SWOON

Sometimes, a layover surprises you. It can be a smaller city with low personal expectations or a new destination with unbeknownst charm.

Like Cincinnati, Cincinnati surprised me. 

It started with the hotel. The layover hotel isn’t the usual chain hotel. Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate a comfortable room. And thanks to the union, our layover hotels have to meet some pretty high standards, which means that we stay at mostly western chains: Westin, Hilton, Sheraton, Doubletree, Marriott… But while the chains may be comfortable, they’re all the same: grey, beige, neutral. 

However, in Cincinnati, we stay at a small boutique chain: 21st Century. These hotels are owned by an art collector and enthusiast. How refreshing! The check-in counter is a sculpture: an army of tiny plastic human figures lined up and trapped inside a silicone block. And the lobby is a mini gallery, filled with art rather than overstuffed furniture.  

Even the rooms feature original art on the walls. As I walked in, the tv was playing a sort of documentary about the hotel’s mission and vision. On this pre-set channel, we (the guests) follow the owner around on a purchasing trip in Mexico City, where he attends an art show, talks to international artists, and bids on various pieces. The documentary also showcases the hotel’s designer. She takes us behind the decision-making scenes as she explains her choices, pointing out details in the room otherwise and generally taken for granted. 

However, the designer did not share who the tiles in the shower were designed after.  

Walking around the hotel was like visiting a museum of modern art. But the art didn’t stop there. The hotel (I’m sure, not coincidentally) is located directly adjacent to Cincinnati’s Contemporary Art Center. This is one of America’s oldest contemporary art museums, and it is free! Why wouldn’t you spend your layover here? 

I did. I even ate in the cafe. This was also where I was introduced to my favorite street artist: Swoon. The day I visited coincided with an exhibition of her artwork. Her work is intricate and thought-provoking. It makes social and political commentary through mixed media collages of drawings, found objects, and paper cut-out stencils. It’s beautiful and interesting. But what really made an impression on me was HER. I left the exhibition completely inspired by her as a person. 

The exhibit included room after room of her art, stage after stage in her career. And in a small corner, a screen was playing another sort of documentary telling Swoon’s personal story. My flying partners left me there. They were worn out, but I sat and watched the whole thing. I was transfixed by this tiny, young artist. I can’t remember all the details, only the takeaway: Swoon doesn’t know the meaning of can’t. If she thinks of an idea (no matter how BIG, ambitious, original, fantastic), she does it. She figures out how to make it happen despite any and all obstacles. She’s also super collaborative. And I admire that too. I didn’t meet her, but I’ve never met anyone like her. 

And I should have told her that when I ran into her years later, walking down the Seine in Paris. But I didn’t. I got shy confronted by such boldness. Which is so ironic. What I admire is her lack of self-doubt, and there I was, filled with it.  

In conclusion, if you visit a city with a 21st Century Hotel (Cincinnati, Louisville, Lexington, Chicago, Durham, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Nashville, or Bentonville, Arkansas??), I recommend you stay there. If you ever happen to see an exhibit featuring Swoon, I recommend you attend it. And lastly, if you have the chance to meet someone you admire, be brave. Fortune favors the bold.