A Love Letter to Bartenders
A bar in a gallery. Photo: Denis Ghisalberti A love letter to bartenders, this artistic research investigates the role of a bartender and the importance of neighborhood bars. It results in two performative actions: a thesis, video interviews, and the creation of "The Last Drop Bitters."
The “A Bar in a Gallery” exhibition at Np3 Research Gallery was a five-day interactive installation exploring the phenomenon of the white box gallery and reclaiming bartending as an art form. Heavily inspired by Allan Kaprow’s ‘Happenings,’ this project aims to elevate bartending into an art form. It broke away from the traditional confines of the hospitality industry, presenting bartending as a human-centered practice that thrives on genuine connections and personal stories. The goal was to facilitate a space for conversations in an artistic setting, making art more approachable. It was an experiment to see how the bar phenomenon changes in an artistic setting and context.
“A Bar on Stage” was a continuation and adaptation of this project, refocusing on individual encounters. This six-day installation-performance, set in a bar, invited the audience to engage in staged yet authentic conversations, highlighting the bartender as a human. Each personalized drink featured a special ingredient: a drop of The Last Drop Bitters, distilled from the tears of bartenders. A combination of theater elements, cocktail bar skills, storytelling, personal involvement, and connection.
A Bar in a Gallery. Photo: Denis Ghisalberti Sasha Schewelew's thesis, "A Love Letter to Bartenders," explores the parallels between her
work as a bartender and being an artist on stage. It excellently and originally demonstrates how these two roles are deeply intertwined in her life. For Sasha, life is art, and art is life. Sharing her personal story and growth is refreshing and empowering.
By sharing her own and others' moving stories through her setup and performance-like installation, Sasha navigates a field marked by fragility, a balance of power relations, and precarity. This is not an easy field; thus, it's crucial to always ensure that her actual goals and intentions align with what she conveys to her audience. If they do, she is set to achieve great things. I look forward to seeing more of Sasha's work in the future
Nicky Assmann
A Bar on stage. Photo: Isabela Manea 
A Bar on stage.