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SALON SERIES

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ITP’s Salon Series are artist-led gatherings where people come to practice being in inquiry together. Rather than beginning with participants’ identities, positions, or experiences, we begin with a shared text and allow stories, histories, and perspectives to emerge through encounter. We gather around difficult texts, not difficult people. We’re not on the table; the text is.te something together.

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OUR APPROACH

 

At the heart of our salon practice is havruta, a Jewish tradition of paired, rigorous, relational learning. The goal is not agreement or resolution, but deeper listening—to ourselves, to one another, and to the text.

 

We believe understanding is created in relationship. Just as a meal shared with others becomes something more than nourishment, a text studied together becomes an occasion for connection, reflection, challenge, and discovery. 

 

Few spaces ask us to stay with what we do not yet know. Salons are designed to help participants practice curiosity, vulnerability, and the ability to remain in genuine inquiry with others.

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TEXTUAL BELONGING​

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As scholar Kevin Quashie writes, we often assume that certain texts belong only to certain audiences. Salons ask a different question: How do we belong to a text together?

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A shared text becomes common ground where multiple histories, interpretations, and lived experiences can meet. 
 

WHAT HAPPENS AT A SALON?​

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Salons are 3 hour events that happen in a series of 4-8 gatherings. People can attend one, or many.

 

  • While each salon may be different, all include:

  • A shared meal

  • Reading and engaging an inherited text

  • Havruta (paired learning and conversation)

  • Small-group and large-group reflection

  • Rituals that support attentive listening and participation

  • We eat a real meal and we digest a text.

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​WHAT IS AN INHERITED TEXT?​

Inherited texts might include:

  • Sacred texts

  • Civic texts

  • Speeches

  • Poetry

  • Interview Transcripts

  • Oral histories

  • Local stories

  • Cultural touchstones

  • Works of literature

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WHO ARE SALONS FOR?​

Salons are for:

  • Neighbors seeking deeper connection

  • Artists and cultural workers

  • Community leaders

  • Students and educators

  • Congregations and civic groups

  • Organizations navigating difference

  • Anyone interested in slowing down and thinking together​

 

Salon series can explore explicit differences across communities, identities, or perspectives and/or simply gather people around a compelling text and a shared inquiry.

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