LAVA’s 27th Sunday Salon

Join LAVA for our revived free monthly Sunday Salon series. We return to South Broadway, to the mezzanine of Les Noces du Figaro, which was recently opened by the family behind Figaro Bistro in Los Feliz. This handsome space was formerly Schaber’s Cafeteria (Charles F. Plummer, 1928), and the mezzanine features wonderful views of the Los Angeles Theatre.

On the last Sunday of each month, LAVA welcomes interested individuals to gather in downtown Los Angeles (noon-2pm), for a structured Salon featuring formal 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 eclairs.

Read about the original Sunday Salon at Clifton’s Cafeteria here.

The Salon will be broken into two distinct presentations each lasting about 45 minutes. You are encouraged to arrive early if you wish to order food and beverages from the counter downstairs, and bring your meal upstairs. 

Presentation One

Paul Nugent will give a brief history of The Aetherius Society, the spiritual organization which was brought to Los Angeles by Yoga Master and extraterrestrial contactee Dr. George King in 1959, as part of his mission to help humanity raise itself from universal suffering and ignorance. Dr. King’s initial communication with the Cosmic Master Aetherius occurred in 1954, spurring Dr. King on to found the Society in England the following year. He ran it until his death in 1997; Paul Nugent was a personal assistant to Dr. King and is a current Director of the organization’s American headquarters. Part of the work of The Aetherius Society is predicated on Prayer, and the mental direction of positive energy towards the world’s trouble spots in a manifestation of the concept that consciousness can impact objective reality. The presentation will provide an overview of the fascinating spiritual history of this Hollywood ashram and its ongoing role in the development of new religious thought and action.

Presentation Two

Carlton Davis was the curator and creator of the seminal 1980s micro gallery The Art Dock, located on a loading dock of the endangered 1888 Pickle Works Building, and is author of The Art Dockuments: Tales of the Art Dock: The Drive-by Gallery. Carlton will discuss the 35-year arc (which perhaps is still in midflight?) of the neighborhood’s rise as a working artist’s district, from the illegal warehouse dwellers in the Pickle Works and other derelict structures to the passage of the “Artist In Residence” ordinance to its current incarnation as a hotbed of new residential construction, and all the associated growing pains. What’s next for the Arts District? Carlton will share his thoughts on important people, places and issues to watch.

The salon will end and be followed immediately by a free walking tour of South Broadway.