Art is a significant part of my life: making, curating, and supporting it. Surrounded by different artists my whole life, it's become a part of who I am. Art is current and all around us. Exposing yourself to art helps you have an open mind to everyone around you. 

In October 2006, I pulled into the Ole Miss Motel, Oxford, MS, to turn my car around. Suddenly, I was drawn in by these royal blue doors with wooden, red hearts on each door. I had to know more about this place that seemed easy to pass. At the time, places to show art were scarce in Oxford. We didn't have the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council art crawls or other alternative sites to show work. It dawned on me that maybe this would be an excellent place to get some friends together, be our own curators, and have a bunch of mini-galleries for just one evening. And The One Night Stand at The Ole Miss Motel was born.

When I started the show in 2007, I did one in the spring and one in the fall in Oxford that year. Then, in 2008, it moved to Los Angeles to the Beverly Laurel Hotel, then back to Oxford, where it has been every year since, except 2020, due to the pandemic.

The show aims to allow up-and-coming artists a chance to show their work. A motel room becomes that setting and their curated gallery for the evening, a one-night stand if you will. The show is invitation-only.

While I don't take submissions, if you think I need to see your work, please email Erin Austen Abbott.studios [at] gmail with the subject "MASS." Ensure that you include links to work so I can see what you are creating. The Oxford show is always at The Ole Miss Motel, 1517 University Ave. Oxford, MS 38655

Since that first show in 2007, 195 artists have shown their work, and several have gone on to land shows worldwide, such as Jonathan Kent Adams, Adrienne Brown David, Frances Berry, Michael Foster, Britt Bass, and Kate Roebuck. Many artists have started showing their work at the Motel Art Show.

It’s a show where artists can ask for practical advice on pricing or learn how to hang work in an unusual setting, but also a place where they can get comfortable conceptualizing a body of work and then test run a body of work. It is a space that allows them to get their feet wet. I’ve never been afraid to take a chance on an artist if I see the drive in them, which is why so many artists that have maybe never shown before have started here. 

The show has received press in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Yelp, Garden & Gun, The Jealous Curator, No. 7, Mississippi Arts Hour, The Commerical Appeal, Design*Sponge, Southern Living, and more. 

195 artists have shown work

10,000+ patrons have attended

15 years running

**If you are interested in becoming a sponsor for the show, please reach out to erinaustenabbott.studios@gmail.com to discuss. Thank you!