The Walled Off Hotel

March 3, 2017 9:20 PM

Banksy has opened a hotel in Bethlehem...
posted by dfm500 (53 comments total)

I am guessing "Walled Off" is word play on "Waldorf".
posted by vivekspace at 9:28 PM on March 3, 2017 [10 favorites]

Well, and the barriers inherent in the location...
posted by Samizdata at 9:41 PM on March 3, 2017 [1 favorite]

This seems like... not amazing art, and even less of a political statement? Between "Israeli soldier pillow fighting with the masked Palestinian above one of the beds", the water tank with bullet holes, and then to undercut what's there with intentional mealy-mouthedness about the message...

Referring to British rule of Palestine as "re-arranging the furniture" doesn't seem great, and neither does the fact that, apparently, this is supposed to prompt us to think about Brexit.
posted by sagc at 10:18 PM on March 3, 2017 [5 favorites]

I really like the trophies though.
posted by The otter lady at 10:39 PM on March 3, 2017 [9 favorites]

this somehow feels entirely consonant with the Israeli hotels I've stayed at in Jerusalem - the most recent of which had particularly un-home-like and symbolically laden art while I was there.
posted by wotsac at 11:04 PM on March 3, 2017 [1 favorite]

You ask for coffee, something that'll 'really wake you up' and you just get a coffee cup that says THE GOVERNMENT IS BAD with two sugars in it.

(don't favourite this, this isn't my joke)
posted by Merus at 11:13 PM on March 3, 2017 [11 favorites]

And the great thing is he'll soon be able to duplicate the experience in a whole chain in the U.S. Southwest.
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:10 AM on March 4, 2017 [2 favorites]

Oddly enough, the one time I stayed in the actual Waldorf Hotel my room was about ten feet square and had a view of an airshaft, with the opposing wall almost near enough to touch.

No cool murals, but the lobby was really nice.
posted by Joe in Australia at 2:59 AM on March 4, 2017 [4 favorites]

Luxury mixed with art. Comfort dressed in conflict

Exit through the rift shop
posted by chavenet at 3:08 AM on March 4, 2017 [19 favorites]

So is he turning over all profits to rebuilding efforts in Gaza and or to Israeli peace activists or something? Or running it as a collective? I mean, it seems really weird to me to think that basically this is a way for a rich artist to make money off of a truly horrible conflict. Who will stay here? Where will their money go? What is he doing to make sure that this hotel is a "meeting place"?

The trouble with protest art, up to a point, is that making people "aware" doesn't necessarily make anything happen. You can be "aware" that society is bad, extra double woke, etc, and not do a thing.
posted by Frowner at 3:58 AM on March 4, 2017 [18 favorites]

I think that Frowner is right, but I also think that there's something quite interesting about the idea that walls are, to a graffiti artist, an opportunity. That attempts to confine through architecture are futile, because art and culture grow like weeds in cracks. There's something there, I think, but I haven't thought about it enough yet to have a view as to whether it's actually enough to make this more interesting that annoying.
posted by howfar at 4:16 AM on March 4, 2017 [1 favorite]

So, won't this provide a document-trail, allowing discovery of who Banksy really is?
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 4:20 AM on March 4, 2017 [1 favorite]

Who will stay here?

Given that the website is entirely in English with no option to change to Hebrew or Arabic and the (assumed) expense of setting it up and keeping it running, I'm guessing the answer here isn't the local population. Note the fact that the bar serves tea and scones on bone china.

I like the idea of providing people with a safe space to create art and build community, but that part feels almost like a side-note compared to pushing the Banksy brand. I don't imagine this place will be accessible to the truly disadvantaged, who need a voice more than anyone.
posted by fight or flight at 4:22 AM on March 4, 2017 [1 favorite]

"Walls are hot right now, but I was into them long before Trump made it cool,"

- Lord Philibon Marksworth Hollingswod III Esq. Order of the Crown (aka Banksy)
posted by sammyo at 4:24 AM on March 4, 2017 [2 favorites]

Just as a piece of pedantry, "esquire" signifies that a man has no other title. It's the equivalent of putting "Mr" in front of the name. A vague courtesy to those of us born into the downtrodden mass of commoners. So a lord would never be "Esq.".

Well there you go.
posted by howfar at 4:33 AM on March 4, 2017 [23 favorites]

I expected better than this. Maybe Banksy ought to head off and severally study international relations, then come up with something interesting and provocative.
posted by iffthen at 6:02 AM on March 4, 2017 [2 favorites]

Just as a piece of pedantry, "esquire" signifies that a man has no other title. It's the equivalent of putting "Mr" in front of the name. A vague courtesy to those of us born into the downtrodden mass of commoners. So a lord would never be "Esq."

Very true - though at one point (c1660), Esquire was a way to note a richer, more important gentleman, with Mr. used for the lesser.

Though, given that his Lord title proceeds a first name, he clearly doesn't have the title in his own right but as a courtesy title because his father is a Marquis or higher.

/hey mom, that degree is paying off after all!
posted by jb at 6:07 AM on March 4, 2017 [7 favorites]

Strictly, Esq. means you're a gentleman with no title. If you're not a gent, but you're not just plain old Mr I believe you could use 'Yeo.' instead to signify that you were a yeoman.
posted by Segundus at 6:33 AM on March 4, 2017 [6 favorites]

Well, this esqalated quickly.
posted by Etrigan at 6:40 AM on March 4, 2017 [33 favorites]

For those who are questioning whether this benefits Palestinians or is just a "stunt":

From artnet.com

"The hotel will employ 45 people [and] highlight Palestinian artists

Bethlehem relies economically on tourism and pilgrimages, which has been hampered by the restrictions. However, Banksy and others behind the project hope that the hotel—which is situated outside the restricted part of the city—will create jobs and attract people to the area.

The hope is that by showing Palestinian artists, the Walled Off Hotel will give them the rare opportunity to exhibit, sell work, and travel."

IMO, another brilliant move by Banksy.
posted by crazy_yeti at 7:18 AM on March 4, 2017 [8 favorites]

Mr. Hamilton: Would you make me a Walled Off Salad?
Basil Fawlty: I beg your pardon?
posted by cichlid ceilidh at 7:29 AM on March 4, 2017 [3 favorites]

He's done a really fantastic job of exploring the liminal space between political activism, commercialism, and directly exploiting the people you claim to be protecting, ultimately becoming a part of the problem itself.

This guy.
posted by schmod at 7:40 AM on March 4, 2017 [2 favorites]

And where will the profit go? Will this be run as a non-profit? Can Palestinians build ownership? I mean, it's certainly good that it will employ them, and it's good that Palestinian artists will get a chance to exhibit, but it still boils down to " I am a rich person, aren't I great for bringing a business to your area? Isn't it moral that I create jobs?" I feel like an awful lot of radicalism gets imputed to an investment opportunity when the right name is on it.
posted by Frowner at 7:40 AM on March 4, 2017 [1 favorite]

Where is the evidence that Banksy is "directly exploiting" anyone?
posted by crazy_yeti at 7:43 AM on March 4, 2017 [1 favorite]

i dunno, lived in israel for awhile and i doubt they really give two shits one way or another about this hotel. for me, i feel its just in bad taste. love street art, it goes to the heart of things, like JR's face to face project was really sweet.
but thinking about the peeps that will stay at the hotel, heading out to take selfies in front of the wall just reminds me of tourists going to north korea just itching to come home to show off the photos they snuck. it just feels like another kind of voyerism or something, like i cant think of the exact word im looking for.
posted by speakeasy at 8:28 AM on March 4, 2017 [5 favorites]

Thank god is not me-ism, the cousin to Fuck you I got mine-ism ?
posted by lmfsilva at 8:32 AM on March 4, 2017

Where is the evidence that Banksy is "directly exploiting" anyone?

Where's the evidence they aren't? If employees were sharing in the profits, or the profits were going directly to the local community, you'd think they'd make a big deal about that.
posted by Mike Smith at 8:49 AM on March 4, 2017 [1 favorite]

Bless his heart.

I found Banksy's notebook
posted by escape from the potato planet at 9:44 AM on March 4, 2017

Oops; I borked the link:

I found Banksy's notebook
posted by escape from the potato planet at 9:51 AM on March 4, 2017 [2 favorites]

I understand the intent behind the criticism of this endeavour. I really do.
But I do believe that we risk "eating one of our own" if we can't focus on the fact that this is a net positive.

I agree that we can't be complacent. I agree that social justice is damn hard. That it's harder to fight for the rights of everyone than one's own interests.

It's like a kid comes home with a test score of 80% and we're the parent complaining that she or he didn't get 100.

Let's focus on the 80%.
And if we really want 100%, let's not say "why didn't you get 100%?", but rather "hey this is awesome, let's see how we can get 100% next time around!"
posted by bitteroldman at 9:58 AM on March 4, 2017 [5 favorites]

I was a little peeved when I first heard about this but then I started thinking about watching kids tag the Berlin wall in the early eighties and later that night having a burning piece of hash on a pin stuck through a piece of cardboard shoved in my face as we sat around a fire on the Platz and they bitched about Apartheid and decided I was having a get-off-my-lawn moment.

"Since 2008, we didn't have many tourists coming into Bethlehem, but there were more Banksy tourists coming than any other type of tourists," Salsah told Al Jazeera.

"Actually, there were more Banksy tourists coming to Bethlehem than Nativity Church tourists. We say more Banksy tourists than Jesus tourists."

Plus the hotel took 14 months to build and that had to involve some job creation.

Maybe making the wall the major tourist attraction in Bethlehem will help bring it down.

I'd next like to see a concert space with the wall as a backdrop. It's too late to get Bowie out to sing Heroes but Springsteen would prolly come.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 10:05 AM on March 4, 2017 [3 favorites]

Good for him! It seems like every holiday season I hear some story about how Bethlehem's hotels are overwhelmed and travelers are stuck for options.
posted by ckape at 11:20 AM on March 4, 2017 [11 favorites]

Is there a pool of regret for the kids?
posted by blue_beetle at 11:53 AM on March 4, 2017

I'd next like to see a concert space with the wall as a backdrop. It's too late to get Bowie out to sing Heroes but Springsteen would prolly come.

Just nobody mention this idea to Roger Waters, mmmkay? I love the man dearly but sometimes...
posted by Trinity-Gehenna at 2:17 PM on March 4, 2017 [1 favorite]

I agree that we can't be complacent. I agree that social justice is damn hard. That it's harder to fight for the rights of everyone than one's own interests.

What are you actually asking for here? Because if the idea is that it's very important, for social justice reasons, that we all pretend that Banksy isn't a hack, I'm not buying.
posted by strangely stunted trees at 2:50 PM on March 4, 2017 [2 favorites]

Let's focus on the 80%.

But can we assume that Banksy is actually aiming at the 80%, rather than just making a lot of edgy yet equivocal noise around controversial things because that's his brand?
posted by acb at 3:17 PM on March 4, 2017 [2 favorites]

Banksy knows that western liberals would prefer to discuss whether or not Banksy is a hack, because that's so much more important and relevant than another ~boring~ conversation about the occupation itself. Maybe that's the artistic statement right there.
posted by moorooka at 4:03 PM on March 4, 2017 [1 favorite]

I'm really struggling to find any point to this besides edginess. If there's a Palestinian state besides a Jewish state, there has to be a border. And where the border runs between two densely–populated areas, there's going to be a wall. So you could make a coherent argument for not having separate states, or for having the border run somewhere else, but you can't support Palestinian and Jewish self–determination without supporting a wall.

Maybe the statement is that people will find a way to make money off anything.
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:39 PM on March 4, 2017

And if we really want 100%, let's not say "why didn't you get 100%?", but rather "hey this is awesome, let's see how we can get 100% next time around!"

I really want to support art that comments on social and political issues and opens discussions and I'd have to walk through the whole thing to see if he's hitting that 80%, but the pillowfight between soldiers?...ugh
posted by GospelofWesleyWillis at 6:20 PM on March 4, 2017

I'd also like to say that Banksy follows a tradition of conceptual art that can come off as trite because it takes complex issues and distills it to one image or concept, which is by nature simplistic. Because there are multiple rooms and multiple artists, perhaps some of it works and some of it doesn't, I can't say from a few photographs. I want to like it but initially I rolled my eyes and cringed. That's not a good introductory response to a political piece; I don't know if it's Banksy's fault or mine.

I've said this before here so I won't reiterate my shpiel, but when I was in art school in the 80s and political art was pretty much mandatory, there was a lot of art like this. I think it's very hard to do, so I can't decide if Banksy is a hack or if he's just in a doomed genre.
posted by GospelofWesleyWillis at 6:27 PM on March 4, 2017 [1 favorite]

If I may confess, one of my first thoughts when I saw this was the Madonna Inn, the "wacky" resort hotel near the California coast (and near my home) that brags that every room is differently decorated and theme-based (some better than others, check out the Caveman or one of several others with rough stone walls). So this feels to me like the Political Madonna Inn.
posted by oneswellfoop at 7:19 PM on March 4, 2017

What are you actually asking for here? Because if the idea is that it's very important, for social justice reasons, that we all pretend that Banksy isn't a hack, I'm not buying.

So Banksy's social activism <> your brand of activism, therefore he is a hack?

...

But can we assume that Banksy is actually aiming at the 80%, rather than just making a lot of edgy yet equivocal noise around controversial things because that's his brand?

80% was just a random number - whether it's 80 or 90 or 50, it doesn't matter - it's clear that he is sympathetic to the struggle of every-day Palestinians. Let's not eat him alive just because he doesn't hit the mark all the time

...

I really want to support art that comments on social and political issues and opens discussions and I'd have to walk through the whole thing to see if he's hitting that 80%, but the pillowfight between soldiers?...ugh

personally, i didn't have that reaction to the pillowfight, but art is supposed to be subjective, and it is making us talk, so that's a good thing, right?
posted by bitteroldman at 9:50 PM on March 4, 2017 [1 favorite]

The hotel is in Palestine, in the West Bank.

I feel like everyone is missing this, and the importance and influence of having a major tourist attraction in the West Bank. Elsewhere this would have been schlocky and questionable, but I applaud this wholeheartedly.

If you want to Bethlehem, it's not like you'll just hop on a plane and fly into a Palestinian airport (non such exists). It's not like you just fly into Tel Aviv and then take an Israeli bus, either.

You have to go from Tel Aviv and head into Jerusalem, pass through an IDF checkpoint, take a bus to Bethlehem. Unless you have a car with a certain kind of license plate. Or unless you take a certain bus. Etc, etc.

Oh, and it's illegal for Israelis to enter the West Bank, unless you have a special exception. Consider that this may be one of the few attractions that might also make young Israelis want to visit the West Bank.

I'm not quite being so articulate, but having been to the West Bank (including Bethlehem), having waited for hours in an IDF checkpoint (as an east-Asian-looking foreigner!) trying to get in and out of the West Bank, I can only say that I wish there were more 'tourist attractions' ultimately trying to highlight the political situation. If this is protest art, at least it's art that makes people want to go there. And I feel somewhat confident that any tourist's experience trying to go to Bethlehem will itself be eye-opening -- not in an exploitative 'slum tourism' kind of way (most Palestinian cities seemed to be healthy and bustling in their own right), but rather in an eye-opening 'oh wow, this is what subjugation and power looks like' kind of way.
posted by suedehead at 12:56 AM on March 5, 2017 [14 favorites]

I feel like everyone is missing this, and the importance and influence of having a major tourist attraction in the West Bank

It's a hotel. With ten rooms.

But, the West Bank has the Church of the Nativity, the Tomb of the Patriarchs, Jericho, and lots of other religious and archeological sites. I can't find current figures, but the older ones I saw had around five million visitors to the West Bank per year, half of them from overseas. I'm sure that the hotel will attract some more, but I can't imagine that it would change things by more than a percent or so.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:30 AM on March 5, 2017 [1 favorite]

I'm sure that the hotel will attract some more, but I can't imagine that it would change things by more than a percent or so.

Could be. It's no doubt that there's a lot of attractions/sites in the West Bank that are of historical/religious/archeological significance.

However, those sites can be and often are depoliticized because of their historical nature: "no matter how you feel about the Israel/Palestine conflict, the Church of the Nativity is really worthwhile going to". Or: "Can't we stop fighting and all agree that this archeological site is important?" Tour buses may shuttle you there, often so that a visitor's awareness of the political overlays of the land they're stepping on is minimized.

Banksy's hotel is a destination about the conflict, hopefully, and thus about contemporary Palestine. (Another example is Taybeh Beer Brewery, which is an interesting place to visit, if you can call a brewery political.)

Am I in love with his art? No, not really. Do I think it can often be heavy-handed 'political' one-liners that are, admittedly, sometimes pretty funny? Sure. Do I think this project is squeaky-clean and think that it's completely fine to use a (seemingly) for-profit motive to generate social good? Of course not. BUT: Do I think it's a helpful step? Yes. Am I appreciative of the fact that this is a destination about Palestine, not despite Palestine? Yes.

I hope that the hubbub around the hotel helps generates a lot of bars/cafes/community centers in the vicinity with playful/creative energy. I hope the scores of young Palestinian activists and artists will take pride in creating communities or activist work with the media attention focused on the vicinity. I hope that young Israeli artists/protesters/activists/Banksy fans alike will want to go there and figure out a way to sneak beyond the checkpoint as a point of pride, for framing Bethlehem and the West Bank as a interesting place to visit. I hope that it'll be a source of economic energy that's about Palestine itself, etc. Any small amount of help matters.
posted by suedehead at 2:59 PM on March 5, 2017 [3 favorites]

Holy crap that link to Banksy's Sirens of the Lambs was hilarious! Not sure that Banksy is so great at getting a message across...it's like, um, slaughterhouses are hilarious?
posted by GospelofWesleyWillis at 3:36 PM on March 6, 2017

Elsewhere this would have been schlocky and questionable,

Context is everything; you've got a point
posted by GospelofWesleyWillis at 3:51 PM on March 6, 2017

I had lunch with a guy who was visiting London from Palestine yesterday and he was really happy about the hotel opening. The idea that it would be criticised so much would have shocked him. Palestine needs tourists, and also needs links to the outside world as they're so isolated. And how can a platform for Palestinian artists be a bad thing?
posted by stevedawg at 1:06 AM on March 7, 2017 [1 favorite]

I haven't seen much criticism of it. I'm surprised your friend thinks it's going to be a platform for Palestinian artists, though: it's a hotel. Promoting Banksy. It will attract people who want to stay the night in a deliciously edgy environment and visit a gift shop where I presume they can buy books about Banksy or reproductions of works or whatever. Apparently there's a gallery with Palestinian works of art, but it "enjoys complete autonomy from the rest of the hotel" and it has a separate manager.

I'd be more impressed if it were bolder, if it took some position instead of saying "The one thing beyond dispute is that everything here is under dispute".

Does Banksy want a single-state solution? If not, what sort of border does he envisage? The hotel is located in Area C, which is mostly under Israeli control. Is that solely to make it easier for Israeli tourists, or is it because it would be dangerous and/or impractical to locate it in Areas A or B, or in Gaza? Has Banksy got anything to say about the Palestinian government in Ramallah, or in Gaza? Why did Banksy invite a Canadian artist to do one of the rooms, rather than an Israeli or Palestinian one? Why is the museum "curated in association with Dr Gavin Grindon from Essex University" rather than anyone indigenous?

And finally, given that the hotel explicitly commemorates "one hundred years since Britain took control of Palestine and started re-arranging the furniture", isn't there a certain irony in a (reportedly) British artist taking control of a building there, inviting foreign visitors in, and using it to showcase his artistic and political opinions?
posted by Joe in Australia at 8:54 PM on March 7, 2017 [2 favorites]

Nine Inch Nails and Massive Attack to soundtrack Banksy hotel
posted by Mr. Yuck at 2:07 PM on March 8, 2017

Ma'an News: Banksy hotel opens in Bethlehem, eliciting heated reactions by Palestinians
posted by Joe in Australia at 12:58 AM on March 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

Melbourne's The Age: Banksy's Walled Off Hotel: Palestinians under occupation reduced to a spectacle
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:09 PM on March 16, 2017

Mmmaybe: Footage has emerged of 'Banksy' working at an exhibition in Israel; the man in the video is seen hiding away from the camera once he realised he was being filmed.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:31 PM on April 2, 2017