A hotel can never replace a proper home – it should be better, at least for a few days. According to André Saraiva a good hotel is an experience. André who made himself a name as a graffiti artist with numerous exhibitions and collaborations with fashion houses like Chanel and Louis Vuitton opened his first hotel Hotel Amour in Paris in 2011, followed by the Grand Amour in 2015.
In the infamous area around Place Pigalle, the former red light district of Paris, the wickedness never really left. You can feel it in the atmosphere or in a not so subtle way at the entrance of Hotel Amour were guests are greeted by a smiling Mickey Mouse with an enormous and shiny penis.
The hotel owner André first had the idea of an hotel, because he and his friends were missing a cool place to gather after partying or to sleep after a night out. For him it was the natural next step to open such place himself.
For him, the most important things for a good hotel are flawless tidiness, the best bed linen money can buy, good service – and what’s very important for him – good lighting. The aspect, that makes this ‘good hotel’ extraordinary is that certain something that breaths in soul. In the case of Hotel Amour and Grand Amour the soul comes from André and his befriended Artists who were involved in the design and decor. While walking through the halls and rooms of the hotel you find pieces by M/M Paris, Jean-Philipp Delhomme, Alexandre de Betak, Sophie Galle, Pierre Le-Tan, Glenn O’Brien, Olivier Zahm, Mark Newson and many more.
Every artist involved has a unique style, different approaches and their own statement, which makes both hotels to the exciting places they are. But for André nothing is ever finished, everything is a process, therefore the premises are ever changing and never the same.
What you don’t necessarily see at the first glance, every piece of art and furniture is from the personal collection of André and his partner Thierry Costes (owner of the Parisienne Hotel Costes). All of it unique and fancy – and only original artworks, even the prints by Guy Bourdin and Helmut Newton!
Unfortunately the artists André wants to work with the most are no longer with us. He often imagines what rooms designed by Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp or Pablo Picasso would have looked like.
Since he is not the only street artist with his own hotel, he often gets asked what he thinks about Banksy’s Walled Off Hotel in Palestine and his opinion is clear: He absolutely loves it! According to him it is one of the best projects he has seen in a while. That will probably change soon, since he is already working on his next hotel opening. The spot he chose for his new project stands apart from the others, for it will be in Portugal by the beach. He imagines a place were artists not only spend their vacation, but also for them to work there for a longer term. Since it is only approx. 25 minutes away from Lisbon, the guests can easily go to the city for a night out, when they get bored on the countryside.
We already booked our flights, so we're off – Bye then!
Find more info about André Saraiva here or more about the hotels here.
The project was kicked off by Karen Leibowitz, co-founder of The Perennial Restaurant. During the #MeToo debate last year, she talked to other women in the restaurant business about how they tackle sexual harassment. She realized that many do not know how to defend themselves against sexual harassment. Inspired by a well-known choking-victim poster created for New York restaurants in 1989, and with the help of Cherry Bombe co-founder Kerry Diamond, Karen and Kelli created a poster that educates restaurant staff about how they report and document sexual harassment at work.
For the poster design, Kelli used the ubiquitous Heimlich Maneuver posters that litter restaurant walls. So Kelli's graphic has a clear language that explains step by step how to document and report harassment. In addition, the designer used fluorescent RGB colors to visualize the threat.
Kelli Anderson’s designs reveal the invisible magic of the world
Kelli is an interactive designer who explores how design can harness invisible forces in the world. She is known for her design, animation and illustration work for NPR, "The New Yorker," "Wired," MoMA, and the "New York Times," as well as her redesign of brands such as Russ & Daughters, Momofuku, and Munchery. Kelli is the author of two experimental and interactive pop-up books: "This Book is a Camera" which transforms into a pinhole camera, and "This Book is a Planetarium," which houses a tiny planetarium and other contraptions.
Kelli will speak at Forward Festival in 
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Jac Castillo designed an alternative poster for the film version of the comic Black Panther. The work of artist Daniel Danger was his inspiration. Daniel is known for atmospheric lightning, monochromatic palette and detailed line work. Therefore Jack chose the cave where the heart-shaped herbs grow, that give the Black Panther his powers, as the setting.
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Bohemian Rhapsody takes you on a journey through time to celebrate Queen and especially the lead singer Freddy Mercury. His flamboyant and unapologetic personality and his unique talent reminded artist Alice Lee of Andy Warhol. Therefore she created the movie poster in the iconic colourful style of the famous artist.
This year’s Best Picture winner Green Book is based on a real-life friendship between an African American pianist and his Italian American driver. During the movie several object are used to depict the friendship, that is why designer Rose-Ann Reynolds chose the style of Tony Fitzpatrick who is known for his collage-like aesthetic. Rose-Ann used the objects to highlight the film’s key events with the Cadillac as the main element.
For Vice, the dead-serious comedy about Dick Cheney’s journey to the White House, Jennifer Forrest refers to the work of Corita Kent, who is famous for politically-charged typographic serigraphs. Moreover, the themes Corita Kent treats in her work are closely parallel to those portrayed in the movie: poverty, racism, war and social injustice.
To illustrate A Star is Born, the tragic lovestory between a seasoned musician and a struggling artist, Thanh Nguyen got his inspiration from the iconic collage “Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing?” by British artist Richard Hamilton.
JC Moreno wanted to portray Roma’s main character Cleo as a heroine persevering against all odds, so he chose the style of Jack (King) Kirby to do so. The poster is in black and white, just like the film and Jack Kirby’s sketches.
Did we put a spark in you and got you eager to design a poster yourself? If you do so, submit it to our poster competition presented by fritz kola! Find more info