Temple University students are adding a splash of color to the walls of the Independent Hotel in Center City Philadelphia.

Recently, Temple’s widely acclaimed Tyler School of Art partnered with that hotel for a rotating art program that opened Nov. 12.

Fourteen pieces of original artwork—10 paintings and four drawings—are on display in the main areas of the hotel and available for sale. The premiere exhibit features work by Temple graduate students Tiffany Livingston, Kaitlin McDonough, Jonathan Ryan and Seneca Weintraut.

“Having a more comprehensive, curated art collection with original artwork adds to our homelike atmosphere,” said Emily Kuch, general manager of the Independent Hotel. “It just made sense to partner with such a renowned art school located only a little farther north on Broad Street. Temple is a fantastic university that many of our associates have attended.”

The hotel is a property of HHM (formerly Hersha Hospitality Management), which has a longstanding relationship with Temple and its alumni. Jay H. Shah, FOX, LAW ’95, Hersha Hospitality Trust’s chief executive officer, earned an MBA from the Fox School of Business and a law degree from the Beasley School of Law. In the past year, the company has hired 21 Temple alumni in their Philadelphia-area offices.

Margo Margolis, chair of the Department of Painting, Drawing and Sculpture in the Tyler School of Art, said that the exhibit is a great opportunity to showcase Temple’s talent to the surrounding community. “Temple has one of the top-ranked MFA programs in the country,” she noted. “Our students go out into the world and are some of the most visible and influential artists working today on a national and international scale.” In 2012, U.S. News and World Report ranked the Tyler School of Art No. 10 in the nation’s top painting and drawing programs.

Seneca Weintraut, a first-year MFA student from Indiana, has five pieces featured in the exhibit. “When you’re an artist, exposure is a huge benefit,” she said. “I’m happy that a group of people that normally wouldn't have seen the work are seeing it.”

The exhibit will be up through February 2014.