At the request of the NAC, we were asked to design a funky temporary space for the artists, musicians, filmmakers, etc of Prairie Scene to hang out when not performing. Prairie Scene is an arts/ cultural festival that takes place in Ottawa every two years and that promotes the creative talents of our Manitoba and Saskatchewan friends such as director and film maker Guy Maddin :
So where do these folks hang out when not performing? Well one answer is their hotel room, however the NAC wanted to provide a space they could not only relax in with a book, but be able to grab a coffee or snack during the day, meet with other artists and festival staff and to party !
Our main inspiration was retro - hipster tavern - geek chic such as That 70's Show, Ace Hotel, Douglas Coupland and Wayne's World. Here are a few images which were included on the Look and Feel board we presented to the NAC for approval :
Here is a
during photo of the set-up...notice the hideous carpet and wallpaper we had to work with at a local downtown hotel where the room is situated...and we could NOT attach anything to the existing walls, ceiling, etc. ! :
They liked all our ideas except for the "rural" aspect....guess the M & S are not amused with being grouped in with farmers and what not...so the appropriate adjustments were made to our design and voila - our temporary cafe/club as witnessed last Saturday night's
after party for Guy Maddin's re-make of
Tales from the Gimli Hospital :
Notice the billboard-type lit wall panels, bulletin board columns, retro lamps, faux trees and imitation crows.... not shown : hand printed alphabet pillows that spell out S-A-S-K-A-T-C-H-E-W-A-N-M-A-N-I-T-O-B-A
We hope you get a sense of the ambiance we created and hope that everyone had as great a time as we did.
Blogatchlater!
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