The One Night Stand at Ole Miss Motel

Last Saturday Oxonians enjoyed the One Night Stand at Ole Miss Motel, the annual one-night art gallery hosted by Yoknapatawpha Arts Council and Amelia. The motel’s parking lot was full of cars and light as eleven doors stood open, bright with colors and portraits within.
Erin Austen Abbott of Amelia Presents said, “I started it in 2007 as a way for for artists around town to show their work that maybe weren’t quite ready for submitting to galleries. Since then many artists that have shown at The One Night Stand have gone on to not only show in wonderful galleries around the country but gain a national following as well.”
Abbott said around 1,200 visitors attended the show in the three hour span of its duration. She said it was a great time for both artists selling their work and the visitors since it was good timing to buy early Christmas gifts. The show was free of charge to attend – the only catch is tricky parking since the Motel’s lot was quick to fill up.
Eleven artists showcasing this year are from other cities as far as Houston, Texas and Atlanta, Georgia.
The line up for this year’s show was: Amy C. Evans from Houston, TX, Kate Roebuck from Chattanooga, TN, Brit Brass Turner from Atlanta, GA, Chad Mars from Jackson, MS, Pati D’Amico and Bill Warren from Water Valley, MS, Lamar Sorrento from Memphis, TN, Adrienne Brown-David from Oxford, MS, Jonathan Kent Adams from Oxford, MS, Lauren Banquer from Oxford, MS, Harry Underwood from Nashville, TN and Bradley Gordon from Oxford, MS.
Abbott curated and chose which artist to appear at the showing. Abbott said, “I like variety but pick from ones that are willing to travel to the show, if they are from other places. I do have some artists that have shown before but I also find artists I read about on blogs or I find on Instagram. I’m always looking for art that catches my eye but also it’s important that each room flows from one to the next. I look at the curation as a body of work as a whole.” She added some artists are found through submissions as well.
The left wing of the Motel had the doors open as people bounced from one room to the next. In each room the paintings were either laid on the beds or the beds were removed for the gallery walls. One room had the beds pushed together so the visitors could walk around the perimeter of the room. One artist even had paintings in the bathroom.
Abbott said she hosts at the Motel because its layout makes a mini art crawl with each room a “perfect size” for showing a body of work. “Also I find the juxtaposition of the travel lodge motel housing fine art to be fascinating,” said Abbott.
She said, “There’s a man that lives in one of the rooms so we skip over his room each year. Can’t get that grit anywhere else.”
Here are the photos from this year’s One Night Stand. Keep an ear out for next year’s One Night Stand from Yokna Arts Council and Amelia Presents.

Kate Roebuck’s sign welcomes visitors to her mini-gallery.

Kate Roebuck put her snarkiest paintings in the bathroom!

Amy C. Evans laid her work out on the bed.

Harry Underwood vintage inspired paintings are eye-catching.

Britt Brass Turner opted for gallery walls within the Motel.

Oxonian artist Adrienne Brown-David hung her finely-crafted work on the wall.

D’Amico and Warren works made a captivating bedroom.

Lamar Sorrento made this great sign for Oxford’s counter culture.