About the MCC

The UCSB MultiCultural Center presents over 90 events each year that increase cultural awareness and understanding. These events include lectures, films and videos, panel discussions, readings, art exhibitions, and music, dance, and dramatic performances. Events are open to everyone and most events are free. Past programs include musical performances by The Red Elvises, Blues musician Arthur Adams, Colombian vallenato group Very Be Careful as well as numerous other world music and dance groups. Lectures and readings have been given by such distinguished speakers as environmentalist Winona LaDuke, artists Guillermo Gómez Peña, activist Haunani-Kay Trask, slam poets Saul Williams and Shailja Patel, and writers Nikki Giovanni and Douglas Sadownick. Quarterly exhibitions are featured in the MCC Lounge/Gallery with the work of both locally and nationally renowned artists like Santa Barraza, Alma López, Rod Rolle and Keina Davis. Dramatic performances have been presented by such talented performers as Denise Uyehara, Roger Guevneur Smith, Kate Rigg and Monica Palacios. The MCC presents all kinds of films and videos including independent films, documentaries, underground cinema, and foreign films. Filmmakers often attend screenings to present their films and engage in a dialogue with the audience, like Academy Award©-nominee Renee Tajima-Peña, who presented her acclaimed film My American (. . .Or Honk If You Love Buddha) and Jim Mendiola who presented the Chicano punk mock-umentary Speeder Kills. The MCC publishes a quarterly calendar that lists all of these programs. Please, come by to pick one up, call (805) 893-8411 or e-mail us to be added to one of the MCC mailing lists.

The MultiCultural Center Lounge is a great space for people to study, relax, read newspapers or magazines, or meet with friends. Every Wednesday, the MCC hosts “Cup of Culture,” a weekly coffee house and movie night during which coffee, tea and light refreshments are provided. Refreshments are also served during Dead Week and Finals Week, when the MCC maintains a quiet and comfortable space for students to study.

Over seventy organizations are affiliated with the MultiCultural Center. All of the MCC facilities, including the theater, lounge, meeting rooms, and kitchen, are available for use by these groups. Students are therefore provided with a space to hold meetings, prepare food for receptions and banquets, and present their own programs. The MuliCultural Center is also available for use by other UCSB organizations and departments.