The Stanwood Camano Art Advocacy Commission is excited to host our first salon for artists, musicians and writers. It will be hosted by Chaim Bezalel and Yonnah Ben Levy at their wonderful Stanwood House (9915 270th St. NW, Stanwood, WA) the home/museum/gallery and working studio of Bezalel-Levy, a thirty year husband and wife art collaboration including painting, sculpture, ceramics, publishing and workshops. It’s the perfect location for this first gathering of creatives.

Chaim was first inspired by the idea of artist salons in 2005 when he saw an exhibit in New York on the influence of salons, informal meetings in private homes, and free ranging conversations among creative people. These salons in Berlin, Vienna, Paris, London, New York, and Los Angeles fostered the careers of artists, musicians, and writers like Felix Mendelssohn, Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde, Gustav Klimt, Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, Greta Garbo, and many others.

Chaim and Yonnah will host the first salon get together at Stanwood House at 7:00 pm on July 13.

If you are an artist, writer or musician who lives in the Stanwood-Camano area who wants the encouragement, inspiration and collaboration that happens when creatives gather, you won’t want to miss this event! Chaim will speak briefly on the subject of the gift economy vis a vis the commodity economy based Lewis Hyde’s classic book. Most of the time (an hour and a half approximately) will be more informal to discuss what we are working on, how we are coping with various challenges, etc. If you are able, please bring a small food offering (like a potlatch) to share. This is NOT a substitute for dinners.

Several others have already committed to open their homes or studios for the following months. Of course the hosts may invite whomever they wish. We’ll be happy to see whoever would like to join us.

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