During Art Basel in Miami Beach, Marriott International To Celebrate Premiere of New Documentary Series StoryBooked™ and the Art and Artists Featured

BETHESDA, Md., Nov. 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Marriott International – an Official Partner of Art Basel in Miami Beach – to premiere StoryBooked™ during the art show. Produced by Marriott International's award-winning Creative and Content Studio – the documentary series captures the purposeful journeys of four emerging artists venturing to Japan, Italy, Spain and Peru seeking the ultimate in creative inspiration. During the evening festivities on the hotel's WET deck, the artists will unveil their travel-inspired artwork for the first time publically and watch the premiere episode of StoryBooked. Art enthusiasts, members of Marriott International's loyalty programs and other invited guests will revel in watching the artists' stories unfold in pursuit of their passions. In the coming months, the company plans to display the four pieces of art at various locations including hotel lobbies in the destinations where the artists sought and found their inspiration.

Marriott International reveals Virgil Abloh will join the exclusive celebration on Friday evening, December 8 at W South Beach. Immediately following the unveiling of the artists' works and the premiere of StoryBooked, Abloh will ascend into DJ booth dipping into his vast musical repertoire as he orchestrates an evening of pulsating beats.

Each artist featured in the documentary series is a member of one of the company's loyalty programs – Marriott Rewards, which includes The Ritz-Carlton Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG). StoryBooked captures how the loyalty programs provide members with an unmatched collection of experiences that complement their travels and deliver frictionless offerings they, like the artists featured, will find personally fulfilling.

"Travel is the universal language for our loyalty members seeking deeply meaningful and transformative experiences," said Karin Timpone, Global Marketing Officer, Marriott International. "StoryBooked  brings to life the story of four artists empowered by travel to fulfill their passion for art – and there is no better place to debut this during Art Basel."

Artists Showcased in StoryBooked™

• Born in Germany, raised in Spain and now living in California, Andrew Myers is best known for his artwork primarily using screws to create portraits. He began his career as a sculptor but quickly realized he could never compare to his muse the great Italian sculptor Bernini, so he created his own approach to art. Andrew is traveling to Rome where the artists who inspired his career – Michelangelo and Bernini – resided, while he stays at the Le Meridien Visconti Rome.
• Cuban-born, paper sculptor Felix Semper is traveling back to Spain where he lived with his parents for four years as a child. Later in his teens while living in Miami, Felix shared a room with his grandfather who told stories about his village in Spain's Basque region where he grew up. His grandfather spoke about the lush and beautiful green landscape and it has been Felix's dream to visit this village and meet his family still living there. Best known for his stretchable paper sculptures, he transforms the media – glued paper – to elongate and retract creating fluidity and mobility. During his travels, Felix will stay at the W Barcelona Hotel and Hotel Maria Cristina San Sebastian.
• Paula Wilson found art making, particularly printmaking, to be in sync with her dyslexic brain's processes. She layers paint and diverse media to produce multifaceted works drawing inspiration from real and invented cultural histories. She is traveling to Peru, where she will stay at the JW Marriott El Convento Cusco, to absorb the region's rich ancient traditions reflected in the colors, textures, and weavings of Peru. Much like her art, Peru is a place where the ancient meets the contemporary, where landscapes shift perspectives, and where the everyday becomes artistic expression.
• Metal flora sculptor Fidan Bagirova speaks six languages and procures inspiration from nature, cultural history, and geographically inclined traditions that populate a multicultural world. She is traveling to Japan where floral symbolism plays an important part in the country's heritage, life and art. Japanese history and culture is rife with floral art examples such as Ikebana, originating in 7th century Japan. The very concept of Ikebana has driven and motivated Fidan since first being introduced to Japanese floral arrangements in the early 1990's. Fidan will be staying at The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo and believes her art connects and unites people across all cultures because the flower symbolizes universalism.

StoryBooked is produced by Marriott International's Creative and Content Studio in partnership with NBTV Studios.

Exclusive Loyalty Member Experiences

With the Art Basel in Miami Beach partnership, loyalty members will gain access to exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime Art Basel experiences available on Marriott Rewards Moments and SPG Moments. The curated "Art Basel Concierge" Moments include guided insider tours of exhibits and access to evenings of invitation-only, fashionable parties, including StoryBooked with Virgil Abloh, as well as accommodations and dining reservations. Marriott Rewards Moments and SPG Moments are powered by the company's partnerships with iconic brands, including Universal Music Group, NBA and Major League Baseball.

About Marriott Rewards
Marriott International's award-winning loyalty program – Marriott Rewards – spans 18 unique and iconic global brands and over 4,300 distinctive properties. Members of Marriott Rewards® - which includes The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® - can link their accounts with Starwood Preferred Guest® at members.marriott.com for expanded benefits including instant elite status matching and unlimited points transfer across portfolios. When members book their stays on Marriott.com or the Marriott Mobile app, they earn loyalty points, enjoy the advantage of exclusive Member Rates, our lowest available rates, and gain an elevated stay experience with free Wi-Fi, mobile check-in and checkout, and Mobile Service Requests wherever available.  The hugely popular Marriott Rewards has won the Freddie Award for "Hotel Program of the Year–Americas" nine consecutive years as chosen by frequent travelers. Marriott Rewards is free to join and has no blackout dates. To enroll and for more information about the program, guests may visit. Connect with Marriott Rewards on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Starwood Preferred Guest
Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG®) is an innovative, award-winning frequent traveler program that unites 11 luxury and distinctive hotel brands in more than 1,400 properties in 96 countries and territories around the world. SPG reinvented the hospitality loyalty landscape when it launched in 1999 with its breakthrough policy of no blackout dates, and over the years has continued its tradition of innovation with enhancements such as Cash + Points, Your24™, SPG Lifetime™, SPG Moments and 4 p.m. late checkout when available. SPG also offers the opportunity for meeting and travel professionals to earn rich rewards including Starpoints and elite status through SPG Pro. SPG has an ongoing commitment to meeting the needs of today's connected global traveler by leveraging must-have mobile apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android that utilize state-aware technology to create a more personalized hotel stay. All of this has helped SPG build a passionate member base among the world's most frequent travelers. Learn more about the #spglife at spg.com, spg.com/pro and spg.com/moments and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. SPG members can now also link their accounts with Marriott Rewards® - which includes The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® - for instant elite status matching and unlimited points transfer at spg.com/Marriott.

About Marriott International
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and encompasses a portfolio of more than 6,400 properties in 30 leading hotel brands spanning 126 countries and territories. Marriott operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts all around the world. The company also operates award-winning loyalty programs: Marriott Rewards®, which includes The Ritz-Carlton Rewards®, and Starwood Preferred Guest®. For more information, please visit our website at www.marriott.com, and for the latest company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.com. In addition, connect with us on Facebook and @MarriottIntl on Twitter and Instagram.

About Art Basel
Founded in 1970 by gallerists from Basel, Art Basel today stages the world's premier art shows for Modern and contemporary art, sited in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong Kong. Defined by its host city and region, each show is unique, which is reflected in its participating galleries, artworks presented, and the content of parallel programming produced in collaboration with local institutions for each edition.

Art Basel's engagement has expanded beyond art fairs through a number of new initiatives. In 2014, Art Basel launched its Crowdfunding Initiative, in collaboration with Kickstarter. This initiative presents jury-selected art projects to potential benefactors, which include Art Basel's vibrant audience and the Kickstarter community. The initiative has catalyzed much-needed support for outstanding non-commercial art projects worldwide and so far has helped pledge over $2 million to creative projects around the world. For Art Basel Cities, launched in 2016, Art Basel is working with selected partner cities to develop vibrant and content-driven programs specific to the individual city. Connecting them to the global art world through Art Basel's expertise and network, Art Basel Cities supports its partners to develop their unique cultural landscape. For further information, please visit artbasel.com.

SOURCE Marriott International, Inc.

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