Christian Iberia"

Jonathan Ray discusses the aftermath of Moorish-Jewish-Christian entente during the Golden Age of Spain. UCLA's Royce Hall, Room 314. RSVP to 310.825.5387.


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: levantinecenter@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, 8424A Santa Monica Blvd., N. 789, West Hollywood, CA 90069.

LEVANTINE CULTURAL CENTER
Cultures of the Middle East & Mediterranean
5920 Blackwelder Street, Culver City, CA. 90232
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.

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

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