Sculptor and multi-media artist Tracy Walter Ferry, who we met during City Wide Open Studios last year, participated in 21 Rooms, an art event at the Nevada Motel in York, Maine on Friday, September 23.

©Tracy Walter Ferry - click to enlarge

From the 3S Artspace website: "21 featured artists will be afforded one of the motel’s 21 rooms for two nights to serve as a mini-residency or act as a studio. On the second evening, two stories of rooms will be opened to the public and presented as mini-galleries. The show will transform the Nevada Motel into an interactive spectacle of installation, performance and video art. Participating artists will be coming from as close as Wells, Maine, and as far away as Dallas, Texas. 21 Rooms was guest-curated by Quinn Corey, a long-time creative presence in the emerging arts scene in Providence, RI, along with 3S co-founder, John Gayle."

Ferry was a longtime registered nurse, who went on to earn her MFA from Hartford Art School. Her sculpture is visceral and engaging.

I have family in York and stayed at the Nevada about 10 years ago. It is a mid-century-modern style motel with a turquoise and white color scheme. I love the retro poster, and the concept for the event is brilliant. Having 21 artists turn a motel into temporary studio and/or performance space is a great model for creative use/re-use outside of the underutilized-factory-turned-studio-building mode.

~Lys

Exterior view of the Nevada Motel during 21 Rooms