An with Roxanne Varzi at Pacific Arts Center
Introduced by Behzad Tabatabai.
Macedonian-Arabic Fusion
with Goran Alachki, Ljupco Manevski, Naser Musa
& Souhail Kaspar, Jan. 15
"The
Arab/Muslim Revolution: the Middle East & the West"
a conference with Islamic scholar Reza Aslan and Middle East
historian Mark LeVine See Calendar, Jan. 12,
2006
Global
Frequency concert att the Levantine Cultural Center, Fri.,
Dec. 2! Featuring Naked Rhythm, MC RAI and Antoneus Maximus &
the Nuthouze Band. Advance tix $10. Reserve
now.
Don't
miss the next Sultans
of Satire show on Thurs., Dec. 15, and read about the first
one... Middle East Comic Relief, Thurs., Nov. 17, 8 pm. Click
here.
Micheline
Aharonian Marcom, winner of the 2005 PEN Fiction
Award for her novel The Daydreaming Boy,
Introduced by José Rivera, of "Motorcycle
Diaries," Nov. 10 (Thurs.), at the center.
...From
the many we have received during recent months, here is a small number of
the letters and statements in support of the center...If
you'd like to write to us please send your email to info@levantinecenter.org.
September 7, 2006
I just want to let
you know how very much I appreciate the work that you do and the work
of the Levantine Cultural Center. I depend on your site to keep me informed
about authors, artists, films and discussions that are taking place in
the LA area. While I do find it difficult to get to LA for most of the
events, I am keenly interested and have continued to learn through your
descriptions of the programs. I know you have more on your plate than
you can handle, but it would be fantastic if the Levantine Cultural Center
could spawn another cell...one in Orange County. Thanks so much for your
good work. I'll renew my membership which I'm sure has expired.
Marilyn Gottschall
Associate Professor, Religious Studies
Whittier College
Whittier. California
July 10, 2006
Dear Jordan,
I want to thank you for yet another wonderful and unique event.
I enjoyed the talk and the discussion very much. I don’t know if you realize
the importance of your work for us in the Iranian-American community in Los Angeles.
It has so far been a great learning experience, an inspiration and best of all
a fabulous time! Keep up the good work and best of luck to you and the Levantine
Cultural Center.
Ali Derakhshan
June 8, 2006
Thanks for all the efforts the Levantine Center puts forth in informing
us about cultural events that otherwise will have remained fairly unnoticed.
The publicity you give for these events is invaluable. Never before was
I exposed and informed about all these wonderful priceless events and
functions.
I am so glad that the Levantine Center exists and works towards bringing
cultural events to light and light to cultural events.
Thanks for a job Super well done!
Seta S. Khajarian, MBA
Los Angeles, CA
March 30, 2006
To Whom It May Concern:
For
the Torrance Cultural Services Division at Torrance Cultural Arts Center,
I want to commend the mission, the staff, and the programs of Levantine
Cultural Center.
I
am responsible
for the production of various cultural programs to serve
the residents of Torrance, a community of people from
diverse ethnicities. Among the programs I produce are
an annual cultural festival, an annual concert series,
and an annual theatre series. Each of these programs
targets a different audience to meet various goals, but
all of them share the common mission of enhancing the
quality of life in the community and celebrating our
diversity.
I became involved with LCC in 2005, as I was preparing to produce a dramatization
of The 9/11 Commission Report. I contacted the staff to enlist their assistance
in casting Middle Eastern actors for key roles. The staff responded quickly and
positively to my inquiry, and they put me in contact with outstanding artists
from their network of members. I mention this because the staff didn't know me.
Our programs at Torrance Cultural Arts Center, while excellent, are not widely
known outside of the South Bay. Yet the people of LCC saw the significance of
our work and its relationship to its own mission, and they stepped forward to
help.
Subsequent to my casting artists associated with LCC, the staff asked if we would
be interested in posting information about our program on their web-base calendar.
Their offer was instantly welcomed. Working with the staff to provide them with
the information and then to have it posted was handled with ease and professionalism.
It has helped us to extend our current program to people who would reasonably
be interested but whom we would ordinarily not be able to reach.
Furthermore, I have attended several events produced by LCC. These events have
been entertaining and informative. The audiences have been diverse, and everyone
is made to feel welcome by the staff and the guest artists.
LCC is a unique and outstanding resource in the greater Los Angeles area. We
at Torrance Cultural Arts Center value our relationship with it. LCC merits the
strong support of individuals and funding organizations alike.
With regard,
John Powers, Program Producer
City of Torrance Cultural Arts Center
March 3, 2006
To
Whom It May Concern,
These days, when it seems that the world has gone crazy and we are witnessing
the polarization of social, political and religious sides, it is heartening to
see an organization like Levantine Center try to create a bond between so many
various groups. The Center is one of the very few sane and lucid voices in Los
Angeles, and within the past five years I have seen Jordan Elgrably bring together
a fascinating group of talented, inspiring people from diverse backgrounds and
create a synergy which is essential to the mental and spiritual health of a community.
Albert Schweitzer said "In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire
goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being.
We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit." I
believe that the Levantine Center is the forum where one meets those people,
and I am thankful to Jordan for creating that opportunity.
[Vahé Berberian]
March 2, 2006
Levantine
Center: a culture for the
opening and healing of
wounds through music, song,
voices , words and images
that express and bridge
dissent, misunderstanding,
thaw hatred and make life
not only tolerable but
worthwhile. While the possibility
of this transformation
exists through the persistence
of a core few meeting in
hard-found new places,
I hope the new owners of
Blackwelder have the heart,
vision and spirit to facilitate
an on-going home for this
life-afirming attempt.
[With respect, Ginette Mizraki]
Feb. 27, 2006
Dear
Jordan,
Our community was so happy to feel that we belong to a center that revived our
cultural heritage and embraced the cultures of the “Levant”
so, if you go, we will be devastated. We finally had found a place to
go to meet other members and enjoy the same cultural heritage. We are
here to support you!
[Sonia Karroum, President, Culver City Sister City Committee]
Dear
Jordan and the new owner of the Blackwelder home
of the Levantine Cultural Center,
I just want to say how much I have appreciated and enjoyed the events I have
attended of the Center in recent months. The accommodation has been ideal for
the Center and I am sorry to hear that you will have to move. I certainly hope
that the moving can be postponed until you find a new home.
[Cheers, Karen Leonard, UCI Professor of Anthropology, author of American
Law and the Transformation of Muslim Life in the United States]
Hi
Jordan,
When I was on staff with the LA Times,
I found your insights on the Middle Eastern community invaluable, and not only
included you as a source on a couple of articles, but also consulted you as a
backstop when I was unsure whether I was being "spun"
by some other Middle Eastern specialist.
Now that I have resumed life as a freelance writer, I find the Levantine Center,
once more, to be a tremendous cultural treasure in Los Angeles—perhaps even
one of a kind, with its mix of Jews, Christians, and Muslims all trading cultures.
I've been amazed at the amount of work you've done for this cause you so obviously
believe in, and the number of "near death"
experiences you have had in your work. Hopefully, this experience will
just be another one of them - which one day you will turn into an interesting
memoir, perhaps something like "While American Slept: Keeping Middle
Eastern Culture Alive and Well."
[Best, Joseph Hanania]
Dear
Jordan,
I have been in touch with the Levantine Center through my friend Soula Saad,
who I met through our mutual interest in Khalil Gibran, about four years ago.
I have always enjoyed being kept up to date with your happenings, including the
fabulous concerts, cultural events, and movies. It is through the Levantine Culture
Center I have the possibility of connection with the culture of the Middle East,
which is so rich and beautiful, in Los Angeles. I admire your dedication and
tireless efforts to continue on behalf of this community service.
[Sincerely, Elizabeth Davis]
I
am sorry to hear about the news, hopefully everything
works out and you can continue on on Blackwelder.
Best wishes to you and your center for the meaningful
and worthwhile work that you do. Your center fills
a great void in the entertainment and arts industry.
It allows voices from the Middle East to be heard
and encourages solidarity among the different Middle
Eastern cultures. You also encourage the arts in
cultures that often overlook the importance of the
arts and the artists who give so bravely and generously
of themselves. You give so much to all of us and
I wish you the best of luck and look forward to more
events through the Levantine Center.
[Warm Regards, Farrah Assadi]
Feb, 26, 2006
Dear
Jordan....
Today we had a PEN USA meeting to orient our new board members and, when we discussed
out community events, there was much discussion of the terrific events we did
with the Levantine Center at your wonderful place this past year. At PEN we should
certainly hate to lose that resource for join events.
We certainly hope you can remain there.
[All the best, Celeste Fremon, Executive Board, PEN
USA]
Dear
Levantine Center,
I, and many others, deeply appreciate the Levantine Cultural Center's place in
our community. It would be great if you could remain at 5920 Blackwelder Street
until you are able to find a new home.Programs like the one I saw last night,
Elias Khoury reading from GATE OF THE SUN are incredible and invaluable.
Thank you for all your hard work.
[Nina Menkes]
Dear
Levantine Staff,
As Namak magazine’s
publisher and someone who is active in the Los Angeles community, I am in a unique
position to receive news about the various cultural events held across our great
city. I have always enjoyed your programs myself, and have heard nothing but
the highest praise from others as well. The Levantine Cultural Center has become
a landmark institution and a leader in bringing diverse groups together. Everyone
on your staff should be proud of the work you so tirelessly and passionately
contribute to our community. It is my deepest hope that you will be able to keep
your current location for as long as possible, so that you can continue the wonderful
and necessary work you do.
[Yours in support, Behazd Tabatabai]
So
far away and yet so close -- so close and yet so far
away. Your work has only just begun—go for it...you
can do it.
[Ed Gaffney]
Dear
LCC, Jordan,
I can only offer you continued encouragement—I know
you will find a way to persist in the great cultural
services you are providing Los Angeles. I know you will
find A Way...
Hi,
I am sorry to hear of your troubles. I am still out of
the country, but if words can help, yes, you are worth
every possible support, because you are spreading life
and beauty,
and not death. And those in power should have understanding for your cause.
[Best wishes, Fatima Festic, UCLA]
October 2005
For
the past four years, Levantine Cultural Center has been
opening windows for us southern Californians—windows
onto the societies of the Levant through its music, dance,
and literature. For those who left those lands to come
to America, the events take them home again for an hour
or two.
[Don Bustany, KPFK, Middle East in Focus]
The
Center is a critical factor in re-building communitas
among the peoples of diverse Middle East origins here
in Southern California and beyond. Communitas implies
a feeling of intense solidarity and a celebration of
shared ideals and aesthetic appreciation on the part
of those who support the vision of the Levantine Cultural
Center.
[Barbara Al-Bayati, UCI]
I
love Levantine Cultural Center and what it stands for.
It is one of the best cultural organizations in Los Angeles.
You've produced amazing art events without any paid staff.
Every penny raised is going to a truly great cause, to
keep the doors of the Center open for all of us diverse
and multi-ethnic people of Los Angeles.
[Vera Mijojlic]
Levantine
Cultural Center is a vibrant and necessary bastion of
enlightenment for the community; the center provides
a friendly platform for artists, musicians, and other
enlightened thinkers to reach a larger group of citizens
and without which a critical means of developing the
arts and culture of a vital and important sector of society
might be lost forever.
[Oliver Starr]
As
someone who has worked tirelessly for the dissemination
and promotion of all the cultures of the Levant — through
translation, scholarship, public events, activism, and
advocacy — I want to emphasize just how important
the existence of the Levantine Center in Los Angeles
is. Given the fact that Los Angeles already has some
of the most vital cultural activities going on in Middle
Eastern communities but with no institution in which
to create bridges between those communities, the Levantine
Center has both tapped into existing resources and redefined
the very culture itself by being a space where different
kinds of artists and intellectuals from parallel but
different backgrounds can co-create and communicate.
[Ammiel Alcalay, Classical, Middle Eastern & Asian Languages &
Cultures/Queens College, Member of faculties in: American Studies; Comparative
Literature; English; Medieval Studies/ Graduate Center, CUNY]
Levantine
Cultural Center is one of several community projects
that have long had my support for their contributions
to the cultivation of understanding between potentially
conflicting cultural groups. Inspirational public statements
are nice, but bringing diverse groups together, physically,
into the same tent and letting each experience the arts
and traditions of the other is a most civilized way for
deconstructing animosities. I thank the Fates for giving
us Levantine Cultural Center.
[Casey Kasem]
When
the Middle East and its people are experiencing conflict
every day, a place, an opportunity, a center where the
cultures are explored, discussed and celebrated is imperative.
The beauty of the Levantine Center is its inclusiveness
of community. While it promotes artists and thinkers
of greater Middle Eastern communities it welcomes all.
In this way it bridges the east with the west and reaches
with purpose into the American communities in which we
are living. Jordan Elgrably tirelessly seeks out artists,
well-known and emerging, from their home countries and
from the U.S.—so in being part of the Levantine
center one gains access to a broad spectrum of thinkers
and ambassadors of the spirit. It is perfectly placed
as a cultural center without borders.
[Heather Raffo, playwright/star of "Nine Parts of Desire"]
Levantine
Center is a cultural haven for artists, writers and musicians
of different backgrounds to come to together for the
advancement of arts and humanity. It is a place where,
at a time when understanding and communicating among
different cultures is crucial to our future, people of
different backgrounds come together to learn and teach
in a friendly and fostering environment. Through events
at the Levantine Center I have really witnessed how eager
people of other cultures are to learn more about the
Mideast. Levantine Center is providing this unique service
to our community.
[Parima Pandkhou, attorney, Los Angeles]
Since
first meeting Jordan while I was producing the first
World Festival of Sacred Music in 1999, I have been impressed
with his intelligence, commitment, and dedication to
the celebration of the music and culture of the Middle
East. But as I have grown to know, love and appreciate
him even more, I have discovered he is a peace worker.
By nurturing those things that are home for us, by enriching
community, we can open to accept and respect that experience
for others. He has taken what he loves woven a desire
to share it with others, to network, to create community
and to share beauty—reminding us what it is to be
human in this mad world.
[Jodie Evans, Cofounder, CODEPINK: Women for Peace, Los Angeles]
What
the Center represents, the diversity as well as the message
it reflects, the excellent programs that we cannot find
anywhere else, is very important to every one of us.
Please keep me posted of the progress. Thank you so much
for your hard work.
I went to the Alchemy of Dreams event and plan on attending many more wonderful
events in the future. I think your organization is doing amazing and innovative
work around Middle East education. Thank you for all you do.
[Deanna Kashani, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles]
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
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.
The
Naser Musa-Adam del Monte Ensemble performed Arab-flamenco fusion
on Dec. 19, 2004. Click
here for info.
