Persian American Cultural Center
Persian arts and culture
The Persian American Cultural Center (PACC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving Persian culture through traditional art forms and to building bridges for cross-cultural exchange. PACC promotes Persian artists and gives Persian youth a new perspective of their heritage by stimulating the spirit of volunteerism amongst them. PACC organizes workshops and classes with master musicians and sponsors traditional music concerts and dance performances.
As a grantee of ACTA’s Living Cultures Grants Program in 2007, the Persian American Cultural Center received support for a series of classes for youth aged 8-18 with master Iranian percussion artist, Houman Pourmedhi. Houman instructed the students, who meet regularly for language and culture classes, in the tonbak, the chief percussion instrument made of a single block of hollow wood , and the daf, a frame drum with a row of small circular metal hoops fastened to the inside of its rim.