It's time to brick-free, LEGO® lovers...
It's time to brick-free, LEGO® lovers...
Irrespective of your age or gender, one hobby has captured the hearts of us all. Besides making us yelp when we step on it and bogging up the Dyson from time to time, LEGO® can do no wrong. Its entertainment superpowers are never-ending when our kids declare they’re bored. Which is like every ten minutes – on a good day – during the school hols.
Speaking of the holidays, two Gold Coast faves have answered every parent and LEGO® enthusiast’s prayers.
HOTA (Home of the Arts) with Bricktionary, and The Oasis Shopping Centre with Mega Cities – Build your own City. Both are seriously that amazing, people will be lined up for ‘blocks’!
Mega Cities at The Oasis Shopping Centre
On a scale of ten, how much would your kids enjoy creating their very own city building out of LEGO® with the help of Andrew and Damien from Australia’s reality television program LEGO® Masters? Eleven (obvs), plus we’re fangirling coz we love that show, and who even cares about the kids – we’re going with or without them!!
Inviting children of all ages to come along and join in the building fun, your mini-me’s LEGO® masterpiece will be joined with other constructions to create a mega city! But that’s not all, they’ll also score a free small LEGO® kit, which means you’re getting even more entertainment to keep them occupied at home! Translation, you can sneak in a quick MAFS catch-up sesh while they’re busy building. Everyone wins!
Tickets are $15 per child and the sessions are running during designated time slots over the week of Monday 11th to 17th April. To book, visit https://goldcoasttickets.com.au/event/15408
Bricktionary at HOTA
From life-sized animals to fantasy and fashion and some of the biggest and best LEGO® creations, this is the ultimate interactive LEGO® exhibition running from Saturday 9th April until Sunday 7th August. And seriously, could this be staged anywhere more appropriate, as the iconic HOTA building is basically one big awesome LEGO®.
Created by legit LEGO® royalty, Ryan ‘The Brickman’ McNaught from the hit TV show LEGO® Masters Australia, this brand-new exhibition is based on his latest book, The Bricktionary: The Ultimate A-Z of LEGO®. McNaught is a leading LEGO® brick Artist plus the only LEGO® Certified Professional (LCP) in the southern hemisphere…and yes, LCPs are a thing, and we know what we want to be when we grow up.
Built to inspire little LEGO® builders’ imaginations with six interactive build zones and over one million bricks, this exhibition will challenge, inspire and ignite their inner Brickman or Brickwoman. It features over 150 models from McNaught’s book, models from LEGO® Masters Australia, never-seen-before creations, and over 45 new models from The Brickman team masterminds.
A bona fide triple threat with HOTA hosting, McNaught at the helm, and more immersive mind-blowing brickery than you can poke a block at, it has all the makings of a truly unforgettable family-friendly experience. Tickets start from $16pp. To book, visit www.hota.com.au/bricktionary
So you can ‘le-go’ of some of your ‘where can I take the kids these holidays’ anxiety, because this is sure to be all that and a bag of ‘bricks’.
MEGA CITIES
Where: Oasis Shopping Centre, 75 Surf Parade, Broadbeach
When: 11am – 12pm & 12:30pm – 1:30pm, Monday 11th – Thursday 14th April & Saturday 16th – Sunday 17th April
BRICKTIONARY
Where: HOTA, Home of the Arts, 135 Bundall Road, Surfers Paradise
When: Saturday 9th April until Sunday 7th August
Words by Bianca Trathen.
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.
