Art is omnipresent and permanent, like an invitation to discover a new work of art in every living space. Could the introduction of art to the hotel be the beginning of a new experience, that of an unexpected encounter between artist and visitor? Meet Carine Tissot, Executive Director of the Drawing Society, at the Drawing House Paris 14th, the latest addition to the Drawing Hotels Collection, which already includes the Drawing Hotel (Paris1st). For almost 20 years, this passionate collector of contemporary art has made drawing a limitless medium, helping to disseminate it in all its forms. Here, she shares her vision of the hotel industry and invites us to discover an artistic immersion that blends art and hospitality on a human scale. Welcome to the Drawing House, a 4-star family-run hotel nestled in the heart of a mythical district where the artistic spirit of the Montparnasse of the Josephine Baker years still reigns.
1. Why introduce art, and drawing in particular, to the hotel?
Since 2009, when I joined Christine Phal, founder of Drawing Now Art Fair, the contemporary art fair I've been running for 17 years, I've been hooked on drawing and its artists. Through the Drawing Hotels Collection franchise I created, I have the opportunity to share my passion for contemporary drawing with as many people as possible. Too often in a hotel, not much happens between the reception desk and arrival in the room. In our establishments, guests have the opportunity to encounter the drawing world of different artists. While I never forget that our first job is that of hotelier, with service, rooms and spaces designed for the comfort of our visitors, I also want to offer an invitation to discover this medium in different forms.
2. How is your approach different?
We don't see it as merely decorative. Each artist was given carte blanche to create an original work of art to be displayed on the headboards of the bedrooms and in the corridors. The first three floors were entrusted to the artist Mathieu Dufois; Karine Rougier took over floors four to six, and the duo Alexandre & Florentine Lamarche-Ovize the top three floors. Designs invade the space, from carpets to wallpapers, rugs to lighting fixtures. The hotel goes beyond its traditional role by presenting itself as a means of artistic sharing through its support for artists, with particular attention paid to young creators. The result is a range of personal techniques that reflect the variety of contemporary drawing practices. My approach is therefore the result of a long-term, global project, born of the interdependence between architectural and artistic projects. Here at Drawing House, you're greeted as you enter by Alexandre & Florentine Lamarche-Ovize's mural with a nod to Josephine Baker, you dive into a swimming pool under the reflection of Marion Charlet's exotic watercolors, you dine under Daniel Otero Torres's work, you embark on a space expedition with Lucie Picandet. We discover an exhibition at Drawing Hall, a meeting place where collectors, galleries and artists are invited to share their visions of contemporary drawing. And we often meet a great artist incognito as we step out of the elevator.
" For an artist, the living spaces of a hotel are formidable spaces of expression and an opportunity to apprehend new techniques and constraints. By taking over these spaces, they offer travelers an experience that goes beyond simple decoration."
3. What do customers look for when they book at your hotels?
Travelers are first and foremost looking for an address. But as they discover a different, more sensitive approach to the hotel business, they become hooked on the experience. Seeing visitors come back and invite their friends and family to explore the hotel's corridors is my greatest reward. It's also a great victory for the artists. What's important for us is to enable our guests to go further if they wish, by going to a gallery or museum to discover the artists' work. We propose, they dispose.
4. How do you work with artists?
What's always very interesting in this collaboration is to see how they reappropriate the fact that they're in a hotel. There's no brief, apart from the need to respond to the constraints of the format. We work with artists who think in project mode. They have to be able to project themselves into our hotel constraints while expressing their art freely.
" We were tired of anecdotal representations of art in the hotel. We've adopted a real carte blanche culture: here, we let artists make the place their own, from the carpet to the ceiling."
5. What is your vision of art in hotels in the next 10 years?
I hope I've inspired hoteliers to work with artists in a different way, and not just in a decorative way. Art in hotels means working together in project mode and, above all, respecting and supporting artists. I'd like to see hotels become meeting places for artists, customers, travelers, restaurateurs, businesses, art lovers and the simply curious. As hoteliers, it's also our responsibility to create these moments of encounter. We need to go further, to enable customers to see beyond a pretty wall. Don't impose anything on them, but invite them to discover an artist's career and the history of his or her work. Today's hotel industry has no choice but to move towards a notion of experience, to create places for living and meeting.
6. Your next project?
We're opening a new hotel in June, the Drawing Factory, located at 11 avenue Mac Mahon in Paris. Some thirty artists were invited to take up residencies there in 2021, and five of them have been chosen to occupy this new establishment, from the restaurant to the 48 rooms.
Drawing Society
For almost 20 years, mother/daughter duo Christine Phal and Carine Tissot have been involved in the dissemination and promotion of contemporary drawing. The Drawing Society is an umbrella organization with two main focuses:
- a hotel axis with the Drawing Hotels Collection, comprising the Drawing Hotel, opened in February 2017 (Paris 1st), and the Drawing House, opened in April 2022 (Paris 14th)
- an artistic axis with the contemporary drawing fair Drawing Now Art Fair, created in 1997 (at the Carreau du Temple from March 21 to 24, 2024), the philanthropic exhibition and production space Drawing Lab, located at 17, rue de Richelieu in Paris, and the cultural engineering center Drawing on Demand.
Carine Tissot has a background in press, communications and trade show organization, notably with Reed Expositions France.
Find out more about Drawing Society
