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The Blackstone
Hotel

Chicago, Illinois

Industry
  • Hospitality
Region
  • Midwest
Scope
  • Art Curation
Client
  • Sage Hospitality Group
Highlights:
  • 465 artworks

  • 29 site-specific commissions

  • Celebrates the hotel’s rich history while repositioning it as an iconic destination for Chicago’s Cultural Mile

Press/Media
  • October 2, 2017, “The Blackstone Hotel’s amazing art collection is better than a museum,” USA Today

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The Story

A distinguished luxury hotel on the Cultural Mile in downtown Chicago, The Blackstone is an architectural icon with unrivaled historical roots. From its days as a jazz lounge to Al Capone’s favorite spot for a haircut, the building’s storied history served as the inspiration for The Blackstone’s art collection. We worked with Sage Hospitality and Gettys Group to curate a collection to revive The Blackstone Hotel and reposition it as an iconic destination for Chicago’s Cultural Mile. We built upon the hotel’s existing artworks by involving numerous artists and galleries in Chicago to interpret the historic through a contemporary lens. Incorporating works with bright colors, vibrant energy, and a cheeky sense of humor enlivened the renovated spaces and created a sophisticated residential feel. The Blackstone’s art collection defies convention with it’s unexpected and magnetic juxtaposition of the historic and contemporary to re-establish the hotel as a cultural destination for locals and visitors alike.

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