Credit: Image by John Rose-Adams, licensed under CC BY 2.0
We're thrilled to share something we've been building for months: Supercity Aparthotels' first York property on Micklegate is opening today and with a lobby unlike any other in the city. It is filled with original art by York-based artists and installations by an innovative Oxford-based architectural research studio Kinetic AI. And there's our simple invitation to anyone who walks through the door: if you like what you see, you can buy it to support local art.
Located at 105–111 Micklegate, the aparthotel is five minutes from York Railway Station and close to the city walls and Micklegate Bar. This is the town's most historic area and indeed, when the work on the hotel began, thousands of archaeological artefacts were unearthed.
At the heart of the opening is the lobby installation. It is a collaboration between us and design research organisation Kinetic AI. It features five York-based artists, each recruited in partnership with York Creatives, the city's grassroots network of over 2,500 creative practitioners.
The artists — Donna Maria Taylor, Kareem Baqai, Rae George, Timothy Marvell, and Ufy — bring mixed media drawings of York's landmarks, bold constructivist canvases, expressive floral paintings, a video artwork accessible via a hand-painted QR code on the wall, and surreal portraiture with psychological depth. Joining them is one guest artist, Pavel Kir, an early supporter of PickArt. We're proud to present his work in Northern England for the first time.
As always, every piece is available to purchase via QR label: no gallery, no waitlist, no complication, just a simple way to support local creativity. You can discover the whole collection here.
Credit: Image by Kinetic AI
The space is complemented by installations designed by Kinetic AI specifically for York. Ten of the artworks hang on glass easels inspired by the Italian-Brazilian mid-century architect Lina Bo Bardi, originally designed by her for the São Paulo Museum of Art. The artworks appear to hang in the air, uninterrupted. Over the next few months, Kinetic AI will continue developing the space, bringing in more design elements including seating and lighting. Eventually, the glass easels themselves will be brought to life: Kinetic AI's state-of-the-art technology will allow them to rotate and react to visitors' presence in the room.