Meet Alex Bass: Salon Hostess of the 21st Century
Throughout the 1920s, artists such as Picasso and Hemingway flocked to Paris, a haven that brewed the great minds of the 20th century. At the heart of it all, French salons sparked magic and allure — pioneering conversations around art, culture, and social issues of their time.
In New York City almost a century later, girl boss Alex Bass founded Salon 21, a modern day rendition of these historic salons. Though its early years coincided with the onset of COVID-19, Salon 21 has always been driven by a simple mission — to empower new talent and create dialogue around it. Initially running pop-up events and cocktail nights, Salon 21 has blossomed into a bustling virtual community, where art lovers tune in on critical conversations about art collection, diversity and inclusion, and more.
An art history geek and fashionista at her core, Alex Bass talks the ins and outs of Salon 21, her how-to guide for business and creativity, and the virtual art world in a time of social upheaval.
Alex Bass in three words?
Passionate, creative, empathetic
What made you start Salon 21?
I had a lot of friends who attended art schools in the city, and I loved the work that they were creating. As an art history major, I always had a predilection for older types of art from past centuries, and I just felt like I wasn't really resonating with the type of art I would see in galleries downtown. I wanted to give my friends a platform to show and sell their art, while also creating a new cultural and educational space for people to network, become friends, and hang out. That was an alternative to just going to a bar or somebody's apartment.
Salon 21 began as a mother-daughter initiative. What was it like — working with your mom?
I started with my mom being my business partner because when we still had physical events, she did the culinary side of it. We wanted our events to be an experience. It wasn’t just about the visual, it was about what you’re eating, smelling, all the senses.
The two of us — we admire each other, which is really nice and special. I always wanted to show the world how talented my mom is with her baking and her cooking. We can read each other’s minds and have the same aesthetics and goals, but we're so similar that we definitely buttheads a lot of the time. Working with family is always hard, but we trust each other and challenge each other in the right ways. I learn from her, and she's able to really help me execute more of the business vision of it.
How have you adapted Salon 21 to the digital landscape?
The whole concept of a salon is very physical and tangible with connection at its core. We started doing that in little pop-up event forums, and now we're doing virtual events. The upside of going virtual in the Covid age has been getting to connect with people all over the world. I'm really passionate about community and creating meaningful connections, and now, I get to expand my audience through virtual events, which is really cool.
By Scott Young (@scottsyoung)
Salon 21 recently hosted a talk with Camille Wright on diversity and inclusion in the art world. Can you tell us more about how your brand is being more inclusive?
The 21 in Salon 21 represents a modern salon, and salons were a place where people talked about contemporary issues of their time. We're doing that now. We're talking about what's happening in the Black Lives Matter movement, how that has created a larger conversation about inclusivity and diversity in all different types of industries. For us to not focus our content on what is happening in the world around us would show that we are not a company of the 21st century. People care about what brands they're supporting and who they engage with, and it's really clear when a company is simply engaging in a performative manner. At Salon 21, we are having real conversations.
Your highest high and lowest low?
The lowest low that I imposed on myself is wanting to do things too quickly. I’m a very excited and passionate person, so when I have an idea, I want to execute it right away. I think this time has been one of reflection. I've tried to slow things down and really work on building the voice behind Salon 21.
My highest high is that people are very receptive to me reaching out whether it's to Pilot Magazine or an artist, everybody is starving for that connection. When I go out on a limb and reach out to an artist or a magazine that meshes well with what I'm trying to do and they're receptive to that, I feel like, wow, I can do this myself.
What would you love to see more from the art industry?
Young voices. The key of what I wanted to do from the beginning is to build a community for emerging young artists to showcase their work. Obviously, there are great examples of young artists who've been picked up by major museums, collectors, and dealers. As in so many other industries, the upper echelon of the art world is very one dimensional in terms of gender and race. Almost every president or CEO of every major museum is a white male. The older generation, the guard of art world institutions, need to take a chance on younger voices, not just the artists, but in terms of curators, social media managers, and the like, because we are the next generation.
It’s really rewarding when I'm able to give an artist a platform that they didn't already have. I have an artist talk soon with photographer Kiki Williams, and Artnet put our event on a list of top events to attend in the art world this week. It was so moving for me to see how excited Kiki was because she's been reading Artnet for a longtime as we all have. She was crying happy tears. Hopefully, in the long run, I'd be able to tell you, I helped an artist's career, or something like that (though I wouldn't take sole credit).
You joined the Female Founder Collective recently. What does that mean to you?
I want to be surrounded by empowered and successful people, which is one of the reasons why I’m excited that I’m part of this collective. There's so much to learn from female founders, how they work, how they operate, how they raise money. It’s definitely challenging sometimes as a woman to know how to put yourself out there. It's really special when women come together, especially because of the ways in which women are sort of pitted against each other in society.
In which spaces do you feel most in tune with your creativity and identity?
This may be like a very personal way of describing it, but I hated high school because I never felt like I fit into one group. I didn't fit in with the artsy kids because I wasn’t fully into that. I did a sport, but that wasn't how I identified myself either. When you're young like that, you’re searching for something that says this is what I was, this is who I am. As you get older, you realize that you can do many things, and that makes you a more fulfilled person. I think it's really important for everybody to have many different hobbies to explore different communities.
You’re currently writing a dissertation for your Art Business MA at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London. How does it relate to your vision for Salon 21?
I’m trying to craft a how-to guide for building an art business in the era COVID-19. It’s hard to write about something that’s currently happening, but I want to show how to really bring value to your brand by analyzing what’s happening in the society around you. I’m interviewing a lot of people and making the past studies on living in a digital era more relevant to today. I think that digital is a great jumping off point for engaging in real life. The good thing is that my thesis and business are connected. If I'm working on my business, I'm working on my thesis, and vice versa.
Salon 21 seeks to mimic the intellectual exchanges of the past, and you’re an art history guru yourself. What is your favorite time period or art movement?
I know this time period is so problematic and privilege exclusive, but I love the Rococo period, culminating with Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI at Versailles.
I’m such a romantic, and I love the idea of walking through the hall of mirrors in Versailles, seeing it all lit by candlelight. I can’t imagine what time was like back then. Another time would definitely be the 1920s Paris, where you have poets, authors, composers, artists coming together in a salon and sharing ideas. Picasso was definitely getting well known at that time, but they weren't the superstars like they are today. I can't imagine being in a room with all those figures and seeing that happen. In real life, that will be a dream for sure.
I read a book a while ago called The Art of Rivalry which explores four art relationships, how they challenged each other, how they were inspired by each other. A lot of that happens now when we get inspired from things that we just see on social media, maybe it doesn't happen in person as much anymore. I'd like to bring that back to the art world. Hopefully I can create a community like that — where we look back and say, “Oh, yeah, I met that person at a Salon 21 event.”
Well, one can only wonder how French aristocrats would react to salons hosted over Zoom and Instagram Lives.
Nonetheless, Alex Bass is the Madame Geoffrin of the 21st century — a girl boss, if you will. She recently fulfilled her fashion designer dream by releasing Salon 21 merchandise.
When asked about the future of Salon 21, she mentioned digital cookbooks, dinner parties once our society allows for these gatherings, a membership model... the possibilities are endless in both a virtual and a post-COVID world. But for now, Alex is content with taking it day by day, quarantining back in NY while navigating the waves of running a startup during a pandemic.
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Image Credit
Thumbnail, Image 1, Image 3: Courtesy of Alex Bass & www.salontwenty-one.com
Image 2: Artwork by Scott Young