Feel free to spray paint this hotel room

Spray painting on a hotel room wall would normally get you locked up.

Now, in an Australian first, Art Series Hotels is challenging its guests to grab a spray can, mask up and leave their mark on the walls of three of its properties.

From October 15 to December 30, a white-washed room at The Blackman and The Olsen hotels in Melbourne and The Johnson in Brisbane will be transformed into a collective canvas as part of a participatory art project.

The Colour Your Stay project will rely on guests to help create an ever-changing mural and become part of a shared experience.

 

The collaborative art project follows the award-winning No Robe campaign, which asked Art Series guests to strip nude and strike a pose, and the mischievous Steal Banksy that encouraged art theft.

A pioneer of the Australian street art and stencil movement, Luke Cornish (aka ELK) will lead the project for Art Series. In a nod to each of the hotels namesake artist, he will create a different artwork at each hotel; portraits of John Olsen, Charles Blackman and Michael Johnson, that guests are called on to complete.

On check-in hotel staff will share instructions and guests can register to participate. A mixture of spray cans and paint brushes, a gown, mask and gloves will be available for guests to use in the room, with each person given two minutes to unleash the artist within.

Challenging the "look but don’t touch" restriction of conventional gallery culture, the stark white interior will be transformed as hundreds of collaborators leave their mark.

Cornish says of his involvement in the campaign: "I’m thrilled to be working with Art Series Hotels on Colour Your Stay. Their dedication to supporting urban art and all of its wonderful satellite genres is a passion I share and I’m really excited to see what we create together with guests."

Director of Marketing Ryan Tuckerman says: “Supporting the arts and delivering unique art inspired experiences for our guests that are personal and bold sits at the core of the Art Series Hotels brand.

Luke Cornish was the first ever stencil artist to be named a finalist in both the Archibald Portrait Prize and Sulman Prize. He uses up to 85 layers of carefully hand-cut acetate in each work. He then sprays layer upon layer of aerosol paint until his images bear a striking photographic resemblance in a new form of hyper-realism.

Cornish uses the tools of a street artist to create his works.

Guests who share a photo on Instagram with the tag #colouryourstay will go in the draw to win a night on Art Series plus a signed ELK drawing.

To find out more visit www.artserieshotels.com.au/colouryourstay/ or call 1800 278 468. Colour Your Stay packages start from $189 per night.