Robert Mazrim is doing it again – turning what some see as simply old, abandoned buildings and spaces into a medium for art and a window to the lives of people who once lived and worked there. This time he is partnering with Leah Wilson and the Kidzeum, installing a contemporary art exhibit at 414 E. Adams Street in the former Cliff Hotel. Mothballed for 50 years, the building is owned by Kidzeum. Mazrim’s previous evocative art exhibits featured the former Pillsbury Mills plant at three places – onsite at the former plant, on Adams Street in the building destroyed by the June 19 fire and at the Springfield Art Association.
“This is a rare opportunity to transform this decades-silent space into a bold, sensorial art experience,” said Kidzeum executive director Wilson. “While our museum is primarily focused on play experiences for children, this pop-up exhibit provides us with a chance to engage adults in something unique and thought-provoking. It’s a space that challenges perceptions and invites visitors to lean in and listen to the voices from the past – voices that join with our own to form the oratorio of the human experience.”
Mazrim says “Absence and Presence – Exploring the Abandoned Cliff Hotel” will highlight the remarkable details and patinas left preserved in the building, as well as the ghostly traces of former inhabitants. The exhibit will include minimalist installations, small tableaus and multimedia projections intended to accentuate the sense of both absence and presence in this rich historical space. “The building is the star of the show,” said Mazrim, explaining that the exhibit is more than propping art into a space – it’s looking around and envisioning what the building can tell you. Florence Atkinson, longtime Cliff Hotel proprietor, was his inspiration.
The building was constructed by the Reisch family in 1894 and designed for retail/business space on the ground floor and as a boarding house on the second and third floors. Kidzeum recently renovated the ground-floor storefronts with funding from the state Public Museum Capital Grant Program. “We’re so pleased to make these long-vacant downtown spaces available to the public, again,” Wilson said. “They are beautiful in their historic charm, and adaptable for a variety of uses. These spaces may serve as classrooms during the week, a gathering space for corporate rentals in the evenings and exhibit or program space on the weekends.”
See the new and the old
On both Dec. 4 and 6, the ground floor will serve as a reception area, featuring some of the Pillsbury artworks rescued from the ruins of the fire across the street, and a screening of Matthew Konicek’s experimental short film Historic Shrines. The upper floors feature the temporary exhibit “Absence and Presence,” accessible from the street by stairs. There is no elevator access. For these special events, visitors may park in the Resource One lot, 321 W. Adams Street.
Wednesday, Dec. 4, 5:30-8:30 p.m., is free for Kidzeum members and $25 for guests. Enjoy charcuterie, drinks and a curator’s talk by Robert Mazrim in the newly renovated storefronts, explore the Kidzeum and view the upper-floor exhibits with scheduled time entry. Purchase tickets online https://kidzeum.org/events/absence-presence/2024/12/04 or at the door.
Friday, Dec. 6, 5:30-8:30 p.m., is a free open house with first-come, first-served timed entry to the upper floor exhibit.
Other contributing artists are Corrin McWhirter and Matthew Konicek. Further support and assistance comes from Bruce Ferry, Derek Ryan, Curtis Mann, Chris Richmond, Springfield Vintage and the Springfield Art Association.
Mazrim and Wilson are pleased to offer the public a rare glimpse into a remarkable architectural, historical and visual treasure in downtown Springfield. Both see the need and the opportunity to create a vibrant and resilient downtown that builds on Springfield’s unique resources. Wilson is a huge part of the Adams Street team of shops, restaurants, arts and entertainment venues that has worked to build the vibrancy of downtown. “The Adams Family” has struggled in the aftermath of the June fire, given the closure of Adams Street between Fifth and Sixth streets, relocation of the farmers market further west and the popular Café Moxo not reopening downtown.
The “Absence and Presence” exhibit is an example of adaptive reuse of raw and vacant downtown spaces and using art to create attractions. “Such installations serve as models of the types of cultural attractions cited as important elements for downtown revitalization in the current draft of the Downtown Springfield Master Plan,” said Mazrim. This upcoming exhibit is a continuation of what Mazrim has been doing over the past year for which he was recognized on Nov. 2 as visual artist of the year by the Mayor’s Awards for the Arts.
Related Stories
This article appears in Winter Guide 2024.
