WITH stunning illustrations etched in black and purple on its exterior, Artotel Thamrin certainly stands out under the blazing sun as we arrive mid-morning. It’s only fitting that we, a motley crowd of journalists from all over Asia, are hosted in this eclectic boutique hotel teeming with edgy art, while covering Art Jakarta, Indonesia’s longest running art fair held for the 11th year at Indonesia’s capital city.
The obvious play of words – “Art” and “Hotel” – hence Artotel, paints (pun intended) a clear picture that this little enclave is serious about showcasing art within (and outside) its walls. Colours run a riot on walls, celebrating graffiti culture as you step in.
The eclectic mix of sculptures and brightly coloured doodles captures our attention, as we walk in. There’s no standard hotel lobby with a bland, characterless, imposing hotel front desk waiting for you, never mind its long and honourable, even cinematic, tradition of service.
I mean, who doesn’t remember Forgetting Sarah Marshall where the morose Jason Segel fell in love at the front desk of Hawaii's Turtle Bay Resort? Or Eddie Murphy’s reception desk rant in Beverly Hills Cop, which saw him talk his way into getting a room by pretending to be a journalist?
Don't we all expect loud sirens and a computerised listing of our lodging indiscretions whenever we approach the front desk at a swanky little hotel? For all of its utility and celluloid fame however, the traditional hotel front desk seems to be no longer the mainstay of many avant-garde hotels.
Artotel did away with the big, imposing central desk in favour of discreet “welcome desks”. Small areas where lobby personnel can handle the check-in and check-out formalities, the less ostentatious desks are designed to allow the hotel employee to step forward and assist guests with other needs too. Replacing the space is a bar and restaurant that serve as the epicentre of the hotel.
It’s nice to live in an environment where everything is a bit more casual, Erastus Radjimin, the chief executive officer of the Artotel group of companies, shares when I meet the youthful 34-year-old the next day for breakfast. “We moved things around and placed a bar in the middle… it certainly changes the way people engage quite significantly!”
HOTEL CANVAS
There’s a certain downtown vibe going on at Artotel. My cosy Studio 20 room has an “industrial-chic” look with exposed concrete walls and a clean design. It’s small but the 20 square-metre room does make up in comfort what it lacks in space. The large imposing double bed is comfortable; there’s high speed Wi-Fi, a Dolce Gusto coffee maker, an ensuite bathroom with decent sized shower, hair dryer, iPod dock, safety deposit box, LCD TV and 24 hours in-room service.
But it’s the room’s art by artist Oki Rey Montha that is most startling. Inspired by Tim Burton’s dark undertones, Oki’s pop surrealism showcases Jakarta’s legendary (if not infamous) traffic congestion with exaggerated cartoon-like caricatures of people in vehicles on a smog-filled road. Seen one way, the art adds a much-needed organic element to the room; seen another, the black-and-white image seems to meld perfectly with the bustling streetscape below.
The forward-thinking placement of art doesn't stop there. Down on the ground floor at the award-winning Double Chin restaurant, the vibrant artwork on the floor and ceiling showcases the handiwork of renowned artist Eddie Hara, the “punk uncle” of Indonesia contemporary art.
As the name suggests, Artotel celebrates avant-garde artists since its launch in 2013. The hotel collaborated with eight Indonesian renowned, as well as emerging artists, and presented them with a whole floor each, as a “canvas” for their imagination. Artists including Darbotz, Eddie, Zaky Arifin, Ykha Amels, Wisnu Auri and Oky Rey Montha rose admirably to the challenge and stamped their identity on the walls of the hotel, with each floor taking its inspiration from a different visionary.
Art collection has been the mainstay of fine hotels for several decades now. Procuring and exhibiting art in all forms have been synonymous with the hotel experience, with both luxury and midlevel brands highlighting local artwork and museum-quality pieces rather than predictable poster reprints. But of late, properties like the Artotel Group have begun to push the boundaries of what it means to be a hotel with great art.
They’re thinking even farther outside the frame, installing art in the most unexpected of ways and challenging guests to think more deeply about their experience. Art has become a fundamental, rather than ornamental, element of hotel design.
Founded in 2013 by siblings Erastus and Christine Radjimin, the Artotel Group is an Indonesian hospitality company specialising in integrated business offerings across hotel management, food & beverage, event management and curated merchandise. Under the brands of Artotel and Curated Collections, the Artotel Group currently operates more than 1,000 hotel rooms featuring tasteful art-inspired designs.
PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES
“Art is part of the identity of this hotel,” asserts Erastus Radjimin, “… and it integrates into the architecture, design, concept and what we ethereally call the vibe, the intellectual soul of the hotel.”
The genial co-founder of the Artotel Group is seated across from me at the bustling Double Chin restaurant, smiling affably while I tuck into my simple breakfast of coffee and eggs.
The vibe that Erastus is referring to comes from the location itself. The hotel commissioned the artists to bring elements of the city inside, and in the process, root the hotel in its surroundings and create a visual record of a swiftly developing neighbourhood or town.
“Our hotel locations are always driven by the culture, neighbourhood and the history of the city. We don’t want to commission art merely for the purposes of decoration and Thamrin was no different,” he shares, adding that in identifying the place to set up their landmark hotels, they also looked for up and coming artists to collaborate with.
“We have an art director who’s tasked to scout around for new, up and coming artists in whichever location that we’re at,” he explains, adding that artists once depended only on galleries to showcase their work and be “discovered,” but now more hotels and businesses are actively seeking and supporting new talent in that role.
“We’re the first in Indonesia to integrate art into our business,” he declares with pride. Eight years ago, this would have been unthinkable. Back then, he recounts, there was a great divide between the art world and ordinary citizens. It disturbed him to realise that while accolades and recognition were being accorded to Indonesian artists internationally, the same couldn’t be said of the scene within the country.
His sister Christine, an avid art lover, curator and collector in her own right, introduced Erastus to artists across Indonesia, where he met up with many talented local artists and got to see their work. “The local art scene was vibrant back then, but no one knew about them,” he recalls. It was then that the idea of putting together a boutique hotel concept and integrating art into the business came about.
It was scary, he admits. The collaboration between hotel and art was a foreign concept in Indonesia at that time. Art is after all, at its very nature, subjective. They approached local artists and asked if they could paint a mural at his first location in Surabaya.
The artists were stumped because they didn’t quite know what to charge. “Commissioning was something uncommon back then,” he tells me, chuckling. He confesses that the initial concept at his first “art hotel” venture was somewhat toned down to placate the older crowd. “I was worried that they might be put off,” he says, shrugging his shoulders.
His fears were unfounded when positive feedback came in. Accolades rolled in, and so did comments encouraging him to do more and not hold back on his creativity. “This was good, because we realised that the market was mature enough for this concept,” he remarks, smiling, adding that they went all out for their next branches in Thamrin, Jakarta and in Bali.
Erastus loves the fact that art is now more available than it ever has been. The Internet, new technology and the spread of commercial art galleries, he points out, mean that people can view and enjoy artworks by not merely established artists but up and coming artists as well.
Making art accessible is important in drawing in and converting non-art aficionados into appreciators and unlikely patrons of the arts scene. “That’s where we came in,” he says. Now more locals do know what they like and why; they do like being challenged and educated by art. “It’s no longer something belonging to the atas community. It’s a thriving ecosystem, and I’d like to think that we had a role to play in that,” he muses.
ART LOVER
He’s easy to talk to. Youthful, brimming with energy and inordinately cheerful in the morning when most of us would need at least a gallon of coffee to stay civil, the young businessman chats blithely about what it’s like to grow up in an art-loving family. Hailing from a family of property developers, Erastus confides that his parents were art collectors. “I grew up with a house full of art, so the interest in art had been there since I was young,” he reveals.
Born and raised in Surabaya, he confides that he had almost zero proficiency in English when he moved to the US to pursue his studies in Marketing and Finance. “There weren’t any international schools back then, and I grew up speaking just a smattering of English thanks to a basic language training course. But it wasn’t enough for me to be admitted into the university,” he shares. It’s hard to believe that with his fluidity at conversing, and he laughs when I tell him that. “I had to take up courses to brush up on my English before entering the university!” he responds drily.
He graduated in Marketing and Finance with a minor in Hospitality Management, and soon got an internship at a hotel in Hawaii for three months. That’s when he fell in love with the hotel industry. “I fell into the hospitality industry by chance, and I never got out,” Erastus quips, eyes twinkling.
He worked in a number of hotels including the Marriott in London and Singapore, and returned to Indonesia to join a travel management company after being away for almost a decade. “That’s when my passion for art was reignited,” reveals Erastus, adding that the opportunity to travel across Indonesia as well as having a sibling well-placed in the art scene, turned his attention to Indonesia’s colourful but often underrated art scene.
Combining his love for the hotel industry and the arts, Erastus started his hotel venture in his hometown Surabaya, and there was no turning back since. “It was quite a leap into the unknown,” he admits. “But the idea of bringing art to the common people was something I felt I had to do.”
Artotel is moving along in that direction. Capturing the zeitgeist of the community, cities and areas where they’re located, these vibrant artsy hotels have not only surrendered their walls and ceilings to the artists’ imagination but also offer an evolving gallery for up and coming artists to showcase their work.
“We offer this space for artists to exhibit for free,” he says simply, adding that they’d help promote these artists through their database, newsletters, media, corporate people who pass through the hotel doors and in-house guests. “Nurturing the artist is an aspect that’s so often lost in the business,” he muses.
There’s more to come, promises Erastus. The Artotel Group is more than just the brilliant quirky hotels that they’ve come to be known for. “We want to support the creative industry as a whole,” he shares. “That includes music, design, fashion, photography and culture.” The creative industry is a thriving hub, he adds, concluding: “And we want to continue being part of a vibrant ecosystem that continues to shift and change with the times.”
For more information about Artotel, go to www.artotelindonesia.com
Pictures courtesy of Artotel Group.
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