DMagazine: Sweet Tooth Hotel is Here to Stay...
BY CAITLIN CLARK PUBLISHED IN ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT OCTOBER 31, 2018 11:03 AM PHOTOGRAPHY BY ELIZABETH LAVIN
Back in January of this year, months before the original iteration of Sweet Tooth Hotel opened its doors in Victory Park, I wonderedif it was just a Dallas version of the Museum of Ice Cream—essentially a manufactured backdrop for selfies that swept the coasts last year and inspired a slew of candy-coated knockoffs. With that example, there are no artists involved—it’s still a mystery where the MOIC gets its “museum” title—and the aesthetic template it set has earned far more scorn than praise. You can’t, however, deny its impact.
The good news is that Sweet Tooth Hotel is decidedly not Dallas’ take on the Museum of Ice Cream. It’s inspired by it, sure, but it’s not just about Instagram. (I mean, it’s a little about Instagram, but that’s not the sole focus.) Created by husband and wife Cole and Jencey Keeton, the “Hotel” features six local artists hand-picked by the duo to execute their own visions under a common theme. The follow up to the original sugary motif is the Space Race-inspired “1955,” which opens on Nov. 1. There is no corporate backing or brand integrations. It’s just a showcase, and a meticulously executed one at that.
“It’s like a playground for the artists,” says Jencey. “We just show up, give them the theme, and they take it from there.”