Graham-Harrison writes: "Nestled against the controversial barrier wall
separating Israel from the Palestinian territories, the West Bank's answer
to the Waldorf offers travellers something more elusive than any luxury
destination."
Banksy's Walled Off hotel in Bethlehem. (photo: Quique Kierszenbaum/Guardian
UK)
'Worst View in the World': Banksy Opens Hotel Overlooking Bethlehem Wall
By Emma Graham-Harrison, Guardian UK
03 March 17
British artist launches Walled Off hotel in hope of bringing Israeli
tourists - and dialogue - to West Bank city
The Walled Off hotel may sound utilitarian, even bleak. Its owner says it
has "the worst view of any hotel in the world", while its 10 rooms get just
25 minutes of direct sunlight a day.
But, nestled against the controversial barrier wall separating Israel from
the Palestinian territories, the West Bank's answer to the Waldorf offers
travellers something more elusive than any luxury destination.
The lodging in Bethlehem is a hotel, museum, protest and gallery all in one,
packed with the artworks and angry brilliance of its owner, British street
artist Banksy.
From the disconcertingly lavish presidential suite where water splashes from
a bullet-strafed watertank into the hot tub, to the bunk-beds in the budget
room scavenged from an abandoned army barracks, the hotel is playful and
strongly political.
All the rooms look out on to the concrete slabs of the wall and some have
views over it to pill boxes and an Israeli settlement - illegal under
international law - on the hillside beyond.
"Walls are hot right now, but I was into them long before [Donald] Trump
made it cool," said Banksy in a statement. The artist, who fiercely guards
his anonymity, first came to Bethlehem more than a decade ago, leaving a
series of paintings on the barrier that have become a tourist destination in
their own right.
Since then, the town's pilgrim and sightseeing-based economy has been
ravaged by ever-tighter Israeli controls on travel between Israel and the
Palestinian territories, so the new hotel is expected to provide a welcome
boost in jobs and visitor numbers.
Banksy's reputation is likely to keep all rooms fully booked, but he wants
guests to leave with more than just a selfie. "(It's) a three-storey cure
for fanaticism, with limited car parking," he added in the statement.
The hotel opens to guests on 20 March, with bookings via the website. The
team hope Israelis, who rarely see the barrier wall up close or visit
Palestinian towns, will be among the guests, even though visiting means
breaking the law.
"I would like to invite everyone to come here, invite Israeli civilians to
come visit us here," said manager Wisam Salsaa. "We want them to learn more
about us, because when they know us it will break down the stereotypes and
things will change."
Israelis are banned from visiting Bethlehem and its famous sites. And
although Banksy has chosen a site officially under Israeli military control
- meaning it is legal for Israelis to stay there - all the roads to reach it
involve an illegal journey through Palestinian-controlled territory.
The hotel, a former pottery workshop, has a dystopian colonial theme, a nod
to Britain's role in the region's history, the reception and tea-room a
disconcerting take on a gentlemen's club where a self-playing piano provides
an eerie soundtrack.
The fire flickering in the grate glows under a pile of concrete rubble, like
a blaze at a bomb site, a classical bust in a niche is wreathed in clouds of
gas snaking out of a tear gas canister and, in traditional seascapes, the
beaches are littered with life-jackets discarded by refugees.
"It's exactly 100 years since Britain took control of Palestine and started
rearranging the furniture - with chaotic results," Banksy said. "I don't
know why, but it felt like a good time to reflect on what happens when the
United Kingdom makes a huge political decision without fully comprehending
the consequences."
Upstairs, original Banksy artworks decorate several of the rooms. In one, an
Israeli soldier and a Palestinian protester thump each other with pillows,
the feathers fluttering down towards the real pillows of the bed below.
In another, a pack of cheetahs crouch over a zebra-print sofa, where padded
entrails snake out of a cushion. The bookshelves are packed with carefully
chosen titles - A Room With a View at the end of one, Cage Me a Peacock on
another stack.
The elevator is walled off, too, the doors jammed half open to show concrete
breeze blocks, hung with an "out of service" sign.
A small museum explains the wall, the controls on movement and the troubled
history of the region, curated together with Essex University professor
Gavin Grindon. "If you are not completely baffled, then you don't
understand," the presenter of a video history signs off.
Also in the building, part of a plan to promote dialogue, is a gallery
showing the work of Palestinian artists. It is the first in Bethlehem, says
curator Housni Alkateeb Shehada, and a way for artists, who often find it
hard to travel, to reach a wider audience.
He wanted to project art on to the barrier wall which lies just five meters
away, but decided in the end that it would be too risky, a reminder of the
conflict and restrictions that looms over all the people living in
Bethlehem. "We are very afraid," said Shehada. "We don't know what is going
on there with the soldiers and it is forbidden."
Banksy dismissed worries that security concerns would keep people away,
pointing out that he had packed out a "bemusement park" in an unglamorous
English seaside town for weeks.
"My accountant was worried some people will be too scared to travel to the
West Bank, but then I remind him - for my last show they spent a whole day
in Weston-super-Mare."
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Banksy's Walled Off hotel in Bethlehem. (photo: Quique Kierszenbaum/Guardian
UK)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/03/banksy-opens-bethlehem-barrier
-wall-hotelhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/03/banksy-opens-bethle
hem-barrier-wall-hotel
'Worst View in the World': Banksy Opens Hotel Overlooking Bethlehem Wall
By Emma Graham-Harrison, Guardian UK
03 March 17
British artist launches Walled Off hotel in hope of bringing Israeli
tourists - and dialogue - to West Bank city
he Walled Off hotel may sound utilitarian, even bleak. Its owner says it
has "the worst view of any hotel in the world", while its 10 rooms get just
25 minutes of direct sunlight a day.
But, nestled against the controversial barrier wall separating Israel from
the Palestinian territories, the West Bank's answer to the Waldorf offers
travellers something more elusive than any luxury destination.
The lodging in Bethlehem is a hotel, museum, protest and gallery all in one,
packed with the artworks and angry brilliance of its owner, British street
artist Banksy.
From the disconcertingly lavish presidential suite where water splashes from
a bullet-strafed watertank into the hot tub, to the bunk-beds in the budget
room scavenged from an abandoned army barracks, the hotel is playful and
strongly political.
All the rooms look out on to the concrete slabs of the wall and some have
views over it to pill boxes and an Israeli settlement - illegal under
international law - on the hillside beyond.
"Walls are hot right now, but I was into them long before [Donald] Trump
made it cool," said Banksy in a statement. The artist, who fiercely guards
his anonymity, first came to Bethlehem more than a decade ago, leaving a
series of paintings on the barrier that have become a tourist destination in
their own right.
Since then, the town's pilgrim and sightseeing-based economy has been
ravaged by ever-tighter Israeli controls on travel between Israel and the
Palestinian territories, so the new hotel is expected to provide a welcome
boost in jobs and visitor numbers.
Banksy's reputation is likely to keep all rooms fully booked, but he wants
guests to leave with more than just a selfie. "(It's) a three-storey cure
for fanaticism, with limited car parking," he added in the statement.
The hotel opens to guests on 20 March, with bookings via the website. The
team hope Israelis, who rarely see the barrier wall up close or visit
Palestinian towns, will be among the guests, even though visiting means
breaking the law.
"I would like to invite everyone to come here, invite Israeli civilians to
come visit us here," said manager Wisam Salsaa. "We want them to learn more
about us, because when they know us it will break down the stereotypes and
things will change."
Israelis are banned from visiting Bethlehem and its famous sites. And
although Banksy has chosen a site officially under Israeli military control
- meaning it is legal for Israelis to stay there - all the roads to reach it
involve an illegal journey through Palestinian-controlled territory.
The hotel, a former pottery workshop, has a dystopian colonial theme, a nod
to Britain's role in the region's history, the reception and tea-room a
disconcerting take on a gentlemen's club where a self-playing piano provides
an eerie soundtrack.
The fire flickering in the grate glows under a pile of concrete rubble, like
a blaze at a bomb site, a classical bust in a niche is wreathed in clouds of
gas snaking out of a tear gas canister and, in traditional seascapes, the
beaches are littered with life-jackets discarded by refugees.
"It's exactly 100 years since Britain took control of Palestine and started
rearranging the furniture - with chaotic results," Banksy said. "I don't
know why, but it felt like a good time to reflect on what happens when the
United Kingdom makes a huge political decision without fully comprehending
the consequences."
Upstairs, original Banksy artworks decorate several of the rooms. In one, an
Israeli soldier and a Palestinian protester thump each other with pillows,
the feathers fluttering down towards the real pillows of the bed below.
In another, a pack of cheetahs crouch over a zebra-print sofa, where padded
entrails snake out of a cushion. The bookshelves are packed with carefully
chosen titles - A Room With a View at the end of one, Cage Me a Peacock on
another stack.
The elevator is walled off, too, the doors jammed half open to show concrete
breeze blocks, hung with an "out of service" sign.
A small museum explains the wall, the controls on movement and the troubled
history of the region, curated together with Essex University professor
Gavin Grindon. "If you are not completely baffled, then you don't
understand," the presenter of a video history signs off.
Also in the building, part of a plan to promote dialogue, is a gallery
showing the work of Palestinian artists. It is the first in Bethlehem, says
curator Housni Alkateeb Shehada, and a way for artists, who often find it
hard to travel, to reach a wider audience.
He wanted to project art on to the barrier wall which lies just five meters
away, but decided in the end that it would be too risky, a reminder of the
conflict and restrictions that looms over all the people living in
Bethlehem. "We are very afraid," said Shehada. "We don't know what is going
on there with the soldiers and it is forbidden."
Banksy dismissed worries that security concerns would keep people away,
pointing out that he had packed out a "bemusement park" in an unglamorous
English seaside town for weeks.
"My accountant was worried some people will be too scared to travel to the
West Bank, but then I remind him - for my last show they spent a whole day
in Weston-super-Mare."
http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize
http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize
