What is an Artists' Salon and Coffee House?
An Artists' Salon/Coffee House consists of people presenting their creative work around a theme (either assigned or voted on by the group) with the topics or issues raised being discussed throughout the afternoon or evening. The presentations, performance pieces, and art presented by the guests serves as a conduit to conversation. It is an opportunity for people to create something new, come together for drinks/food, and to have a live event dedicated to performance and meaningful conversation.
Your organization or group does not necessarily need to be full of writers, artists, or musicians for you to host an Artists' Salon/Coffee House, you just need to have people who are open to creativity and are willing to pitch in and be active participants during the event. The main thing is to have fun while being open to new ideas and learning from the people in the room.
Guests or participants are asked to volunteer for any of the following items for the event:
[ ] Present your own creation to the group (see what presenting entails below)
[ ] Be randomly selected to be part of a two or three person play, poetry reading, or song for one act during the event
[ ] Be a participant in the discussion only
Since the salon/coffee house revolves around people presenting their own creations, save-the-dates are sent out three months in advance to allow people enough time to get their creativity flowing. It also ensures you have time to individually talk to the people you most want to attend to explain the process and get them onboard with coming together to present their creations to the broader group.
Your organization or group does not necessarily need to be full of writers, artists, or musicians for you to host an Artists' Salon/Coffee House, you just need to have people who are open to creativity and are willing to pitch in and be active participants during the event. The main thing is to have fun while being open to new ideas and learning from the people in the room.
Guests or participants are asked to volunteer for any of the following items for the event:
[ ] Present your own creation to the group (see what presenting entails below)
[ ] Be randomly selected to be part of a two or three person play, poetry reading, or song for one act during the event
[ ] Be a participant in the discussion only
Since the salon/coffee house revolves around people presenting their own creations, save-the-dates are sent out three months in advance to allow people enough time to get their creativity flowing. It also ensures you have time to individually talk to the people you most want to attend to explain the process and get them onboard with coming together to present their creations to the broader group.
What does an artists' salon and coffee house look like?
If you think of this modern creative salon as an informal, interactive coffee house held in an open area at your organization or even in someone's home, then you have the concept already down. It's everyone sitting in a room with one area dedicated as the stage for presenters to read their writing, explain their artwork, perform their short play, or sing their song. After each work or sometimes after a group of works, a discussion is held around the issues and ideas raised.
Aren't salons usually about expert knowledge and opinions?
That would be true of the old model of salons. It's also why the coffee house component was added. In the era of Google, the old method of having people on stage with the audience asking questions just doesn't work for most people. People want to share their own experience and offer their own opinions.
What do presenters need to do?
Participants can present to the group either through writing, theatrical performance, artwork, or music. Each presenter will have a five minute window to present their work. In order to be respectful, all participants are asked to time their presentations to ensure they are under that time mark. Writing pieces can be anything from poetry to prose to a dramatic reading. Artists will be asked to show their work and explain how it relates to the theme. Musicians are restricted to accoustic instruments or acapella performances only due to noise restrictions. If they need a musical accompanist, that can also be arranged.
Does the work presented need to be original?
Ideally? Yes. This is a chance to be creative. If a person really wants to present but needs help with their selection or coming up with an idea, a piece can be created or suggested for them to perform. Since this constitutes a public performance, we need to be aware of applicable laws and some pieces may not be able to be performed if they would require fees and appropriate permissions being sought.
What does a discussion only participant need to do?
The people indicating that they want to participate in the discussion but not present should bring an open-mind and be willing to share their opinion in a constructive way.
Who leads the discussion and makes sure everything stays on track?
Filtod facilitates the event to ensure everything is planned and runs on time. He also functions as the discussion moderator inbetween performance pieces to ensure people are heard and that everyone has a chance to participate.
What themes do we have to choose from?
Themes can vary depending on whether you want to select from an existing list or have your group make suggestions and vote on the one they most want to be creative around. If this is your first salon, some sample themes are censorship, childhood, multiculturalism, freedom, media, consumerism, etc. It can also be fun to select a country as a theme with the presenters doing works around aspects of that country's history or culture. The broader the theme the better.
This sounds great. How much does it cost to have you setup a salon for my organization or group?
Use the Contact Me page to send me an email and let me know if you have been referred by a past attendee. Pricing can vary depending on the number of participants, estimated prep work involved, and any musical accompaniment that may need to be arranged.