Talks

On the last Sunday of the month starting in March 2010, LAVA welcomes interested individuals to gather on the third floor of the historic Clifton’s Cafeteria in Downtown Los Angeles (noon-2pm), for a loosely structured conversational Salon featuring short presentations and opportunities to meet and connect with one another. If you’re interested in joining LAVA as a creative contributor or an attendee, we recommend Salon attendance as an introduction to this growing community. We also recommend the shortbread.

Special program at the April 25 Salon: starting at 1pm, LAVA Visionaries will host curated conversations at tables around the room.

1-2pm: Journalist and Educator Anthea Raymond hosts a table discussion on the use of Oral History in Media. How can first-person storytelling be used to build historical record?  What is the role of media and journalism in giving voice to those stories?  What is the difference between a journalistic interview and one for documentary purposes?  How reliable is the information that comes from the latter?  What is the importance of accuracy in historical memory? How has the use of first-person narrative changed as the nature of documentary itself has changed in the digital age?  

1-2pm: Social historian and curator Allon Schoener arrived in LA on January 15. Considering himself to be a cosmopolitan, he finds it difficult to get the measure of LA. It is not like other major world cities with which he is familiar. Recognizing that new opportunities will become available to LA as the centers of economic, cultural and political power are shifting to Asia, he is hoping to find an answer to this question with his curated conversation, “What Is LA?”  

1-2pm: Performer Michael “Crimebo the Clown” Perrick will lead a table discussion on the rich subject of Disappearing Los Angeles. Come share memories of vanished favorites, recommend endangered gems, and plumb the depths of your tablemates’ brains for lost locales half-recalled and possibly dreamed.

Following the Salon, you’re invited to join LAVA founder Richard Schave on a free walking tour of the historic Dutch Chocolate Shoppe around the corner. For more info or to reserve, click here.

And in the evening, Visionary David Caldwell opens his Arts District loft for a free presentation of his multi-media War Child Show. For more info, click here.

Clifton’s Cafeteria is at 648 South Broadway, near the corner of 7th Street. There are numerous paid parking lots nearby, and the closest Metro station is Pershing Square. Clifton’s is online at https://www.cliftonscafeteria.com