A heavy dose of nostalgia all wrapped up in family fun.
A heavy dose of nostalgia all wrapped up in family fun.
The Gold Coast’s favourite cultural playground, HOTA, Home of the Arts, is the place to be this summer with a brand-new and exciting program – Pick ‘N’ Mix – taking place. Expect a medley of nostalgia and fun, including 80’s concerts and roller nights. Pick ‘N’ Mix is dedicated to art, interactive experiences, sunset cocktails and a whole lot more.
Here’s our pick of a crammed lineup of the goings-on.
Fridays on the BIG Lawn with Inside Gold Coast
Our very own event series is getting bigger for summer. Grab some drinks, hear live music, and wave goodbye to a big week. It’s the Fridays on the Lawn that you know and adore but elevated for a summer takeover! And as a result, HOTA have picked up the artists and the Lawn Bar and moved locations to the ‘Big Lawn’. So prepare to take in the Outdoor Stage in all its glory! Get amongst some Lawn games, and let the summer vibes start your weekend off on the right foot.
When: 14, 21 & 28 January 2022
Summer Flow Yoga
Paired with the sounds of nature and live music, start your summer Sundays with yoga. Join yoga guru Ian Cariaga to experience yoga with strings, sitar, and zither before perhaps taking a meander through the HOTA Markets (open until 11.30am) or the Palette High Tea at Palette Restaurant (available from 10am).
When: 16, 23, 30 January 2022
Arts Mixtape: Yours for Summer
HOTA Gallery’s inaugural summer exhibition is brimming with an assortment of themes, ideas and mechanisms, including photography, painting, sculpture and video by some of Australia’s foremost artists. From retro-fused moments, mesmerising scenes, and definite nods to the spirit of a Gold Coast summer; expect a touch of cheekiness! The humble mixtape (for those of us who remember cassettes) has been there for life’s significant moments. Art Mixtape: Yours for Summer takes this ideology and is a mashup of recollections of summers past and of the art that still speaks to us today.
When: Throughout summer
Roller Nights
Grab your roller skates, blades or scooter and wheel your way to HOTA forecourt for an amusing social skate evening in the outdoors, complete with DJ, a pop-up bar, and tasty treats. It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or a pro, a roller derby superstar or roller newbie; the hosts will guide you through activities, games, and rollerography for a wheelie-good time! (Pun fully intended.)
When: 13 & 20 January 2022
Dumpling Dreams by YEAHYEAHCHLOE
Grab the kids and head into HOTA Children’s Gallery for this interactive experience. Brought to you by the beloved Brisbane-based artist YEAHYEAHCHLOE, you’ll only be limited to your imagination in this space. Creatives (of all ages) can craft and cook up a world of dreaminess within an infinitely colourful space. It’s worthy of a visit, even just for an insta post at minimum!
When: Throughout summer
Words by Alex Mitcheson.
It’s the moment the arts community, and indeed the public of the Gold Coast have been waiting a little while for (drum roll) the shiny new Home of the Arts (HOTA) Gallery is now open! And what a great complement to an already incredible arts precinct this is going to be!
While the tickets to access the gallery this weekend were already sold out, the opening weekend is set to make you excited. There will be artworks both indoors and out that celebrate the diversity, richness and ambition of the Gold Coast. Coinciding with live music across both the Saturday and Sunday daytimes, the experience — even for those without access to the gallery (for now) — is set to be a great one-off experience still.
On Saturday 8th May, the music program will serve as a vibrant soundtrack to the buzz of excitement and anticipation at the Gallery and its surroundings. Music will kick off from 11am to 3.30pm with a line up on the Outdoor Stage featuring the fiery instrumentation from Hussy Hicks, dreamy psych-pop from Echo Wave, the colourful sounds of Samba, Bossa Nova from Augusta Street, the hip hop and traditional rhythms from young First Nations band, Jarulah and Blackline Band and the funky, disco vibes from DJ Felix.
On Sunday 9th May, you’re encouraged to experience ‘Echoes of Gold’, featuring performances by: Eliza & The Delusionals, Donny Love, DENNIS. and DJ sets by VICES to name a few. All hosted by Kate Baggerson and Zac Fahey, with live on-stage interviews with artists, musos, and industry movers & shakers, the line-up will be nothing short of exciting.
And to amplify that local Gold Coast flavour, even more, The Design Collective Markets will be on-site showcasing a selection of Gold Coast and Queensland artisan makers and retailers for a pop-up market of boutique wares and gifts! Not forgetting the mix of food trucks/outlets, local beers, it’s lining up to be solid Sunday in our eyes. On a picnic blanket or standing with a cold one in hand — either way, it’s an unmissable Gold Coast event.
If you did secure tickets to the opening, in the opening exhibition, titled Solid Gold: Artists from Paradise, be sure to keep an eye out for local artist Aaron Chapman’s inclusion — we have it on good authority it will be big and bright! You simply can’t miss it.
Internationally, the Contemporary Masters from New York: Art from the Mugrabi Collection exhibition (13 November 2021 – 27 February 2022) will be showcased in the new 1000m2 main exhibition gallery a stunning space featuring approximately 70 works from some of the world’s most influential contemporary artists including Andy Warhol.
And if you decide to hold off on visiting the Gallery until after Friday 14th May, you can then check out the incredible new Palette Restaurant and Exhibitionist Bar. Both of which where you will find deftly put-together food and tantalising cocktails await with enigmatic views of our skyline and hinterland.
The Gold Coast art scene is set to flourish, folks!
Where: HOTA, 135 Bundall Road, Surfers Paradise
When: Opening weekend – Saturday 8 May & Sunday 9 May 2021
Words by Alex Mitcheson.
