The New Year Ecotone Salon Dinner

The New Year Ecotone Salon

Date: Tuesday, January 14, 2025
Time: 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Location: Wompa
Meal: TBD - please let us know if you have dietary restrictions.

WHAT IS THE "ECOTONE" SALON DINNER? You are invited to join a hornet's nest of people who create a womb of creativity and ease. Eco from the Greek “dwelling place” and tonos from “tension,” the ecotone is a shared habitation that grows in the tension between one way of life and another. Our differences will make a difference on a night of hope and imagination.

How: The choreography of curated conversation rituals, laughter, originally arranged music, and fine dining will respond to questions around what we can all learn from each other’s story.

WHAT IS A SALON DINNER? A salon dinner is traditionally a gathering of people for enjoyment and learning. A thoughtfully curated guest list of cognitively and culturally diverse Tulsans will join a whimsical salon dinner journey designed for conversation inspired by the "Doorways to Hope" public art project. Every door has a story, and every story is a doorway through which we connect with one another. This evening is inspired by a public art project beneath the Elgin Street Underpass that centers on doors as stories that cultivate human potential.

WHAT IS DOORWAYS TO HOPE? Doorways to Hope was created by artist, anthropologist and Fulbright Specialist Marlon F. Hall. Tulsa’s latest public art, Doorways to Hope can be found at downtown Tulsa’s Elgin Street underpass, and features large-scale images of many North Tulsans as well as a mythic collection of antique doors, installed symbols of stories that, when shared, cultivate human potential. Pointing one’s camera phones at the QR codes painted into the design, art lovers and those interested in living legends are able to link to audio and video recordings of the first-hand accounts of difference-making North Tulsans, their figures painted large in Hall’s Teams design, their lives often unsung outside of those who know.

WHO IS THE HOST? Beyond the gifts of his artistry, Hall is also known for his unique, private, salon dinners. These dinners, known for their doorways into experience, are rooted in the belief that meals are one of the earliest human institutions where cultural stories are learned and lived. This time, Marlon is offering his one-of-a-kind salon dinner to the public. Many of the Tulsa leaders who are depicted in Hall’s art will be present. We will witness and share in some of the beauty which has been unearthed from perceived brokenness. The evening will include original performances, vegetarian food designed by culinary artists, film screenings, and curated conversation.

WHAT TO BRING? Please bring a pocket-sized artifact which represents your personal, cultural, or ancestral heritage.

Guest list will be limited to 30 for this event, which will be held at Tulsa’s gorgeous WOMPA facility, located at 3306 Charles Page Blvd., just west of downtown.

Come join us for an evening of inspiration and connection. Questions? Call (281) 705-1522 to speak with Marlon.

In 2017 I reimagined my relationship with my wife (got divorced), and it was traumatic. My daughter’s pain, my disappointment, and our family’s shame loomed in the loft I moved into. I had lost my family and it was hard to remember who I was without them. I asked friends and fellow mess-makers Anthony Super and Brian Ellison to help me turn some reclaimed wood from my grandmother’s demolished house in Homer, Louisiana into a long table for traditional salon dinner parties series to unearth beauty from brokenness.

During these gatherings, I bring a cross-pollination of 16 people at a time to the table to remember the beauty of being human. It is a renegade anthropological study I am doing about human connection and purpose memory. Original musical composition, rich culinary art, and intentionally designed conversation drives a night of wonder shared by people who are different and share a heart for the city. In this room they can not talk about what they do, only who they are and why they exist. It is a way to remember each person back to their humanity.

During these gatherings, I bring a cross-pollination of 16 people at a time to the table to remember the beauty of being human. It is a renegade anthropological study I am doing about human connection and purpose memory. Original musical composition, rich culinary art, and intentionally designed conversation drives a night of wonder shared by people who are different and share a heart for the city. In this room they can not talk about what they do, only who they are and why they exist. It is a way to remember each person back to their humanity.

Host or Publisher Marlon Hall