Our History
Pictured: Liz Tran getting the installation ready for Poetic Graffiti. Jersey City, March 2019. Photo by Robert Hranichny.
Pictured: Liz Tran and Nirupa Umapathy post-installation Poetic Graffiti. Jersey City, March 2019. Photo by Diane Burt.
Each Salon is a sacred space, held with the intention of enriching and uplifting the lives of each participant. As they are co-created by the people who come and share a piece of themselves, every salon is a unique moment in time, never again to be fully replicated.
The salons have evolved from stand-alone, individual events to curated seasons with a common curatorial thread in which programming and cause are interwoven. The curatorial theme resonates through all the salons for a given year. Proceeds from the salon series are passed through to a charitable organization aligned with our mission and the curatorial theme. This is also the prompt that our creative facilitators respond to.
Below is the timeline of each of these special moments, strung together by the common thread of self- and communal investment.
2023.Planet Interrupted
February-October, 2023
This year, our curatorial theme is In Nature and In Nurture. We were spurred to adopt this theme by a climate controversy happening in our own backyard in Jersey City (all three co-founders of SFL have strong JC affiliations)- the battle to protect a public and open state park from the incursions of a billionaire and his commercial interests. Within the complex of Liberty State Park and Caven Point, which include historically significant sacred sites (for the Lenape Indians) and preserved wetlands for many species, are rare tracts of publicly-owned green space overlooking New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty. LSP provides much-needed passive and active recreation to the local community while preserving a delicate ecosystem balance in one of the longest exposed coastlines in the eastern seaboard.
2022.Children Interrupted
February-November, 2022
This year, to honor the journey of returning to our roots, we welcome the Year of The Inner Child: Outer You. Selected facilitators share a focus on activating a sense of wonder, inviting us to call upon experiences and stories from childhood within safe frameworks. We hope to re-contextualize childhood within the frame of adult roles and responsibilities as a compassionate step toward radical self-care. Proceeds for this series will support nonprofits and NGO’s that are doing critical work in the areas of the restitution and rehabilitation of the lives of children, restoring their dignity and right to a full life.
2021.India Interrupted
June-November, 2021
A series with a dual mission, the 2021. India Interrupted fund supported both Indian artists and organizations. Selected artists are of Indian origin, and/or have significant ties with India in their work and artistic interventions. Partnering organizations are NGOs doing critical work with medical needs including oxygen drives, food security and livelihoods for the urban and rural poor impacted by COVID-19 in India.
2020.Life Interrupted
May-November, 2020
COVID-19 brought to light societal dichotomies of what is deemed essential and non-essential work— and the subsequent valuation of the arts and artistic practices as being secondary to essential economies. SFL pivoted rapidly to a Zoom-formatted salon. This hyper-local series focused on artists, healing practitioners and organizations in Jersey City, NJ to address the impact of the pandemic within the community.
In Their Footsteps
November 9, 2019
A Salon honoring Veterans. Co-produced with Jersey City Theater Center featuring Infinite Variety Productions, “In their Footsteps” and stories of veterans and acts of service. Jersey City, NJ
Design as a Daily Mirror
June 1, 2019
A design literacy workshop featuring Ruki Ravikumar. Montclair, NJ
Common Currency
May 19, 2019
A Money Salon featuring Our Financial Stories and the prioritizing life though finances- a financial planning perspective. Jersey City, NJ
Celebrating Women & Financial Stories
March 28, 2019
Featuring Infinite Variety Productions in “In their Footsteps”. New York City, NY
Poetic Graffiti
March 3, 2019
A visual arts and music salon featuring artists Liz Tran and Connor Sullivan, in co-creation of works with the audience which resulted in a visual installation. Jersey City, NJ
“We explored identity and belonging through performance, interactive exercises and conversation. Listening allowed me a glimpse into what it means to be an outsider... Of being a community that is not accepted in the dominant sphere, whether that be the holocaust or slavery and its continued aftermath.”
Laura Dowling Shea - Actor, Producer, Reiki Healer
Uncommon Ground
January 26, 2019
Featuring Infinite Variety Productions. Workshopping, “Displeyst” and exploring unlocking memory through the senses, led by Ashley Adelman and Niki Hatzidis. Jersey City, NJ
The Becoming Tour
November 11, 2018
Featuring Colin Wright, speaker, blogger on Curating Criteria for Extraordinary Living. Jersey City, NJ
In Motion
November 11, 2018
A performing arts salon featuring Barkha Patel and Kathak as practice that informs life. Green Brook, NJ
Instrumental Voice
October 20, 2018
A voice salon featuring Akpanolouh Etteh and Tami Rodriguez. Jersey City, NJ
Inside Out
September 20, 2018
A performing arts salon featuring Farah Yasmeen Shaikh and Kathak as response to human experience. San Francisco, CA
Eat your Words
September 16, 2018
A poetry, song and cooking salon featuring Truong Tran, Rosa Hernandez and Sophie Jasson-Holt. San Francisco, CA
“Bringing people and especially women together to explore themselves through the arts is a powerful journey to healing.”
Ritu Riyat - Mindfulness Coach
Second Skin
September 8, 2018
A consideration of women in their bodies and women in space. Featuring Katherine Szekely and the Neutral Mask. Jersey City, NJ
Full Circle
July 20, 2018
A performing arts salon featuring Dipti Mehta in her play “Honour: Confessions of a Mumbai Courtesan” and artist talk-back. Norristown, PA
Cumulating Story
July 17, 2018
A visual arts and memoir salon, featuring artists, Liz Tran and Galen Garwood. Seattle, WA
Patrons Are Us
June 30, 2018
A visual arts salon. Exploration of contemporary art from Myanmar with Richard Streiter. Newton, NJ
Come As You Are
June 22, 2018
A poetry and music salon facilitated by Sophie Jasson-Holt and local poets and artists. Jersey City, NJ
Walking In Your Shoes
June 1, 2018
A performing arts salon featuring, Infinite Variety Productions in their play “In their Footsteps” and Sophie Jasson-Holt on writing personal history. Glen Ridge, NJ
Walk With an Artist
April 28 2018
A performing arts salon featuring Dipti Mehta in her play “Honour: Confessions of a Mumbai Courtesan” and artist talk-back. Short Hills, NJ