It is hard not to reference the filmmakers Merchant and Ivory when talking about the Salon. While visual representations of the Salon are typically studied only in educational settings, many of their cinematic paintings directly represented or hinted at this 16
th century French invention. Many years later in Edwardian society, the Salon represented the enlightened bourgeoisie and what is possible when groups come together to “
aut delectare aut prodesse est" ("either to please or to educate").
Nowadays, the instant access to info has meant that the Salon is a bit less out of style because information flows at the rate of a finger click. Modern connections made via LinkedIn, for example, can provide access, but what of the art of conversation and the shaping of dialog? One group in Grand Rapids is answering this question as they seek to bring back the old-fashioned, face-to-face element of the Salon.
It is important to the organizers of The Salon, headed up by Bike Friendly Grand Rapids’ Josh Leffingwell and Tyler Doornbos, that we create dialog around a topic or project within our region.
“At the start, we always viewed Bike Friendly as a way to create dialog in our community around the topic of making the streets more conducive to those who share the street,” says Leffingwell. “With our new project, The Salon, we are encouraging dialog at the neighborhood level as we invite people to come out and have a drink and conversation with the goal of helping people connect the dots on a project or topic.”
The first two events hosted by The Salon thus far have been devoted to the presentation and conversation around a project or topic.
While the two sessions have revealed to the organizers structural elements they want to change, the perfecting of their model is critical to their success.
The Salon, as the founders see it, will be landing at a local business where dialog can easily happen (and be heard). In short, think less Happy Hour and more modern library but with drinks.
Our city certainly has no shortage of spaces devoted to nurturing creative collaboration, including The Factory, Sunday Soup or the newly launched GR Collective. The Salon organizers quickly point out, though, that their mission is not to create another 5x5 Night.
In fact, there is no prize money dangled from a carrot to spark one’s willingness to begin a conversation. The Salon organizers are far more concerned with creating connections through direct interactions with the people of our region. They prefer to adhere to a mantra of quality versus quantity.
The best Salon gatherings, according to the organizers, are those that include great topics and people who can either help connect said idea to a mentor, or a person to prop it up with seed money to full funding.
If you have ever hosted an event, you know that getting the right people in the room, much less such a complex mix as The Salon requires, can be tricky. But it is doable.
“Before each Salon, we publish on our Facebook page the projects that will be discussed,” says Doornbos. “This way, we can begin dialog in advance on the topic and provide a jumping off point for good connectors to begin to mingle with the good ideas that will debut at our monthly event.”
At the second meeting of The Salon, the presenters included Dakota Shayne, Tyler Thomas, Jay Niewiek and Nicolas Mika (
formerly known as Nicholas Pickrel).
Mika’s presentation represented the most fully flushed concept with the multii-page presentation of his project Morrison’s Addition, a temporary space-changing project located in the city utilizing upcycled shipping containers to create a flexible environment in a neglected or abandoned space.
“We really enjoyed seeing that Mika has put into place the principals of The Salon right away as he sought out a leader in the urbanist field, Ted Lott of
Lott3Metz to help him,” says Leffingwell.
“I come from the real estate side of the business and needed to find a connection to help develop this concept,” says Mika. “The Salon allows one to be free to ask for advice or assistance. With Lott, I was able to find someone who was willing to listen to my idea and offer feedback to make the project stronger.”
And indeed it has, as Morrison’s Addition is one of those dream projects that I think people in the city have been looking for, but may not be ready to implement just yet. The friction that is sure to ensue as evident over the food truck issue in our city, in my mind, is a good thing because from it, we can spark conversation on ways of making a concept (or any new addition to the city) our very own, and not just a retread of what other markets have figured out.
As one who has attended both of The Salon meetings, I can say with confidence that the two events (both structured differently) have had short-comings that even the organizers are quick to point out are changing.
“Our last one was very structured and limited to dialog around a table,” says Leffingwell. “But in our next one, we want to see more mingling about the room at Pub 43, where we have decided to land for the next few months because of their perfect atmosphere for such dialog.”
The organizers admit the use of the word "progressive" in their full name, The Salon: urbanist and progressive meetup, might be oft putting or rather negative for those who see the description, as a political word and not what the word means in the purest sense, which is, "making use of or interested in new ideas, findings, or opportunities." Therefore, the pair is grappling with possibly changing their title to reflect a more direct urbanist focus.
I would suggest leaving the word progressive, since it does create dialog and is pure in its connection to their end in its root form “to make." The Salon is not about creating just one group, but encouraging others here in our city, just as has been done for centuries all over the world to encourage people to gather around a topic as they dabble in real time conversation, rich and full of life in a setting still vital today -- the places where we congregate in public.
Let’s talk and walk into the future together.
The Future Needs All of Us.
Tommy Allen, Lifestyle Editor
Email:
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Art Credit: Jean François de Troy (Paris 1679 - Rome 1752),
Reading from Molière around 1728.