Latest news with #GramercyParkHotel
The Advertiser
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
Room by room, future of art on show in historic hotel
A historic hotel has been transformed into an art fair designed to show off up-and-coming galleries alongside more established competition. The Spring1883 art fair takes up four storeys of Melbourne's Hotel Windsor. The three-day event is inspired by The Armory Show, which began in the rundown Gramercy Park Hotel in New York City during the 1990s. Galleries usually spend tens of thousands of dollars to show at established contemporary art shows, but with Spring1883, costs are determined by the size of the hotel room - with some galleries showing in a bedroom only. Visitors buy a ticket and can pop into rooms of their choosing, with artworks even on display in bathrooms. Unlike big events such as the Melbourne Art Fair, Spring1883 is more accessible, explained fair director Kate Barber. "What was really important to us was to have a non-hierarchical fair, to have very experienced, established, extremely highly regarded galleries ... alongside young up-and-coming galleries with emerging artists," she said. There are some challenges. The Windsor is a historic building. There's no hammering or drilling into the wall to hang a painting, so galleries have to be inventive, with paintings leaning in fireplaces and even balanced on wineglasses. When it first started in 2014, the event attracted 20 galleries, and now in its ninth edition, there are 35 galleries showing artists. Spring1883 runs from Thursday to Saturday. A historic hotel has been transformed into an art fair designed to show off up-and-coming galleries alongside more established competition. The Spring1883 art fair takes up four storeys of Melbourne's Hotel Windsor. The three-day event is inspired by The Armory Show, which began in the rundown Gramercy Park Hotel in New York City during the 1990s. Galleries usually spend tens of thousands of dollars to show at established contemporary art shows, but with Spring1883, costs are determined by the size of the hotel room - with some galleries showing in a bedroom only. Visitors buy a ticket and can pop into rooms of their choosing, with artworks even on display in bathrooms. Unlike big events such as the Melbourne Art Fair, Spring1883 is more accessible, explained fair director Kate Barber. "What was really important to us was to have a non-hierarchical fair, to have very experienced, established, extremely highly regarded galleries ... alongside young up-and-coming galleries with emerging artists," she said. There are some challenges. The Windsor is a historic building. There's no hammering or drilling into the wall to hang a painting, so galleries have to be inventive, with paintings leaning in fireplaces and even balanced on wineglasses. When it first started in 2014, the event attracted 20 galleries, and now in its ninth edition, there are 35 galleries showing artists. Spring1883 runs from Thursday to Saturday. A historic hotel has been transformed into an art fair designed to show off up-and-coming galleries alongside more established competition. The Spring1883 art fair takes up four storeys of Melbourne's Hotel Windsor. The three-day event is inspired by The Armory Show, which began in the rundown Gramercy Park Hotel in New York City during the 1990s. Galleries usually spend tens of thousands of dollars to show at established contemporary art shows, but with Spring1883, costs are determined by the size of the hotel room - with some galleries showing in a bedroom only. Visitors buy a ticket and can pop into rooms of their choosing, with artworks even on display in bathrooms. Unlike big events such as the Melbourne Art Fair, Spring1883 is more accessible, explained fair director Kate Barber. "What was really important to us was to have a non-hierarchical fair, to have very experienced, established, extremely highly regarded galleries ... alongside young up-and-coming galleries with emerging artists," she said. There are some challenges. The Windsor is a historic building. There's no hammering or drilling into the wall to hang a painting, so galleries have to be inventive, with paintings leaning in fireplaces and even balanced on wineglasses. When it first started in 2014, the event attracted 20 galleries, and now in its ninth edition, there are 35 galleries showing artists. Spring1883 runs from Thursday to Saturday. A historic hotel has been transformed into an art fair designed to show off up-and-coming galleries alongside more established competition. The Spring1883 art fair takes up four storeys of Melbourne's Hotel Windsor. The three-day event is inspired by The Armory Show, which began in the rundown Gramercy Park Hotel in New York City during the 1990s. Galleries usually spend tens of thousands of dollars to show at established contemporary art shows, but with Spring1883, costs are determined by the size of the hotel room - with some galleries showing in a bedroom only. Visitors buy a ticket and can pop into rooms of their choosing, with artworks even on display in bathrooms. Unlike big events such as the Melbourne Art Fair, Spring1883 is more accessible, explained fair director Kate Barber. "What was really important to us was to have a non-hierarchical fair, to have very experienced, established, extremely highly regarded galleries ... alongside young up-and-coming galleries with emerging artists," she said. There are some challenges. The Windsor is a historic building. There's no hammering or drilling into the wall to hang a painting, so galleries have to be inventive, with paintings leaning in fireplaces and even balanced on wineglasses. When it first started in 2014, the event attracted 20 galleries, and now in its ninth edition, there are 35 galleries showing artists. Spring1883 runs from Thursday to Saturday.
Perth Now
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Room by room, future of art on show in historic hotel
A historic hotel has been transformed into an art fair designed to show off up-and-coming galleries alongside more established competition. The Spring1883 art fair takes up four storeys of Melbourne's Hotel Windsor. The three-day event is inspired by The Armory Show, which began in the rundown Gramercy Park Hotel in New York City during the 1990s. Galleries usually spend tens of thousands of dollars to show at established contemporary art shows, but with Spring1883, costs are determined by the size of the hotel room - with some galleries showing in a bedroom only. Visitors buy a ticket and can pop into rooms of their choosing, with artworks even on display in bathrooms. Unlike big events such as the Melbourne Art Fair, Spring1883 is more accessible, explained fair director Kate Barber. "What was really important to us was to have a non-hierarchical fair, to have very experienced, established, extremely highly regarded galleries ... alongside young up-and-coming galleries with emerging artists," she said. There are some challenges. The Windsor is a historic building. There's no hammering or drilling into the wall to hang a painting, so galleries have to be inventive, with paintings leaning in fireplaces and even balanced on wineglasses. When it first started in 2014, the event attracted 20 galleries, and now in its ninth edition, there are 35 galleries showing artists. Spring1883 runs from Thursday to Saturday.
AU Financial Review
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- AU Financial Review
The high-end hotels getting in bed with the art world
The Peninsula Hong Kong is known for its elaborate afternoon teas, drawing socialites and jet-setters to its lobby each afternoon to nibble on finger sandwiches, lemon meringue tarts and raisin scones with jam and clotted cream. But for two months a year from late March, the hotel hands itself over to the avant-garde scene as it transforms into a makeshift gallery. Art is a natural bedfellow for luxury hotels, which have no lack of grand spaces or culture-savvy clientele. The Dolder Grand in Zurich boasts works by living legends Takashi Murakami and Anish Kapoor. Gramercy Park Hotel in New York flaunts the late greats of that city including Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Beijing's Hotel Éclat uses its guestrooms and public spaces to showcase contemporary Chinese artists including the internationally renowned Gao Xiaowu.
Time of India
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Diddy accused of paying $6000 to an escort for intimate encounters with Cassie Ventura: Report
Daniel Phillip, an escort, testifies that he had been paid to have a sexual encounter with Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura, Diddy's ex-girlfriend, by the disgraced rapper. Sean 'Diddy' Combs asked to oil up... In the trial on May 12, 2025, Daniel admitted in the court of law that he was hired to indulge in intimacy when Diddy was present in the hotel room at the Gramercy Park Hotel in Manhattan. Adding to the details, Phillip was asked to 'oil up' and rub the infamous baby oil on each other, while Combs would be sitting in the corner to self-pleasure, according to the New York Post. Diddy paid $6000 per session, but nothing if... Phillip continued to reveal that he would be paid up to $6,000 for the sessions and sometimes nothing if he didn't perform what Diddy liked, which then led to a couple of years lasting 10 hours each. He further stated that he never actively went to the police to report the concerns about Ventura's safety. Even though he believed that she was in 'real danger,' because he feared the Hip-Hop mogul as he took the photo of his driver's license. 'This was someone with unlimited power. And chances are that even if I did go to the police that I still might be losing my life,' Daniel revealed. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Scarlett Johansson, 40, Shows Off Her Real Size In A New Vacation Photos 33 Bridges Undo Revealing that his code word to go the Diddy's room would be 'black,' Phillip expressed, 'I was excited that I was just in this world and be involved with people with such notoriety.' Diddy physically abused Cassie Ventura As the testimony evolved, Phillip narrated an incident about the domestic abuse that occurred at Ventura's home. When Cassie was on the computer, searching for personal information, she was ordered by Diddy to come into the bedroom - and she didn't run fast enough. The disgraced rapper came out of the room, grabbed her hair and dragged her, where a bottle went by her and hit the wall. 'She was yelling, she was screaming. Mr. Combs pulled her into the bedroom, and I could hear him, could hear what sounded like him slapping her,' Phillip said in the courtroom, according to the New York Post. Check out our list of the latest Hindi , English , Tamil , Telugu , Malayalam , and Kannada movies . Don't miss our picks for the best Hindi movies , best Tamil movies, and best Telugu films .
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Male Escort Says He Warned Cassie of ‘Danger' After Witnessing Alleged Assault by Sean Combs
Follow all our Sean Combs trial coverage A male escort who claimed he was handed stacks of cash to have sex with Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura while Sean 'Diddy' Combs watched gave detailed and explicit testimony today about freak-offs with the hip-hop mogul, claiming he grew fearful of the 'danger' Ventura was in and eventually feared for his life as well. More from Rolling Stone Sean Combs Prosecutors Led with 'Shock and Awe,' Legal Experts Say Sean Combs Trial: Jury Shown Cassie Video as Witness Recalls Singer's 'Purple Eye' Sean Combs' Lawyers Admit Violence, But Say Sexual Contact Was Consensual Daniel Phillip, 41, took the stand as the second witness for Southern District of New York prosecutors on the first day of Combs' high-profile sex trafficking and racketeering trial. Combs — who pleaded not guilty to the five federal counts against him — turned and watched Phillip enter the courtroom and take his seat in the witness box. Phillip described how he initially felt excited to be part of the couple's bedroom fantasy after first meeting Combs and Ventura in approximately 2012. At the time, he was working as a manager for a male entertainment show when his boss called him and said a bachelorette party requested a Black male stripper. No one who fit the description was available, so Phillip said his manager asked him to fill in, to which he obliged, picking up an NYPD T-shirt as his costume. However, upon his arrival at the luxury Gramercy Park Hotel in New York City, no bachelorette party was waiting inside. Instead, the 'most beautiful woman I had seen' answered the door in a red wig, red lingerie, high heels, and dark sunglasses. Phillip said he later came to know the woman as Ventura. Ventura allegedly told Phillip that it was her birthday and that her husband wanted to do 'something special' for her to celebrate the occasion. Handing Phillip a stack of cash, Ventura asked if he'd be OK with them rubbing baby oil on each other and seeing where things went as her purported spouse watched. Entering the dark and candlelit hotel suite, Phillip saw a robed man sitting in the corner of the room with a bandana covering his face and a baseball cap slung over his head. But once he heard the self-described 'importer and exporter' talk, Phillip said he immediately recognized the man as Combs. Over the next few years, Phillip said Ventura paid him for sex following encounters that could last upward of 10 hours at hotels around New York City, Combs' private midtown residence, and Ventura's apartment in the city. Phillip described freak-offs as highly ritualistic. The rooms were always set up similarly, and Combs allegedly directed Phillip and Ventura's every move, even down to instructing Phillip when to finish. Phillip claimed Ventura paid him anywhere from $700 to $6,000 for the visits. But Phillip said he wasn't in it solely for the money. 'In my head, I was just excited that I was in this world and, you know, happy to be involved with people with such notoriety,' Phillip said. 'I didn't care if I got paid one way or another.' However, Phillip testified that his enthusiasm waned the first time he claimed to witness Combs attack Ventura during a freak-off. Combs called for Ventura to come to the bedroom, but when she didn't immediately comply, Phillip claimed Combs threw a liquor bottle in her direction, with the bottle smashing into the wall. Combs then allegedly dragged a screaming Ventura by her hair back to the room, where he heard sounds of slapping and Ventura apologizing, saying, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry!' 'Bitch, when I tell you to come here, you come now, not later,' Phillip claimed he overheard Combs tell Ventura. The two later exited the room, and Combs wanted the freak-off to resume, Phillip testified. 'Are y'all ready to continue,' Combs purportedly asked. 'It came out of nowhere,' Phillip told the court. 'I was terrified. I didn't know what to do.' 'My thoughts was that this was someone with unlimited power, and chances are that even if I did go to the police, that I might still end up losing my life,' Phillip added when questioned why he didn't intervene or ever seek help from law enforcement. After that incident, Phillip said he had trouble performing sexually during freak-offs with Ventura and Combs. During one moment, they were left alone in another freak-off; Phillip said he tried to warn Ventura of the 'danger' that he perceived she was in, asking why she was staying with Combs when he was 'hitting' her. Phillip said Ventura attempted to reassure him, saying she'd be OK. There were other troubling moments, including when Phillip testified that he arrived for a freak-off only to see a seemingly incapacitated Ventura 'passed out' on the couch, her body 'half on the couch, half off of the couch.' Combs allegedly told Phillip, 'I don't think this is going to happen today.' He claimed that sometimes, it appeared another person had been in the room before him with half-empty bottles of oil and lubricant strewn about. During at least one freak-off, Phillip said there was another male escort present having sex with Ventura. Around two of the sexual encounters were recorded by Combs, Phillip said, and at one point into the arrangement, Combs took a photo of Phillip's driver's license and said something to the effect of, 'It's just for insurance, just in case.' Phillip said he 'understood' the comment to be Combs 'threatening me.' During one freak-off, Phillip said he took the party drug Ecstasy, which made him feel both nauseous and euphoric at the same time. 'I took that Molly, and then I became a totally different person,' Phillip said. 'I went out into Times Square, and I handed out hundred dollar bills to every single person that I saw in front of me.' At one point during Phillip's sexually explicit testimony, Combs' three teenage daughters in attendance left the courtroom. They returned briefly while Phillip was still on the stand, only to leave for the rest of the day. Phillip returned to the stand Tuesday morning, May 13. While under cross-examination, Combs' defense attorneys suggested his testimony was different from what he told law enforcement officials in initial interviews. But on the re-direct, prosecutor Maurene Comey asked Phillip bluntly if he had reviewed the notes taken by agents from those interviews, or asked about their accuracy. Phillip replied, 'No.' Comey then asked Phillip a series of questions: Is Combs the man who threw a liquor bottle across the room when asking Cassie to 'Come here'? Is Combs the man who dragged Cassie back into the room 'by her hair'? Is Combs the man who called Cassie 'a bitch,' followed by slapping sounds? Is Combs the man who came out of a room and said, 'Y'all ready to have sex?' To all these questions, Phillip replied: 'Yes.' Phillip's testimony followed the government's first witness, former hotel security guard Israel Florez. Florez testified that he responded to a call in 2016 of a 'woman in distress.' When he arrived, he saw Ventura looking frightened, and her hoodie was pulled over her head. Still, he could tell she had a 'purple eye.' He added that Combs had a 'devilish stare' on his face. According to Florez, Combs offered him a wad of cash to keep quiet about what he witnessed. 'Don't tell nobody,' Combs allegedly ordered him, he said. Florez added that he didn't call the police because 'there was no victim there, obviously nobody was pressing charges.' Ventura is expected to testify against Combs this week. In her opening statement, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson said she'll testify about the 'dark hotel rooms' that Combs kept her in for days at a time, where she was allegedly forced to have sex with hired male sex workers. During these dayslong freak-offs, Ventura was allegedly kept compliant and awake through a variety of drugs, including Ecstasy. Combs attorney Teny Geragos argued in her opening statement that the case is not about sex trafficking but people's motivations for coming forward after so many years. She argued that Ventura and another prosecution witness who claims Combs physically abused her were fully capable women who made choices because they had something to gain from being in a relationship with Combs. She told jurors that Ventura filed a civil lawsuit before reporting her alleged abuse to authorities. 'Ask yourself why,' Geragos said. 'The answer is money.' Geragos admitted that Combs was violent in his past relationships but did not engage in any sex trafficking. This post was updated on May 12 at 9:53 p.m. to reflect full testimony from the witness. This post was updated again on May 13 at 2:07 p.m. with details from the second day of Phillilp's testimony. 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