Gold Coast development: Construction begins on $60.5m art gallery at HOTA
The first sod has been turned on the Gold Coast’s $60.5m art gallery. Now get your first look at an incredible feature which weighs 550kg and will sit inside it
Council
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THE Gold Coast culture cringe is dead and buried as construction begins on Australia’s largest regional art gallery.
That’s the message from Mayor Tom Tate who today turned the first sod of the $60.5 million gallery which will be built Bundall’s Home of the Arts (HOTA).
After years of being dismissed as a city without culture, Cr Tate said the new development would prove the critics wrong.
“It is symbolic of the Gold Coast’s coming of age as the city’s cultural and social economies mature,” he said.
“We are committed to investing in our cultural future and keeping the city way ahead with signature projects that enrich our cultural and social fabric.”
The occasion was marked with the unveiling of a 550km black granite dedication stone. It will one day stand in the foyer of the gallery, which is expected to be completed in November next year and open to the public in early 2021.
The 1.5m-tall stone will be installed next year during the construction phase.
HOTA chairwoman Robyn Archer unveiled the stone with Cr Tate and said it was a landmark moment for the city’s arts community.
“With the opening of this gallery it means that every day of the week anyone who is on the Gold Coast will know they can come to HOTA for a deep and rich cultural experience,” she said.
“I know the HOTA team’s ambition is for really exciting programming and they are speaking with every level of national and international museums about the kind of programming we will able to present in this gallery.
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“I have no doubt that in the future a new kind of visitor will come to the Gold Coast - those who are interested in culture tourists will come here because of the quality of what we are presenting.”
Both Cr Tate and Ms Archer were presented with small 3D-printed models of the gallery.
Among those who attended the unveiling were Surfers Paradise councillor Gary Baildon, former mayor Lex Bell and Surfers Paradise MP John-Paul Langbroek.
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