Pittsburgh's TRYP Hotel Brings Historic Building to Life Through Storytelling and Local Art

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- TRYP by Wyndham, Wyndham Hotel Group's urban lifestyle brand, will makes its debut in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood in early 2019. The 108 room hotel will take up residence in the former Washington Education Center, a historic trade school building.  The hotel developer, the Century Group, in partnership Aaron Henderson and Casey Droege Cultural Productions (CDCP), has developed an arts and culture initiative for the property that showcases the building's rich history through storytelling and works from local artists and makers.

The Century Group is a hospitality development company which owns and operates nine hotels across West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, including several Wyndham Hotel Group brands. Century Group Principal, Josh Aderholt, is at the helm of the developing arts and culture initiatives for the TRYP Pittsburgh | Lawrenceville property.

"We aspire to embody what is so engaging about Lawrenceville—its combination of history, tradition and innovation. The building itself obviously is a historic edifice. For the art pieces in the project, we wanted to both bring  in the contemporary energy that is driving Lawrenceville today, and to move beyond the history of the physical structure and get at the stories and culture of the space," says Aderholt. "As a long-time resident of Lawrenceville, it's important to me and other stakeholders that the hotel not only become a place for visitors to stay while they enjoy the neighborhood, but also that we showcase the talented people that live and work here."

Aderholt's vision combines a unique storytelling initiative in partnership with video production artist and Assistant Professor in the Studio Arts Department at the University of Pittsburgh, Aaron Henderson, and building history-themed installations of local art in partnership with Casey Droege Cultural Productions (CDCP).

Aaron Henderson brings the history of the building to life with WASHINGTON. Former students and educators of the Washington Education Center come together for audio and video recordings to archive their experience within the school. Guests can access these personal accounts in three ways: via video installations in the lobby, a web component offering guests an opportunity to virtually tour the hotel via audio and video components that connect existing spaces with historical images, interviews and videos, and a telephone component allowing guests to dial in from their room and connect to a story collected from one of the many interviews.

"Washington Number One, Washington Elementary School, Washington Trade School and Washington Polytec Academy are some of the names of schools that have stood on the grounds of the current Washington Education Center. For almost 150 years it accommodated students and teachers, shaping the experiences and opportunities of thousands of Pittsburghers that walked through its doors," states Henderson. "As it transforms again, we begin work on WASHINGTON, a project that explores the history of the building through the experiences that happened within its walls. We do this by reaching out to students, teachers, administrators and any others that were connected to any iteration of this historic building and conducting interviews about their experiences."

Henderson will also be collecting personal images from these individuals and from the archives of the Pittsburgh Public Schools. These interviews and other media will be archived, edited, and used as the raw material for a variety of public multimedia installations and experiences throughout the property.                                                                                                      

Casey Droege Cultural Productions (CDCP) partnered with TRYP Pittsburgh | Lawrenceville by coordinating a closed submission process to commission custom art installations for the property. Artists were selected in May 2018 and will create works in media that parallel the trades that were once taught in the building such as  woodworking, print/ drafting, and metalworking. Works by local artists will also be featured in every detail of the hotel, from the lobby chandelier to artwork in the guest rooms to custom crockery in the hotel's two restaurants.

­CDCP is an organization that focuses growing Pittsburgh's art economy through exhibitions, public programming, and consulting services. For businesses and developers looking to acquire or commission artworks, CDCP sources the appropriate pieces while using primarily our regional talent. Through this process, the organization helps to create a thriving arts community and sustainable ecosystem for artists in the Pittsburgh area. CDCP is led by its Founder and Executive Director, Casey Droege.

"This is an incredible opportunity for individual artists to not only show their work, but to have a hand in shaping the feel of the hotel through larger installations throughout the building," says Ms. Droege. "We're thrilled that a project of this size is willing to connect with the creative community in such a meaningful way."

Selected local artists include Sarika Goulatia, Henry J. Simonds, Temper and Grit, Ed Parrish, Jakob Marsico, and Atiya Jones. Additional artists and makers are still being added to the project.

About Aaron Henderson
Aaron Henderson's videos and installations examine the personal, cultural and political ramifications of all action, from intimate gestures to displays of super-human acrobatics. Well acquainted with movement, he threw himself into walls and off of platforms for STREB Extreme Action, an acrobatic performance company from 2002-2006. His videos, installations and projection designs have been presented at Lincoln Center, the Wexner Center and many other theaters, colleges and festivals across the country. Aaron co-founded LOSTWAX, an East Coast company creating fusions of performance and video, and edited and founded the International Thought Exchange, a now defunct mail art organization.

Currently, Aaron is an Assistant Professor in the Studio Arts Department at the University of Pittsburgh. aaronhenderson.com

About Casey Droege Cultural Productions
Casey Droege Cultural Productions is an artist-run/woman-owned business dedicated to building the Pittsburgh arts community by offering accessible, quality art experiences that connect the local and the global, encourage the growth of a local arts economy, and build a diverse arts audience. Along with our keystone programs, we support creatives and businesses through exhibitions, public programming, and consulting services.
caseydroege.com

About TRYP Pittsburgh | Lawrenceville
Set in the historic Washington Education Center building at the base of the 40th Street Bridge, TRYP  Pittsburgh | Lawrenceville is a boutique neighborhood hotel slated to open in early 2019. Steeped in neighborhood history and adorned with local art, the 108 room hotel will be home to two restaurant concepts, a coffee bar and wine shop, spectacular rooftop city and neighborhood views, and two distinct event spaces for celebrations and events.

Part of Wyndham Hotel Group, TRYP by Wyndham® represents more than 110 hotels and 16,000 rooms across the world. The brand caters to business and leisure travelers in cosmopolitan cities including Madrid and Barcelona in Spain; Paris, France; Lisbon, Portugal; Frankfurt and Berlin, Germany; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Brisbane, Australia and New York City, U.S. Powered by the city, the brand celebrates openly displaying passion for the cities in which its hotels are located. Reservations and information are available by visiting www.tryphotels.com.

About TRYP by Wyndham
Part experience and part destination, TRYP by Wyndham^® hotels set the stage for the inside traveler – because there's no better way to get to know a city than experiencing it like a local. Hotels are tucked in the heart of the world's most exciting cities, from bucket-list staples like Abu Dhabi, Brisbane, Barcelona and New York City to must-see travel hotspots and up-and-coming destinations. Each TRYP by Wyndham hotel is steeped in the local culture of its city offering unique local flavors and amenities, all united by the brand's Mediterranean roots and chic, urban style. Follow @TRYPhotels on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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