Art disguised as a hotel
Hobart’s The Henry Jones Art Hotel is a GALLERY disguised as a HOTEL within the HISTORIC walls of IXL Jam Factory.
HOBART’S The Henry Jones Art Hotel is a place that defies being neatly labelled, even though it’s the birthplace of one of the country’s most beloved labels. Familiar to generations of Australians, IXL Jams were made in the sandstone building on Hobart’s waterfront for more than a century before the factory was reborn as the country’s first dedicated art hotel in 2004.
There are more than 400 original artworks – all either by Tasmanians or depicting Tasmania – throughout the hotel, including a dedicated gallery space with solo exhibitions that change every six weeks or so. The hotel’s commitment to art goes further, with the creation of an annual $20,000 Henry Jones Art Prize for early-career Tasmanian artists.
Perfect the art of fine dining in the hotel’s signature restaurant, LANDSCAPE
RESTAURANT & GRILL,
surrounded by landscape paintings by colonial artist John Glover, known as ‘the father of Australian landscape painting’.
You’ll find more art on the walls – and in your cocktail glass – at the IXL
and culinary LONG BAR, art on show at PEACOCK AND JONES RESTAURANT,
where seasonal Tasmanian produce is the star exhibit. Pull up a seat, enjoy a glass of Tasmanian wine and watch the magic happen in the open kitchen.
Art and history are more than just something to admire on the walls; there’s a monthly artist in residence program, so you can talk to the artist and watch as the work is created during your stay. There are also free art and history tours, led by the hotel’s resident art curator or historian. Not only do you get treated to an expert’s insight to the art, but you’ll discover lots of quirky aspects of the building that are otherwise easily missed, like the canning-line tramways on the ceiling, fragments of 1800s wallpaper, unfinished carvings on the grand timber staircase, and jam stains on the floor.
Join one of the hotel’s STICKY STONES walking tours of the neighbourhood and you’ll be entertained with tales of the days when the waterfront was home to dodgy drinking dens and other less salubrious establishments.
Original artwork makes every one of the 56 rooms unique, and each has its own little quirk of history and design, depending on the room’s layout and location in the original jam factory. Most also offer knockout views of kunanyi/Mt Wellington or the harbour.
And if you like what you see, most of the art is for sale, should you be after the ultimate lasting memory.