Marcus® Hotels & Resorts, a division of The Marcus Corporation (NYSE: MCS), is proud to announce the expansion of its successful Artist-in-Residence program to other properties in its portfolio. The program, originally introduced at The Pfister® Hotel in Milwaukee, Wis., has been expanded to the company’s Hotel Phillips in Kansas City, Mo. and the Skirvin Hilton in Oklahoma City, Okla.
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The Artist-in-Residence program was launched in 2009 at The Pfister Hotel to support the work of talented artists and to generate awareness of the arts community in Milwaukee. The Pfister Hotel, acclaimed for housing the largest Victorian art collection of its kind in any U.S. hotel, developed the program to establish itself as a destination hotel for art connoisseurs by offering guests the opportunity to view artwork being created in real time by talented artists.
The excellent guest response to the program at The Pfister led to expanding the program to two other company-owned historic properties this year. The programs at The Pfister and Skirvin Hilton feature a working art studio and gallery open to hotel guests and visitors. At the Hotel Phillips, the featured artist roams the hotel with sketch pad in hand to capture events and daily activities to share with visitors and residents alike. Guests can interact with the selected artists at each property and witness the evolution of their pieces firsthand. Each year, a new artist is selected from a variety of applicants. The selected artist works in the hotel for a full year creating artwork for guests to enjoy and purchase.
“The Marcus Corporation has always been a strong supporter of the arts community and arts organizations such as the United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF) in Southeastern Wisconsin, the Creative Alliance Milwaukee, the international Alliance of Artists Communities, the Paseo Arts Association and others. We are very proud that our Artist-in-Residence program has become well-known both locally and nationally,” said Gregory S. Marcus, president and chief executive officer of The Marcus Corporation. “Our guests have the opportunity to interact with the artists and learn about different art styles, techniques and philosophies. Our artists in residence have the opportunity to showcase their talents and further develop their careers. The program is a win-win for everyone involved.”
The Artist-in-Residence program at The Pfister has received national attention and recently received a “Social Hotel Award” from HOTELS Magazine, a leading hotel industry publication in the category of “Best Integrated Digital Campaign.” Last year, the hotel received more than 3,500 votes for the finalists through combined digital and traditional methods, more than 10,000 visits to the program’s Facebook voting tab and more than 1,600 referrals from The Pfister Hotel website.
“We are extremely proud of the success of our Artist-in-Residence program. From our first opening in April 2009 during Milwaukee’s Gallery Night, the program has continued to gain local and national support,” said Joe Kurth, general manager of The Pfister Hotel. “It is a wonderful feeling to see the program extend to several of our other properties and it will be exciting to watch the program continue to flourish in other markets.”
Previous artists at The Pfister include Reginald Baylor, Shelby Keefe, Katie Musolff and, most recently, Timothy Westbrook. Trey Bryan was the first artist to be selected as part of the program at the Hotel Phillips in June and Romy Owens was recently selected as the first artist in residence at the Skirvin Hilton hotel.
To view the work of current and past artists, please visit: Timothy Westbrook (http://blog.thepfisterhotel.com/tag/timothy-westbrook), Shelby Keefe (http://www.studioshelby.com), Katie Musolff (http://www.katiemusolff.com), Reginald Baylor (http://www.reginaldbaylor.com), Trey Bryan (http://treybryan.carbonmade.com) and Romy Owens (http://romyowens.com/#welcome).
For more information on these Artist-in-Residence programs, please visit:
Pfister Hotel: http://www.thepfisterhotel.com/artist-in-residence/
Skirvin Hilton: http://www.skirvinhilton.com/artist-in-residence/index.asp
Hotel Phillips: http://www.hotelphillips.com/
About Marcus Hotels & Resorts
Marcus Hotels & Resorts, a division of The Marcus Corporation (NYSE: MCS), owns and/or manages 20 hotels, resorts and other properties in 11 states. A force in the hospitality industry, Marcus Hotels & Resorts provides expertise in management, development and historic renovations. The company’s portfolio includes a wide variety of properties including city-center meeting hotels, upscale resorts and branded first-class hotels. For more information on the latest news and updates, please visit: http://media.marcushotels.com and follow the company on Facebook and Twitter (@MarcusHotels).
About The Marcus Corporation
Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., The Marcus Corporation is a leader in the lodging and entertainment industries, with significant company-owned real estate assets. In addition to its Marcus Hotels & Resorts division, the company’s movie theatre division, Marcus Theatres®, is the sixth largest theatre circuit in the United States and currently owns or operates 695 screens at 56 locations in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and Ohio. For more information, visit the company’s web site at www.marcuscorp.com.
