MCC Voices

MultiCultural Center Director Receives Leadership in the Arts Award

On December 1, Zaveeni Khan-Marcus, our founding director, was publicly honored with the 2011 Leadership in the Arts Award from the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission. Established in 2006, the annual award "honors and recognizes individuals or organizations that have made a significant impact on the arts and culture of our region through innovative thinking and exemplary commitment to promoting, sustaining, and advancing our quality of life through the arts."

Present at the award ceremony, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Michael D. Young shared his conviction that "Zaveeni’s vision and dedication to local and international arts and culture is unsurpassed. The Center is recognized as one of the best among colleges and universities nationwide."

Zaveeni has served as the founding director of the Center since 1989. She presided over the transformation of the center from its original location in a small, portable building to a newly constructed, permanent home located in the center of campus in 1995. She advocated for a state-of-the-art facility that features a 150-seat performing arts theater, a large, adjoining lounge with art exhibit space, meeting rooms, and a kitchen.

A native of Sri Lanka who moved to California at the age of 19, Zaveeni earned a bachelor of arts degree in English and later, at UCSB, a master’s in education. She has lived for extended periods of time in Egypt and India and traveled extensively throughout the globe. Travel has allowed her to merge her interest in cultural and artistic traditions with her passion for taking photographs and writing poetry. These experiences, combined with years of performing with the UC Santa Barbara Middle East Ensemble and her annual attendance at the Middle Eastern Music and Dance Camp in Mendocino, have exposed her to diverse genres of music and performing arts. Zaveeni uses these opportunities to establish relationships with artists and performers around the world, building bridges for future visits to UCSB.

Now you can make your gift to the MCC online!

For over 2 decades the MultiCultural Center (MCC) has been committed to presenting cutting-edge programs, fostering diversity of expression, and providing a public forum/ safe space in the struggle against exclusion and discrimination. We have strived to inspire and stimulate thousands of UCSB students, community members, and local organizations to build relationships across differences.

In the coming year, we will be challenged in our work given the failing economy and resultant budget cuts. We have the energy and optimism of the students we serve, the personal commitment of our leaders in Student Affairs, and a tremendously dedicated, experienced, and hard-working staff. But we need your support now more than ever. And supporting the MCC has become even easier with online giving! Working together, we all can make a difference for the 20 years to come.

To make a donation: Go to http://www.sa.ucsb.edu/giving/, click on the "You may make your gift online" link. Then scroll down the online giving page to the drop down menu and select "MultiCultural Center" from the list of giving options. Questions? Contact Catherine Boyer at Student Affairs Grants and Development at (805) 893-5037 or Catherine.boyer@sa.ucsb.edu. For more information about giving to UC Santa Barbara, go to www.ucsb.edu

Tickets for MCC concerts go on sale on January 9.
Call the A.S. Ticket Office at 805-893-2064.

Upcoming Events

World Music Series
Winter 2012

Wednesdays at Noon

Music Bowl (outdoors in the Music Department)

Faces and Places
Michael Massenburg

Wednesday, January 18 - Friday, March 23
Exhibition/MCC Lounge

A Conversation with the Artist

Thursday, February 2, 6 pm

Michael Massenburg has exhibited in galleries and museums, completed private commissions, and worked on public art projects throughout the country and abroad in Mexico, Senegal, and Haiti. Some of his public works include MTA, LA County Arts Commission, ESPN, and the American Jazz Museum. He is the recipient of grants from the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department and the California Arts Council and his work resides in many private collections. Massenburg is also an art educator who teaches for various organizations throughout the Los Angeles County. Co-sponsored by the Black Student Union.

Land of Opportunity

Wednesday, January 18, 6 pm
Film Screening/MCC Theater

Through the eyes of urban planners, community organizers, displaced youth, immigrant workers, and public housing residents, this documentary dives deep into the tumultuous reconstruction of New Orleans. Land of Opportunity reveals how the story of this city is the story of urban America: how democratic processes can fail us, how economic crisis can pull the rug out from under us, and how (im)migration can prove to be a complicated bargain. Luisa Dantas and Rebecca Snedeker, 97min., English, 2010, Brazil, USA.

"Taking it to the Streets:" Connecting the Arab Spring

Tuesday, January 24, 7 pm
Panel Discussion/MCC Theater

Since the events of January 2011, the clamor for change and opportunity has continued to sweep not only through the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region. In the past year, popular uprisings have swept across the United States, too, in the various "occupy" movements, and we’ve seen ordinary citizens stand up to authoritarian systems considered to be unjust. This panel will discuss comparisons, connections, and possible lessons to be learned from global crises and these widespread pro-democracy movements. Panelists include Salam al-Marayati, Executive Director, Muslim Public Affairs Committee (MPAC); Juan Campo, Department of Religious Studies and Center for Middle East Studies; Nour M’rabet, Tunisian Fulbright FLTA, Department of Religious Studies; William I. Robinson, Department of Sociology; and moderator Kathleen M. Moore, professor and Vice-Chair, Department of Religious Studies. Co-sponsored by the Center for Middle East Studies and the Religious Studies Department.

Gen Silent

Wednesday, January 25, 6 pm
Film Screening/MCC Theater

Many who won the first civil rights victories for generations to come are now dying prematurely because they are reluctant to ask for help and have too few friends or family to care for them. Gen Silent puts a face on gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender seniors so afraid of discrimination (or worse) in long-term/health care, that many go back into the closet. Stu Maddux, 63 min., English, 2010, USA. Co-sponsored by the Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity.

The Demographics of Politics: The Changing Face of America and U.S. Politics
Lisa García Bedolla

Thursday, January 26, 4:30 pm
Discussion/MCC Lounge

There has been much discussion in the media about the demographic changes in American society that became evident in the 2010 census. Less discussion has focused on how those changes will impact the symbolic and substantive content of U.S. politics in the 21st century. This conversation will explore this question, particularly considering what it means politically for the United States to be a majority minority nation. Lisa García Bedolla is Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Education at UC Berkeley.

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