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NO VACANCY:
A NECESSARY VOID

by BEN COLEMAN & HENRY DETWEILER

Atlanta, GA

June-August 2013

In 2013, we locked two men in an abandoned building in downtown Atlanta. And wouldn’t let them leave. Locking Ben Coleman and Henry Detweiler away was experiment designed to push their buttons and challenge their art practices. We wanted to explore questions like, “Does a daily routine hurt or hinder art making?” “If daily habits are removed, will an artist shut down or thrive?”

We wanted to make them a little uncomfortable, but also give them the very rare gift of time. So, for three weeks, Ben and Henry - who’d never met before - lived together in a former nightclub in Downtown Atlanta...

Press Coverage by HyperAllergic
Press Coverage by Atlanta Journal Constitution

 

THE ARTISTS

HENRY DETWEILER

BEN COLEMAN

 
 

Film by Dustin Chambers & Wyatt Williams for Creative Loafing

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THE LOCATION

We cleaned it! We pulled up carpet. We threw some mattresses in there. Got rid of a couple rat bodies and installed a camping shower. 

Ben and Henry’s only contact to the outside world was a prepaid cell phone with just Dashboard numbers programmed into it to order food and supplies. On the last day of the 3rd week, we opened the doors to the public to see what they did. 

 
 

91 BROAD ST SW (FORMERLY CLUB 91)

 
 

THE PROCESS

They painted the whole place in this immersive dizzying pattern. They found two pool tables, a jukebox, and a working Galaga machine in the basement. 

 
 
 

THE ART

Ben and Henry gutted the Jukebox and reprogrammed it with new songs created by splicing together sounds from the Galaga machine. At the opening people could choose a song and Ben and Henry would perform something specifically responding to that track. It was bizarre and exceptional. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

THE RIPPLE EFFECT

No Vacancy was on view for three weeks, and during that time we were approached by Chris Yonkers and Brian Eagan who wanted to know what was going to happen to the building when it was over. We didn’t know but introduced them to the property owner. 

They ended up leasing it and turned it into Mammal Gallery. Mammal supports emerging artists and musicians and has brought economic viability, foot traffic, and national attention to Downtown Atlanta. And over the past year two other creative organizations have moved to the street, making it a true arts hub.

And all this started because Ben and Henry spent three weeks making art in a nightclub together.

Pretty cool, right? 

Art interventions, like Ben and Henry’s, have the ability to ignite our vacant spaces and inspire budding entrepreneurs to take action. This is a very real and measurable ripple effect that art can have.