A People's Salon

Salons (the gatherings, not the beauty shops) have existed and proliferated around the world for thousands of years and their existence has been recorded as far back as pre-Islamic Arabia and Ancient Greece. While the specifics have varied wildly across time and geography, at their core, salons are intentional gatherings created by a host to promote the exchange of compelling thought and art. 

Although there are many examples over the course of history of salons being hosted in elitist environments, they have also played a deeply substantial (and often subversive) role in cultural and philosophical evolution. Historically, salons have been hosted by women – salonières – who set the agenda, invite the guests, and preside over the affair. This platform has allowed women to wield tremendous influence over the political, social, and cultural discourse of many eras that would not have formally acknowledged them.

And from the salons of the 600s CE Arabian Peninsula (such as those hosted by Sukaynah Bint Al-Husayn) to salons of the Weimar era hosted by Jewish women including Sara Levy and Fanny Von Arnstein, to those hosted by lesbian expat salonières Gertrude Stein and Natalie Clifford Barney in early 1900s Paris, to the salons of the Harlem Renaissance hosted by A’lelia Walker and Zora Neale Hurston, this form of gathering has long served as a vehicle for individuals who are marginalized by their contemporary society to have a profound impact on the ideas and culture that shape our lives. 

• Nikole Hannah Jones Black Salon 
• Salonathon
• Reimagining the Salon Concert
• The Performance Studies Salon Series
• Salon Performance Series for Social Change
• Rest-instance Salon
• Salon Performance Series