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| Art Hotel organizers speaking at the lecture. Photo: Frida Berntson, 042016 |
Some of you might remember the blog post I did a while
back about the ”Art Hotel” in downtown Sacramento. This fantastic happening was
probably the strongest art experience I’ve ever had, and I don’t think I’m the
only one feeling that. With 13,000 visitors and 20,000 wanting to get in but
couldn’t, I think it is safe to say that the Art Hotel was an incredible
success! I’m not from Sacramento and not even from the US, but I think I’m on
the right track when I think the Art Hotel was probably the most influential
art show in Sacramento in years. It has already become legendary. On April 20th
Art Hotel organizers Seumas Coutts,
Ph.D. and Shaun Burner as well as a few Art Hotel-artists had a lecture at Sac
State about the Art Hotel and its impact on Sacramento.
The underlying message
during the lecture was how the organizers wanted art to be experienced, they
wanted and had free admission; they wanted to achieve total inclusivity, and
they wanted the art experience and community to be most important. The Art
Hotel created a space where people just experienced art; it wasn’t held in a
big institution that could influence the experience, and there wasn’t a “right
way” to display the art at the Art Hotel, art was everywhere, unlabeled and
raw. This made it feel genuine and artist-to-viewer centered; it turned into a
dialogue where the art could speak for itself.
The Art Hotel was also about
the major “high culture” institutions versus grassroot organizations. Something
Seumas Coutts mentioned a few times is how art is always stressed to be good for
the economy, and therefore is accepted to get funded, but what about the
thought that art might be good for people, the city? This thought was one of
the key elements in the organization of the Art Hotel. They were funded by a kickstarter campaign, and all of the about 130 artists that participated knew that they
wouldn’t get any other payment, but they believed in the project and worked
together. There was a financial risk, and a risk of failure that everyone was
aware of, but every single artist and organizer worked hard to make this happen
and to get the word out. The Art Hotel turned into an art community, an art
community that almost every artist at the lecture thought was really needed in
Sacramento. Many of them mentioned how the art community and the different
institutions are competing with each other more than collaborating, and the
need to change that.
A moving story that one of
the artists told us about was how a single-mother with three kids came to see
the show from Folsom (suburb of Sacramento), and that with a possible admission
fee, she would probably not have been able to attend the show. This was
something that the organizers were very passionate about. Art should be
accessible to everyone, no matter what situation or occupation you might have.
This is a discussion we have had in Sweden for a long time. It is generally
very cheap to visit museums in Sweden, but the fees has gone up in recent
years, and I think this can function as a reminder for us to stick with our
values and keep the museums accessible for everyone! Right now museums in
Gothenburg are free until you’re 25 years old, everyone else can buy a ticket
for $5 that is valid for a year and you get free access to all public museums in
Gothenburg.
The group responsible for
the Art Hotel; M5 Arts, is now planning their next project which is going to be
a lot bigger. According to Seumas Coutts they will open the first Sacramento
Biennale in 2017. I will probably not be here then, which makes me very sad.
But I will take the incredible inspiration with me back to Gothenburg, and I
think that something like the Art Hotel could absolutely be made in Gothenburg.
Gothenburgians; what do you think?
But you must come back, Frida! Loved your review of this event.
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