Thanks very much for your interest in joining LAVA’s creative community of Visionaries.
We’d like to share with you something about our organization’s philosophy and loose membership requirements. Please read on, and then if you’re still interested in joining us, at the bottom of this page you’ll find the information we’ll need to process your application.
ABOUT LAVA: LAVA’s creative partners come together in a spirit of collaboration and mutual support, of good will and trust. The shape of this organization and its programming are still evolving, we envision the creation of committees to oversee various types of programming (lectures, tours, screenings, music, performance, poetry, etc.), and opportunities for cross-pollination that will provide all of us with new audiences and unexpected new paths for our work. It would be helpful to start any discussion of what this entity is by making it clear that it does not exist. What we mean by that is if you come to LAVA to be told what to think, how to act, to whom one should listen, you should look somewhere else. This notion of an entity which does not exist is borrowed from the United Lodge of Theosophy, located at the corner of 33rd & Grand, south of downtown. Since 1927 they have been an open marketplace for the exchange of ideas around the development of the spirit and self. They recite a declaration (short and simple) at each meeting which does two things: to affirm that the ULT does not exist, and to ensure that the simplicity, openess, authenticity and focus of the group is made clear each time. This reminder makes it easier to respond to individuals who, a year or two into their work at the ULT, begin to make noises that they think the ULT should really be something else. So — the ULT does not exist. However there is a non-profit attached to it which maintains the building, and has done so responsibly and unobtrusively since 1927. It is this thin shell surrounding this non-entity which keeps things lively, and we envision a similar structure to surround LAVA, making it possible for the creative work to be done in a pure space, uninfluenced by the organizational demands of the larger entity.
ABOUT VISIONARIES: Visionary members are Los Angeles-based creative professionals working in many different media. They are involved, as organizers or performers, in creating interesting, unusual and intelligent public events that bring people together to explore ideas and the city. LAVA’s discretionary memberships are extended to specific individuals (Visionaries), not to organizations, and are not transferable. Visionaries must be represented on the LAVA website with a photograph of themselves. Participation in events that appear on the LAVA calendar is encouraged, but not required.
MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS: We trust all of our LAVA partners to use the tools of the organization to do their best work, to help each other where feasible, and to be enhanced by their association with the entity. Event listings are linked to the Visionary who posts them, and these events should be things that the Visionary is personally involved in organizing, or where the Visionary is a featured performer or artist. LAVA membership is reciprocal, which means if you list your events on LAVA’s site, we expect you to include the LAVA name and website in your own promotions and on your website (recommended phrasing: “[VisionaryName is/ we are] a proud member of LAVA, the Los Angeles Visionaries Association, ” ). LAVA Visionaries are welcome to use community tools to promote themselves and their happenings, however excessive, spammy or abusive promotions will not be tolerated.  Further, LAVA is a no-drama zone, and will not maintain membership for any members who generate negative publicity for the entity.
TO APPLY FOR MEMBERSHIP: Please send the following material via email to lavatransformsATgmailDOTcom :
1) A short cover email in which you tell us why you’d like to be a LAVA Visionary, and listing any current LAVA members who you know or have worked with. (References are not required, but we are interested in the connections between current and prospective members.)
2) A biographical statement or creative CV
3) Information about one or two upcoming events that you are organizing or participating in, that you’d like to list on LAVA, or alternately one or two blog entries that you’d like to contribute on the theme “Things I love about Los Angeles.” Blogging Visionary memberships are meant for professional writers.
4) A photograph of yourself, at least 200 x 200 pixels in size.
Upon receipt of your application, LAVA’s organizers will review your materials and get back to you shortly. Please let us know if you have any questions, and thanks again for your interest in being part of this creative community.
Kim Cooper & Richard Schave
LAVA – Los Angeles Visionaries Association