BEYOND THE SHIFTS: HIDDEN SOCIETY × INDRA GALLERY
BEYOND THE SHIFTS: HIDDEN SOCIETY × INDRA GALLERY
There is creativity everywhere in hospitality.
Behind bars, across restaurant floors and inside kitchens are photographers, painters, poets, designers and makers. People whose shifts are only one part of their story.
This August, Hidden Society and Indra Gallery came together to give some of those stories a space to be seen.
When hospitality meets art
Beyond the Shifts began with a simple idea: to look beyond the roles people occupy within hospitality and celebrate the creative lives that exist alongside them.
The collaboration brought together an exhibition of work by artists connected to the industry, alongside an evening of conversation, drinks and music at Indra Gallery in London.
The exhibition featured Joshua Linfitt, Emily Peers, Bryan Romero, Valentina Cocoj and Lois Battraisey, each bringing their own perspective and practice to the room.
Alongside the exhibition, Beyond the Shifts: A Creative Conversation brought together Charlie Davidson, Jessica Hellicar, Lateef Okunnu and Marika Grassano Infante to talk about creativity, hospitality and what can happen when the two worlds are given space to meet.
Beyond the job title
Hospitality is built by people with stories that rarely fit neatly onto a name badge.
For some, creativity exists alongside their work in the industry. For others, hospitality has been part of the journey towards an entirely different creative career.
Beyond the Shifts was an opportunity to hear those stories without reducing anyone to a job title.
A photographer who once worked in hospitality. An artist finding expression through colour. A poet exploring memory and nostalgia. People working across both worlds and discovering what one can teach the other.
Different paths, connected by curiosity.
A natural collaboration
Art has always had a place within Hidden Society.
Not simply as something to hang on a wall, but as something that can start a conversation, introduce a new perspective or make someone stop for a moment longer than they expected.
Working with Indra Gallery allowed that idea to move beyond the walls of the bar.
For one evening, hospitality became the connection between artists, guests and an independent gallery, creating a space where people could discover the work and, perhaps, discover something about the person behind it too.
Because the people who make hospitality interesting often have much more to say once the shift ends.
Hidden Society × Indra Gallery
When hospitality meets art, community is created.
