The artwork installed at an increasing number of popular convention centers transforms these necessarily utilitarian buildings into magnificent galleries that rival some of the most inspired museums in the world.
Art stirs creativity within a convention-goer who may stop to look at a painting or a sculpture on the way to a meeting, and it also acts as a built-in icebreaker that sparks networking among attendees as they exchange ideas about a particular piece.
Convention centers with art on-site are essentially cultural centers for residents to enjoy, too, and community plays a major role. Resident arts organizations are often involved in selecting the art, and mainly local and regional artists create works that showcase local features so meeting attendees, often visiting from all over the world, may learn about the destination.
Planners realize these impressive venues are a strong selling point in capturing an audience, and therefore information about the convention center’s artwork should be included in the meeting’s marketing materials.
Following are several of the best examples of convention centers where meetings mingle with art for a meaningful and memorable attendee experience.
Oregon Convention Center, Portland
www.oregoncc.org
The $2 million-plus art collection inside the LEED Platinum-certified Oregon Convention Center is heavily themed around the Pacific Northwest, while other pieces are gifts from sister cities across the globe, according to Matt Pizzuti, the venue’s deputy director.
“Art makes our facility more than a space to hold events,” he said. “It feels like a gallery, and when no events are occurring the space is still interesting and educational.”
Among the Northwest-centric art on-site is River Song. Located on the lobby entrance wall, this energetic painting features images of leaping fish, swirling eddies and the cascading water of Oregon’s rivers.
Also in the main lobby is the impressive Principia, the world’s largest Foucault pendulum.
“On any given day you can find attendees smiling up at the 800-pound brass ball as it swings overhead in a continuous motion,” Pizzuti said.
Art representing the region extends outside to the plaza, where conventioneers will see Host Analog, a piece featuring sections of a large Douglas fir, Oregon’s state tree.
“It’s like a broken Greek column, ‘hosting’ new young trees and shrubs destined to become a small forest,” Pizzuti said.
The convention center works with a volunteer team to offer pre-arranged guided art tours for groups.
Another note of interest for planners is the current construction of the adjacent 600-room Hyatt Regency at the Oregon Convention Center, which is expected to open by late-2019.
Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia
www.vancouverconventioncentre.com
Nearly the entire collection of artwork at the LEED Platinum-certified Vancouver Convention Centre was created by local artists, including B.C. playwright and novelist John MacLachlan Gray, who wrote the 65 interpretive story panels installed within the West building to showcase the province’s history.
“We often see attendees stopping to look at the artwork or to read an interpretive story panel,” said Jinny Wu, the venue’s communications manager. “We like to think that the art will inspire other ideas and allow delegates to return home knowing a little something they didn’t know about our city or province.”
Conversation-starters here include Digital Orca, a sculpture of a whale made from hundreds of cubes and situated on the terrace overlooking the ocean.
Located in the concourse connecting the East and West buildings is Human Spirit, a series of carved cedar panels that reflects the Salish tradition of welcoming visitors.
“As our facility rests upon traditional Coast Salish territory, a selection of the artwork was created by B.C. Coast Salish artists and pays tribute to the history of the site,” Wu said.
One of the most dramatic spaces here is the foyer outside the signature ballroom, where the ceiling reaches 55 feet and three stunning round sculptures called Floats appear to be suspended in midair.
“They are made from the branches of pine beetle-infected forests near Merritt, in B.C.’s interior,” Wu said. “This piece really enhances what is already a beautiful space with an ocean and mountain backdrop.”
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, San Antonio
www.sahbgcc.com
Among the works of the many local artists who’ve contributed to Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center’s art collection, meeting delegates will find a variety of cultural expressions that reflect the authentic culture of San Antonio.
“The art collection, which brings the voice of San Antonio to the world stage, engages visitors visually and sparks conversations that bring people together,” said Patricia Muzquiz Cantor, interim director for City of San Antonio Convention & Sports Facilities.
Among the pieces that will have attendees talking is a Carlos Merida mural created for the 1968 World’s Fair that today greets visitors at the convention center’s new West Entry.
Another is one of the newest installations, Liquid Crystal, a 30-foot tower of LCD panels connected to motion sensors that allows it to reflect the activity in the new main lobby.
“While not technically a work of art, the new Stars at Night Ballroom is one-of-a-kind,” Muzquiz Cantor added.
She said at 54,000 square feet it’s the largest ballroom in Texas, and features 1,642 programmable LED lights that twinkle on the ceiling just like the Texas sky.
Cobo Center, Detroit
www.cobocenter.com
The art on-site at the Cobo Center, created by a diverse group of regional artists, offers insight into Detroit and Michigan state.
“We believe art makes Cobo Center special,” said Maureen Devine, the venue’s art curator. “The informational labels with many of the artworks will encourage visitors to go out and explore the city.”
For example, the label with the grouping of works by Tyree Guyton, including the car hood painting Detroit Now, may encourage attendees to visit Guyton’s famous Heidelberg Project displayed throughout an entire Detroit neighborhood.
Those intrigued by Robert Sestok’s Rock and Roll wall sculpture may like to visit a popular sculpture park in Midtown that features more of Sestok’s work.
“This collection, which is on view for all to see and is free to the public, will continue to expand,” Devine said.
For example, work on a large-scale fresco painting by Detroit-based artist Hubert Massey, inspired by Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry Murals at the Detroit Institute of Arts, will be located at the riverside entrance to the grand ballroom when it’s completed later this spring.
Among the other noteworthy pieces here are the Spirit of Transportation sculpture, the first work displayed at Cobo Center, and nine paintings in the level-two meeting room hallway by the late beloved Detroit artist Gilda Snowden.
David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Pittsburgh
www.pittsburghcc.com
The $2 million art collection at the LEED Gold- and Platinum-certified David L. Lawrence Convention Center, which was assembled in order to complement the design of the building, mainly showcases works of local and regional artists.
Several artworks in various mediums tell the story of Pittsburgh, including Pittsburgh Magnolias and Pittsburgh, an Industrial Garden.
The public art on display here is meant to reflect the city’s downtown development in recent years, and convention-goers are encouraged to make time to take a closer look via a self-guided tour.
Planners should consider including the floor-by-floor art guide, which can be downloaded from the convention center’s website, with other pertinent convention info distributed to attendees before the event.
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C.
www.dcconvention.com/venues/conventioncenter.aspx
The Walter E. Washington Convention Center, with more than 130 works of art worth $4 million, boasts the largest public art collection of any convention center in the country.
According to Jamilia Walker, communications and marketing specialist for Events DC, the artists exhibited here are from around the globe, including more than half from the Washington, D.C., community.
Artworks from sculpture and paintings to graphics and mixed media can be found throughout the building, including the grand lobby, the corridors of meeting rooms and even up and down various escalators and staircases.
Art at the Center, a free curator-led public art tour, is the best-kept secret in the nation’s capital, according to Walker. Attendees may also enjoy a self-guided tour.
Popular pieces here include Shaw Wall, which celebrates the historic Shaw community, one of D.C.’s oldest African American neighborhoods and home to the convention center, and Capital Stars, which combines history, geography and politics.
Click over to page two for profiles of facilities in Overland Park, Chicago and Philadelphia.
PageBreakOverland Park Convention Center, Overland Park, Kansas
opconventioncenter.com
The art on display at the Overland Park Convention Center, including 76 pieces from artists all over the Midwest, was collected over a two-year period during which hundreds of works were reviewed based on their ability to welcome and inform out-of-towners.
“The collection purposely provides an immersive cultural experience, offering guests to the convention center a sense of self within the community and the opportunity to learn more about the area without having to go far,” said Britaney Wehrmeister, the venue’s marketing manager.
During a self-guided tour, available via any smartphone or tablet, attendees will see pieces including Kansas Journeys: Both the Practical, and the Impractical, a 12-foot-tall stainless steel sculpture depicting everything from crop dusters to highway travel.
“With outside groups experiencing the art exclusively through tours and clients incorporating teambuilding exercises into their events, the collection has added its own unique selling point to the venue,” Wehrmeister said.
She added the focal point of the convention center, its icon tower, is a community icon that’s consistently used in an artistic way to support in-house events or community successes by changing its color.
“For example, to support one of our clients, the tower is turned pink for breast cancer awareness month,” she said. “The tower is also unique in that its interior is filled with a beautiful, blown glass sculpture titled Growth, adding a dual effect for guests whether they are inside or outside of the building.”
McCormick Place, Chicago
mccormickplace.com
By design, the public art at McCormick Place is noticeable but also camouflaged into the overall aesthetic of the building, which according to General Manager David Causton, allows the venue to serve its primary intended purpose as a flexible event venue.
“The art collection was designed to enhance the overall architecture of the facility and make the experience a bit more welcoming and inspiring to visitors from around the world,” he said.
The works housed here are by Chicago and Illinois artists as well as renowned names including Magdalena Abakanowicz and Kerry James Marshall.
“Probably one of the most striking and noticeable pieces is dangling in the McCormick Place South Building, a large blown glass on a steel armature interpretation by artist Dale Chihuly,” Causton said.
Planners are encouraged to advise attendees that the art collection here is mapped out in a new app titled MARTY by McCormick Square.
During a self-guided tour attendees will see various works, including a unique piece that features dangling Chicago souvenirs that’s located in a prefunction space in McCormick Place West.
“It’s quite a fun and unique experience that adds to the atmosphere as visitors walk down the corridor to reveal this piece,” Causton said.
Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia
www.paconvention.com
The Pennsylvania Convention Center recently added to its original $2 million art collection when it unveiled a $1.5 million investment in works created by Pennsylvania artists that were selected through a highly selective juried competition.
“This collection, which debuted earlier this year as part of our building’s 25th Anniversary Celebration, offers conventioneers a refreshing break between their meeting sessions,” said John J. McNichol, the venue’s president and CEO. “I believe this newly installed artwork brings added dimension, life and color to the newest wing of our facility.”
Because every attendee has a personal schedule when meeting here, some hectic and some relaxed, the convention center offers self-guided tours during which attendees can learn about the artworks via descriptive plaques including artist info and year created.
“These plaques allow for a more personal interaction by our guests on their own schedules,” McNichol said.
Philadelphia-specific pieces in the collection include Schuylkill Reflections #2, a collage, and Coming Home, a 350-square-foot textile installation based on descriptions by Philadelphia residents of their childhood homes.
