Bombay Sapphire and The Hoxton pair up for art and cocktail experiences across Europe

Bombay Sapphire and The Hoxton will be coming together to bring an exciting addition to their neighbourhoods in Amsterdam, Barcelona, London, Paris, and Rome as part of the gin brand’s Saw This Made This campaign. The Hoxton is a series of hotels that prides itself on supporting local communities, whether that be local food, local creatives, or the local streets and scenes that it calls home around the world. Bombay Sapphire is a brand that celebrates creativity both inside the cocktail glass and beyond, and now the two have teamed up to unveil a special, locally flavoured art installation series. Bombay Sapphire and the Hoxton will be championing new-gen artists in five European locations in the form of five unique pop-up art installations, with the aim of encouraging guests to discover the creative inspiration all around them.

This latest news is revealed as part of the Bombay Sapphire Saw This Made This campaign; launched firstly with iconic film director Baz Luhrmann as the campaign Creative Director, with the aim of inspiring people to see creativity and beauty all around them. Bombay Sapphire is continuing its global mission, calling for everyone to be inspired in their local areas, engage their own creativity, and unlock their creative potential.

The project comes as an extension of the Hox Gallery; an area within each hotels’ public spaces dedicated to showcasing exciting, up-and-coming local artists through seasonal programming, demonstrating long-term, meaningful support to the creative communities in and around each Hox neighbourhood. Drawing from a wide range of mediums, genres and influences, the chosen artists in each city are united by the inspiration they draw from the feel and character of their local setting, taking over lobbies, windows and rooftops across Europe.

With Bombay Sapphire gin’s balanced flavour profile and versatility, it is the ideal canvas for cocktail creativity. The world-renowned gin brand has partnered with the head bartenders at The Hoxton bars to create a series of Saw This, Made This limited-edition cocktails, taking inspiration from the local city. Each unique gin cocktail will be available to try so guests can enjoy a creative tipple while taking in the wonders of the artist’s installations.

London 

The line-up of local talent involved in the installations begins with London-based, Argentina-born fine artist Sofia Clausse. Sofia will be putting her Royal Academy-trained skills to use celebrating the city she now calls home at The Hoxton, Holborn this August, creating a colourful stained glass-style mural to mirror the vibes of one of London’s liveliest neighbourhoods.

Sofia was attracted to the series of arched windows by the bar in the lobby of the Holborn Hox, which look out onto High Holborn, seeing them as reminiscent of stained-glass windows, particularly because of the arched shape, so chose these as the canvas for her artwork. Much of Sofia’s work uses lines, and she has created her own sets of painting tools to create these, from custom screen-printing squeegees to 3D printed tools.

The London bar team have been inspired by the crossroads in High Holborn and The Kingsway, an almost perfect north/south/east/west crossroads. The Crosstown Traffic includes Bombay Sapphire, Claret Vermouth and sage and hop-smoked Honey – a play on a Martinez served in a rocks glass. The large cross-stamped ice block evokes the crossroads motif, garnished with an elegant triangle of blue sugar on the outside of the glass depicting the London sky on a summers day.

Barcelona 

French-born, Barcelona-based illustrator and muralist Perrine Honoré will be spreading joy in The Hoxton, Poblenou, using her ebullient style and pops of awesome colour to reflect the area’s vibrant beachside appeal. While Perrine works across a variety of mediums including street art, textiles, posters and even jewellery, all her work is united through a festive and colourful aesthetic, building a narrative where spontaneity prevails.

Perrine chose to move to Barcelona because of the city’s buzzing network of dynamic designers and illustrators, and Poblenou is a hub for the local creative community; in recent years urban regeneration has seen old textiles factories and mills converted to artist studios, design showrooms and art schools, breathing fresh life into the neighbourhood and establishing it as one of the most cultural districts of the city.

Inspired by a typical beach in Barcelona, the Cala is made with Bombay Sapphire, grapefruit juice, cider and salty butter syrup and garnished with homemade honeycomb and micro-greens, drawing inspiration from the rock formations found on the Spanish coastline, a refreshing cocktail that blends salty flavours with bitter and floral notes.

Amsterdam 

Over at The Hoxton, Amsterdam, self-taught Dutch artist Frederique Matti will be using thick layers of paint to depict the cosy vibes of an Amsterdam party in full flow. Her tactile, colour-popping motifs will appear on a glass wall just inside the hotel entrance, capturing local moments in her signature line style, expressed through objects you might find at a party, telling a story about the guests, surroundings and energy.

Frederique’s art is inspired by her inner world, acting as a visual diary of little life moments translated into colour, shapes and objects, with the subjects simultaneously important and insignificant. Using thick layers of paint to depict the minor yet charming moments that fill people’s ordinary lives, her work has a highly tactile quality and is characterised by flat shapes and an abundance of colour.

The Dutch bar team has created the Spirit of Resilience featuring Bombay Sapphire, tarragon infused genever, Green Chartreuse, apple cordial and lime juice. The name was chosen to depict the windmills found in Amsterdam which have been a familiar structure throughout the history of the Netherlands. The cocktail is garnished with a banana leaf to represent the propellers of the windmills.

Rome 

For the pop-up installation at The Hoxton, Rome, visual artist Luca Font will be taking centre stage. His bold, geometric graphics with strong blacks and primary colours will come to life in the Rome lobby in the form of four wanderlust illustrations Giclée printed.

Luca captures the local spirit of Rome by absorbing the city’s many artistic historic and cultural layers and tells stories of everyday life. His distinctive work ranges from tattooing to illustration and painting, focussing on bold graphics, strong blacks, and primary colours: a contemporary take on mid-century European art and Italian futurism, with a retro feel.

In Rome, inspiration for the drink comes from the vine found near the Colosseum – the ancient Pantastica grapes found on Palatine Hill in the heart of Rome. To represent this the Colosseum Shadow is made from Roman wine ‘tea’ – made from leftover local wine infused with Bombay Sapphire, Roman chamomile, wine syrup and lemon juice, finished with frozen grapes and a grating of nutmeg.

Paris

Parisian artist Caroline Derveaux, will be using a joyful palette to create a dream-like artwork on the glass roof of The Hoxton, Paris. Caroline combines bright colours with geometric shapes and abstract elements, and a mix of architectural and organic forms creating an imagined microcosm exploring dreams, emotions and memories.

The design will play with the natural light streaming through the hotel’s glass roof and is inspired by evening cocktails at golden hour in the City of Light. Caroline wanted her installation to give an immersive feel, adding figurative elements to her abstract style, alluding to the end of summer in Paris – her favourite time to enjoy the city.

The French bartenders have been inspired by the Grand Palais and to bring this to life their cocktail Le Palais Carré is served in a hexagon shaped glass with a pyramid shaped ice cube and includes Bombay Sapphire, Martini Riserva Special Rubino, lemon juice, strawberries, grapefruit zest and figs – garnished with edible flower that depict the iconic French flag.