experimental salon /
Red Poppy Art House
Based on the principles of child development and how we relate to each other before our egos are fully formed, Nicole Lambrou invented an experimental salon to create a new way of being together as adults. She invited people from various worlds, most of whom didn’t know each other and led an evening of exploring ideas, expression, and sharing food in a creative and open space.
read more︎︎︎
![]()
During the first half of the evening, participants were invited to share only non-identifying information about themselves as they interacted. Allowing for an initial awkwardness and discomfort, this created a forum of spontaneity where various perspectives came together more easily through the simplicity of being with another. We shared our connections to the meal prepared, and inquired into topics of the thread like how we express connection somatically. In challenging the ways we typically identify (e.g., what we are named, what we do, where we were born, went to school, work, live, and play, who we know and are with), this created room for a new kind of openness which included the actual experience of the other, ourselves, and the space we’re in. Using a painting as the tabletop for the mosaic of dishes also helped us to let go of the way we relate to a piece of art, which usually hangs on a wall, sometimes behind glass and often in a museum.
Based on the principles of child development and how we relate to each other before our egos are fully formed, Nicole Lambrou invented an experimental salon to create a new way of being together as adults. She invited people from various worlds, most of whom didn’t know each other and led an evening of exploring ideas, expression, and sharing food in a creative and open space.
read more︎︎︎
During the first half of the evening, participants were invited to share only non-identifying information about themselves as they interacted. Allowing for an initial awkwardness and discomfort, this created a forum of spontaneity where various perspectives came together more easily through the simplicity of being with another. We shared our connections to the meal prepared, and inquired into topics of the thread like how we express connection somatically. In challenging the ways we typically identify (e.g., what we are named, what we do, where we were born, went to school, work, live, and play, who we know and are with), this created room for a new kind of openness which included the actual experience of the other, ourselves, and the space we’re in. Using a painting as the tabletop for the mosaic of dishes also helped us to let go of the way we relate to a piece of art, which usually hangs on a wall, sometimes behind glass and often in a museum.
We brought an intentional attention to how our thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations were being impacted throughout the night, and one of the most surprising discoveries was how much hesitation there was to share anything identifying in the second half of the evening, after realizing the freedom that had been created by shedding some of the layers we often mistake for being who we are.
