WATCH | Art is what gives this new hotel heart and cultivates a sense of community — in this film, Bouteco shows you the why, how and who: the value of the creative process of curating and commissioning the arts and crafts true to a theme of ‘work in progress’ and ‘art-school atmosphere’.

This four-minute film brings to life and highlights the phases in this part of the creative process and explain how some of the pieces became part of the brand story from ideas to implementation and convey the magic that comes from this.  

DAYNA LEE the Principal Designer behind this hotel always had art and creativity as the starting point for the hotel concept and is embedded throughout. Art is what separates this hotel from other generic new-builds. Position the hotel as a living and breathing art studio — not just a static building — it cultivates a sense of community and belonging especially with its artists-in-residence programme.

The film introduces you to the agents/curators and Bankside’s makers and creators who are helping create this community and enrich the environment with art and creations:

ELINOR OLISA BARIKOR Art Dealer, Founder of Contemporary Collective which manages the craft space rolling three-month programme of in-house artists beginning with LUKE WALKER, Painter and Artist in Residence

YELENA FORD Managing Director, the New Craftsmen, helped get award-winning London-based ceramicist and illustrator Laura Carlin whose storytelling tiles feature in the Artyard.

It’s captivating to see the Ceramicists at work — STEPHANIE SOMMET and KEVIN LIU — in their pottery studio. These makers believe in, simplicity and true quality, celebrating the nature of their materials and original thinking. 

The hotel provides guests and visitors a rare chance to see true creativity at work — not just the end-result pieces but by having a living working studio, there’s a special spirit. Bankside’s collaborations have resulted in authentic art and crafts hand-made by humans are the ideal counterbalance to our tech-obsessed world, an antidote to the factory-produced sea of sameness that dominates luxury-hotel landscapes these days.