ART HOUSE

Hotels are investing in artist-in-residency programs, changing the perspective of guests, staff, and artists alike.

- Adrienne Gaffney

For an artist used to working within the confines of an urban studio, Costa Rica’s Hotel Belmar is a revelation. Working days are broken up by hikes through the misty tropical forest or countryside horseback rides, and views out the window may include a gorgeous inlet of the Pacific. Artists are able to spend weeks living and working at the hotel, which can have a transformative impact on a career, and guests are able to witness them at work. While placing artists’ work on a hotel wall is common-place, and might include a narrative connecting the work to the space, Hotel Belmar and an increasing number of other hotels are running residencies that establish a relationship between an artist and a property, broadening the guest experience.

Hotel Belmar’s program began when Pedro Belmar, the owner and then-manager of the eco-hotel located in the mountains of Monteverde, Costa Rica, started thinking of ways to connect the hotel to the art movements that were thriving in the region. Belmar, who had a longtime love of art and had done an internship at MoMA, connected with Martha Palacio, a documentarian who had been working on a project about underground artists. They put together a program that would both nurture artists and bring their work into the hotel.