Fusing genres, artists team up to transform historic Prince Edward County hotel | Canada Voices

For three days earlier this month, Prince Edward County’s The Royal Hotel hosted an ambitious, site-responsive group art exhibition called Hotel Confidential.

Co-curators Christina Zeidler and Stacey Sproule invited local and international artists to transform the guest rooms and common spaces in the historic hotel’s Annex building. The show featured collaborative installations in a range of disciplines including homeopathy, weaving, photography, sculpture and even an interactive radio broadcast.

PEC is experiencing a new golden age of creative output that’s drawing both locals and visitors to the region.

In a 2024 study by arts research organization Hill Strategies, PEC was listed as having one of the highest concentrations of artists in Ontario – its 300 artists represent 2.3 per cent of the local labour force. Yet the study also highlighted that artists there make significant financial sacrifices to practise their craft, noting that the median personal income of artists in 2020 was 30 per cent lower than that of other workers in the County.

These sacrifices come with the promise of more space and a slower pace of life, Zeidler and Sproule said.

Zeidler, founder and former creative director of Toronto’s Gladstone Hotel, moved to PEC in 2019. She brings deep knowledge about the intersection of hospitality and culture, having launched the annual art and design exhibition Come Up to My Room at The Gladstone in the early 2000s.

At the time, Toronto’s DIY culture was thriving. But as the years passed, it became harder for artists to live in the city as rents surged, arts spaces closed and grant funding became scarce. The pandemic was the final blow for many, resulting in an exodus of creatives in search of greater affordability in neighbouring cities and towns.

Zeidler said it was the people that attracted her to the area. “The art scene already existed here, and the queer scene already existed here. Those are important communities to me personally, and I was joining a community rather than starting one,” she said.

Her relocation took on a new dimension after COVID hit. The local radio station became a lifeline for her household, as well as for many others in the region. Her memory of that ephemeral time, she said, aligns with her work as an artist and curator.

“Part of my practice has been creating very acute moments,” said Zeidler. To that end, Come Up to My Room, which involved artists taking over the Gladstone’s guest rooms, ran for just a few days. To honour that impermanence, one of the works at Hotel Confidential featured a makeshift radio station set up inside a guest room. Chip Yarwood, a local composer, sound engineer and station manager, served as its host.

Yarwood’s 20-hour broadcast was piped into the Annex’s common spaces as well as the main building, supported by contributions from artists including Dainesha Nugent-Palache, who played synth for a segment.

Nugent-Palache’s evocative photography – and the nostalgic objects that are her muses – was also on display as part of an installation presented by Toronto’s Black Artists’ Networks in Dialogue Gallery.

The exhibit’s diverse mix of ideas and creatives is reflective of PEC as both a destination and a home for art enthusiasts and collectors. Take Oeno Gallery and its sprawling sculpture garden, located next to Huff Estates Winery & Inn, which exhibits a large range of styles and artists across career points and locales.

Hotel Confidential co-curator Sproule, an artist and programs director at the Prince Edward County Arts Council, wanted to showcase a similar sample. She noted that the timing couldn’t be better, as County Arts celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

“It really feels important to look towards the future and what the potential is for this organization,” she said.

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That sentiment is echoed by Sol Korngold, general manager of the Royal, who led the building’s nine-year renovation and reopening in 2022. Since then, the hotel has become a central hub in the community, with a rotational gallery space called the Barlow Room. In the coming months, it will exhibit the work of Wellington, Ont., photographer Tommy Feiler and Toronto artist Kristin Sjaarda.

Discussing why he was immediately on board with the idea for Hotel Confidential, Korngold highlighted that County Arts – which collaborated with the Royal on the show – is just across the street from the hotel. So is the Regent Theatre, home of the annual County Adaptation Film Festival, which he co-founded. This proximity lends itself to sustainably nurturing cultural happenings.

“We are a very proud community,” Korngold said. “When folks see an effort like this from people who live here, like Christina and Stacey and other artists themselves, and when they see the effort from the hotel to do something a bit out of the box, I think it resounds with them and their pride grows.”