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Rizzo Reviews: An Artists’ Salon3 min read

Courtney Rizzo, MBA Class of 2015

Calla Videt and Laura Fox put on a New York City night of culture to remember. They were brainstorming about the idea of an artist salon that would present the art and performance scene to the business school crowd, and then they just made it happen. Not just made it happen, in fact, but made it into an overall happening.

The program for the salon, divided into two parts to allow for plenty of socializing, had a little bit of everything. There were singing and short films, readings of play excerpts, an art viewing of Lisbeth Kaufman’s brain (ask her about it sometime), and even a charming clowning act by Aya Tucker.

“Clowning shows us how simple it is to convey human emotion,” Ankur Bahl said. “This event is so amazing, and accessible!”

The amazing factor didn’t just come from the number or caliber of performers. Laura Fox rightly recognized when planning the night, “People come together a lot more when food is involved.” A mouth-watering menu was assembled, chef’s choice from the kitchens of Phil Wu (short ribs and pork belly) and our very own Chelsea Colby (who knew you could make marshmallows at home!). Many others contributed their talents to curries and chilis and tacos and desserts that amounted to quite the spread.

Salon 4

In this kind of setting, eating sprawled in a random assortment of chairs and cushions and gazing out the windows down Broadway to Columbus Circle, it didn’t matter that the works were in various stages of being off book or not. As Laurel Thomson said, “This is a beautiful opportunity for people to share their projects in a supportive environment.”

Much of the art was either still in development stages or working toward a first showing. Amit Nizan, who is producing the documentary Return to Timbuktu with director Michael Meredith, shared inspiring (and crazy) stories of traveling to Mali to capture the plight of musicians there under the oppressive regime. They shared the reel of the documentary they used for the recent IndieGoGo campaign to fund a trip back to film the second and hopefully uplifting half of the story.

Salon 1

Return to Timbuktu looks into the value of music and art in society, which was exactly the kinds of conversation the artist salon format is made to encourage. Calla Videt organized and hosted the night’s program. “The reason I came to business school was to see how people value creative expression in society,” she mused. “For artists, this is their job, but many people still think of it as just a hobby. Are creative works a product for others to consume? Or is there a way of engaging people beyond entertainment as a product?”

Probably some of both. There was such variety in the program that all of us saw something we hadn’t before. All of the artists were talented, but depending on your taste, there were acts that were interesting to consume once, and some which made you want to connect with the artist and learn their story.

Luckily, the intimate nature of a salon is such that the audience has those opportunities, to try new things and to learn more about the art and performers.   “We hope to see this continuing in the future. It’s a chance for artists to show new work and get exposure to different kinds of audiences,” Laura Fox said.

Victor Arumemi performed two spoken word pieces he had written about love and society. Mingling after the last of the performances, he summed up the night best: “This allows people to connect beyond what they know and what they are comfortable with. It’s easy to get stuck in a routine, but people need to look beyond the standard. They need to be exposed to and care about other people’s conflicts, welfare, and creativity. It’s all about bridging the gaps.”

Salon 3 Salon 2

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