parlour n. 1. archaic sitting-room
in a private house.
2. Esp. US shop providing specified
goods or services (beauty parlour ;
ice-cream parlour). /related to PARLEY/
parley -n. conference of disputants, esp.
To discuss peace terms etc.
- v. hold a parley. /related to PARLANCE/
parlance n. vocabulary or idiom of a
particular subject, group, etc.
/French from parler speak/

the parlour



THE PARLOUR was conceived as a frame for conversations between artists and intellectuals from different fields. It aims to create a flexible, temporary and travelling environment, which facilitates exchange. THE PARLOUR stands for the understanding that ideas can be born everywhere, especially in places and on occasions where they are least expected. That's why THE PARLOUR happens randomly, if it finds interesting people, places, situations. Or it just happens. THE PARLOUR acknowledges the importance of human contact and personal relationships for creation and sharing of ideas. It permits the right to pleasure in communication, instead of insisting on conclusive results. It accepts time -wasting and confusion during the establishment of fruitful communication, as necessary and productive elements. Unlike interdisciplinary "laboratories" THE PARLOUR can take the risk of being unspecific, undirected, obsessed with details, chatty, unproductive, personal. At the same time it tries to give a particular point of view to an aspect of a problem and not to impose generalisations. THE PARLOUR entertains questionable ideas, where personal beliefs, can be fondled by small groups and in a limited public. THE PARLOUR is a space highly concentrated but still relaxed. It is neither democratic nor elitist. It is a closed but changeable circle, which although it may evolve and vary, never grows bigger than the feeling of comfort will allow. THE PARLOUR takes different forms each time it occurs according to the people it is bringing together and the situation.

[Dessislava Dimova]

March 2003