While most Americans are weary of the direction the U.S. Congress has taken us over the past few weeks, salon artists and owners are enthusiastic to be led on a uniquely creative and inspirational journey at NOMAD: Aveda Congress 2013, which will be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota this weekend, October 19-20. The bi-annual event will honor top talent, inspire and educate with technical and creative presentations and foster a deep sense of connection to Aveda’s heritage of distinctive artistry and social responsibility. Follow modernsalon.com and salontoday.com, as well as our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds, as Modern’s Beauty and Fashion Director Maggie Mulhern and SALON TODAY’s Editor in Chief Stacey Soble cover the event.

“Aveda Congress 2013 will be more global and diverse than ever before,” says Kevin Molin, executive director of Aveda technical education. “Featured guest artists will hail from Asia, Europe, and North America, and include Aveda masters with a balance of fresh, new talent. It’s so important to us to provide a platform for up and coming talent, along with the best of our best! Each member of the Aveda Global Artistic Team will lead a group of experts from around the world in presenting a creative and technical segment within their area of expertise—this is a format for us that we are eager to share.”

Festivities begin with a kick-off party on Saturday, October 19, at Epic Event Center, will a full day of platform presentations by a roster of notable artists on Sunday, October 20. Sunday evening will feature an electrifying artistic performance led by Antoinette Beenders, Aveda global creative director. The evening will conclude with an after-party at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Monday, October 21, will comprise technical ateliers and business educations workshops at the Aveda Institute Minneapolis and Minneapolis Convention Center. Attendees will also have the opportunity to tour Aveda’s corporate headquarters.

Aveda Congress Guest Artists taking the stage include: Ian Michael Black, Aveda global artistic director, hair color, featuring Cherry Chen from Taiwan, Jo McKay from London and Lupe Voss from California; Allen Ruiz, Aveda global artistic director, hair styling; Janell Geason, Aveda global artistic director, makeup, featuring Janessa Pare from New York and Nick Marshall from London; Ricardo Dinis, Aveda global artistic director, hair cutting, featuring Geno Chapman from Los Angeles and Bastian Casaretto from Berlin; Tippi Shorter, Aveda global artistic director, textured hair, featuring Derrick Scurry from New York; Heggy Gonzalez from Salt Lake City; Luis Gonzalez from Denver; Jon Reyman from New York; Tim Howard from St. John’s Newfoundland; “Get Elected to Congress” salon team winners Ladies & Gentlemen Salon from Mentor, Ohio and Chicago, IL; Aveda Canada featuring Ray Civello; X-Presion from Madrid, Spain; the JUUT salon team featuring David Wagner from Minneapolis, MN; and the Van Michael salon team featuring Van Council from Atlanta.