A number of people have asked me about our "interior design" at Indy Hall. We've always tried to avoid the "stale white walls" approach by including textures like brick and exposed rafters/ventilation, but it's really been in the last 2 years that Sean Martorana has stepped up our game past inspirational posters thumbtacked to the walls.
Sean's brother is one of our earliest community members, and so we knew Sean as part of the Indy Hall family. When he started bringing his art into our space, the reaction was clearly one that we wanted to continue. Sean has since taken on a somewhat informal role as our "art director", both curating art into the space as well as taking the lead on other design-related projects around Indy Hall. "This was the beginning of bringing the philosophy of art and interior > design to any space having a direct positive effect on the people that > occupy it. It can inspire people and make them happier and more productive > daily." - Sean It's been a mutually beneficial process. Sean's work has brought a feel to the space that we couldn't have achieved alone, and it's not static either - it's ever changing and exciting to members. They consider him an art resource. They also consider his work a form of inspiration, not only having it around, but being around WHILE he's making the art. Non-artists being around artists creating work is a highly inspirational experience, and Sean has remarked that he gains a lot of inspiration from our members as well. I can also point to the fact that Sean's skills in promoting his work and building business connections has visibly improved. That's not to say he wasn't good - he was. But he's gotten even better, and it's very cool to watch an artist learn some of these skills from non-artists. Just one more example of the "uncommon" kinds of exchanges that happen at coworking spaces. Sean's take on the project, including some before/after photos, are here: http://seanmartorana.com/2012/indyhall-murals-and-interior-designcuration/ It's also great to see his work in this photo that was included in that Philly Mag article in November. This was in the printed version as a centerfold, but not the web version, so I'm really happy to have gotten my hands on a license that I'm granted permission to repost. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/628073/large-indyhallbg.jpg One of the comments we get a lot, related to Sean's work, is how "lived in" the space feels now. I'm pretty confident that comes partially from Sean's skills as an artist, but more importantly, his attention to making sure his art was expressive of the community. That's a much rarer skill, and one I feel extremely lucky to have in-house. I've copied Sean on this email in case anyone has questions for him as an artist working at a coworking space, or otherwise. Also, he's for hire - just don't steal him away, please ;) -Alex /ah indyhall.org coworking in philadelphia -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
