The Park Hyatt New York on Manhattan’s East Side regularly hosts art exhibits, but only one artist has ever been invited back for multiple shows at the property’s Avenue Gallery. That artist is Jeffrey Okyere-Agyei, who works as one of the hotel’s bellmen when he isn’t in his studio.
Originally from Ghana, Okyere-Agyei always had a love of visual arts, but did not think he would be able to create art as a career. Instead, he studied sociology and psychology at the University of Ghana and came to New York to pursue a master's degree in psychology. While studying, he took a job as a houseman at the Mark Hotel on the Upper East Side. “I was so fascinated by how everything operated,” he recalled of his time at the property. “Every single person's experience is different and just curating the whole experience around one individual I found very fascinating.” Two months into his psychology program at the institute, he switched majors and began studying hospitality management at the Institute of Science and Technology.
In hospitality, Okyere-Agyei was able to start “growing a career that I was very proud of,” he said. Several months after starting at the Mark, he transferred to the Mandarin Oriental and became the property’s office coordinator. After graduating from the Institute, he joined The Plaza Athenee as a housekeeping supervisor and then the Plaza Hotel as a housekeeping manager (and, later, senior housekeeping manager and PM lead housekeeping manager). From there, he went to the Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park as an overnight operations manager in charge of the front desk and later was promoted to housekeeping manager.
While he was making a career in luxury hotels, Okyere-Agyei still wanted to create art full time, but the demands of the job made it difficult for him to pursue his passion. Taking a risk, he left the Ritz-Carlton with nothing else lined up and went back to his art. Several months later, he contacted Alton Chun, with whom he had worked at the Mandarin Oriental and who had become the hotel manager for the upcoming Park Hyatt New York, about a job at the new property. Chun was putting together a team to open the hotel and wanted Okyere-Agyei to be involved with the management. Okyere-Agyei acknowledged that the project sounded exciting, but felt that he had hung up his proverbial cleats when it came to working in hotel management. Still, wanting to support his family while he created his art, he asked if positions other than management were available. “He said, ‘Well, I have an opening at the door. If that’s something that would interest you, by all means.’ And I took him up on it and the rest is history.” Nine years later, Okyere-Agyei is at the hotel’s door for 40 hours each week and works on his art in his nearby studio once he clocks out.
The Art of Making Art
at the Park Hyatt New York, has had multiple shows at the
hotel's gallery. (Park Hyatt New York)
The Park Hyatt brand is very art-centric, Okyere-Agyei said, and the New York property has numerous spaces that can serve as art galleries. After some time, he began mentioning to property leadership that he had some art that might catch the eye of their clientele. “It took a little bit of time and persuasion,” he acknowledged. “I was quite persistent.” The team agreed after consulting with Patricia Galas, the hotel’s senior director of marketing communications. “I said, ‘When can you have the 15 pieces by?’” Galas recalled.
The first exhibit, “Future Art for the Present,” opened in September 2019. “The response was great,” Okyere-Agyei said, “and I think it was at that point that [I realized] I can really do this.” Having a brand name like Hyatt “willing to put you front and center and tell your story to the whole world, it made me really feel validated in what I wanted to do.” Appreciation and recognition from the hotel guests also provided a sense of validation, since the property’s target clientele is well-traveled and frequently visits museums and galleries. “And I'm not talking about just the verbal validation,” he said. “They actually buy my art—which, to me, shows me that there is something there to be had.”
“Edifice” was Okyere-Agyei’s second exhibit at the hotel in September 2021, followed by “TeRa-NiSeR ToTeMs” a year later. His work, Galas said, has made him the property’s artist in residence—a title he embraces. “I like to think of myself as not being a one-trick pony,” Okyere-Agyei said. “Every couple of years I come up with a different collection with a story behind it.” Each story, he added, makes each exhibit unique so people have a reason to come back and see what’s new.
Jeffrey Okyere-Agyei’s…
Challenge
The hospitality industry in New York is one of the toughest in the world, Okyere-Agyei said. “If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere,” he quipped, referencing the Kander & Ebb song.
Success
To succeed in such a challenging and competitive environment, Okyere-Agyei said, you need a team around you that believes in you, including a leadership team that is “constantly helping you to grow” and teaching the do’s and don’ts.
Advice
“You're going to find 99 reasons to quit,” Okyere-Agyei said of working in hospitality. “That one reason that led you into being in this business—you have to nurture it, you have to hold on strong to it, and it's gonna be that one reason that will get you out of bed every day to want to do this over and over.”
Keys to Success
Have a genuine personality: “If you truly look within, you will find a genuine person … We only lose it when we try to become something that we are not.”
Be a team player: “Nobody gets to where they want to get to without help or without a hand from somebody else.”
Lead a team: “A leader [has the] ability to get work done through other people. … If you're able to rally troops, if you're able to get people around you to do what is needed, then you’re truly the epitome of what a team player is.”
Park Hyatt New York
Opening Year: 2014 | Number of Rooms: 210 | Owner: Hyatt Hotels Corp. | Operator: Hyatt Hotels Corp.