Isolation Hotel was an immersive art experience by Auckland artist Heather Straka, presented by Canterbury Museum in collaboration with SCAPE Public Art. Visitors checked in to a purpose-built set evoking a once‑opulent, now timeworn 1930s German hotel, which served as the stage for a suite of Straka’s photographs. Featuring a diverse cast of enigmatic characters seeking refuge, the images echoed the drama of Caravaggio, Rubens, and Rembrandt, hinting at soap‑opera backstories, secrets, and dates with destiny.

The project invited participation as much as observation. Guests were encouraged to find a character to identify with and to use the set as a backdrop for their own photographs—projecting personal dreams, desires, and anxieties into the scene. A program curated by Audrey Baldwin activated the hotel with life drawing, poetry, theatre, artist interventions, film screenings, and cabaret, turning the installation into a living set that sparked conversation and play.