When Piotr Madej was appointed executive assistant manager of Hotel Bristol, Warsaw, in his hometown, the ever-creative Pole set to work. “That was September 2016, and the GM of the 202-room property, which dates back to 1901, said one of my main initiatives was to foster relations with the local arts and luxury-level community,” he explained.
Highly controlled by Poland’s heritage bodies, the Luxury Collection hotel retains not only its classic stone exterior but its vast, subdued art nouveau public areas, which must not be changed. He decided to highlight the hotel’s first floor by pop-up art exhibitions. A 60-foot interior walkway between the lobby and the all-day Café Bristol makes an ideal gallery for up to 12 artworks at any one time.
“I sometimes work with a gallery, sometimes direct with an artist,” Madej said.
The current exhibition features Pedro Daniel Del Rosal Garcia, a Spaniard who has lived in the Polish capital for over a decade. Next week, Madej will hold a private viewing for 12 gallerists, media and other local influencers, plus the artist and hotel GM Roman Goetsch. Starting at 6:30 p.m., they will first look at the exhibition and then move to Café Bristol for coffee and cake, and a discussion with Garcia. After an hour they will return to the exhibition space – to view, thanks to speedy maintenance colleagues, a completely different set of the artist’s work. This new display will hang for the next three weeks, to be replaced immediately by a selection from one gallery.
“Having constantly changing exhibitions attracts our target locals, which helps with whisper marketing, and it is also a lure for hotel guests, 40% of whom are repeats,” said Madej, adding that the hotel does not charge artists or galleries and it takes no role in any subsequent sales.