Artist Michael Zavros travels for galleries, these are his top tips

If you're forking out for special exhibions, then bypassing the rest and trying to avoid the gift shop, you're doing galleries wrong. Take it from an expert.

The 2025 artistic director of the Gold Coast’s Bleach Festival, Michael Zavros always heads to a destination’s galleries. 

I travel for...

Travel inspires me. There isn’t much in the festival that isn’t somehow inspired by travel, people or artists I’ve met. Our finale, Cavalcade, is inspired by watching freestyle dressage (to music) at Versailles at the Paris Olympics last year and imagining this sand arena as a Gold Coast beach with horses dancing to live opera. I approached the role with one clear mission: what would I want to see in a festival? The festival contains some of the biggest artists in the world and across our nation.

Michael Zavros (centre) with stars of Bleach Festival’s Cavalcade.

I was raised on the Gold Coast but call Brisbane my home. My practice has taken me all over the world and continues to. I’m a bit of a hermit and sometimes I find it difficult to leave my studio and home, a 3ha property on the outskirts of Brisbane. But as soon as I’m away, I feel a great desire to rejoin the world. When I travel, I almost get too saturated and need time out to decompress. But we’re lucky now – we can record our experiences so easily and so beautifully and bring them home with us to excite, to share, to inspire.

We’ve done a few cruises as a family but also professionally aboard Seabourn when I was asked to present lectures at sea about my practice. I absolutely love cruises. Basically, this beautiful floating hotel makes its way between incredible cities and I can paint or eat or drink or stare out at that endless blue waiting for a dolphin.

Artist Michael Zavros paints while on a Holland America Line cruise in 2018.

The one place I always visit in a destination is… Galleries and museums. I also love visiting palaces and castles around the world. A place like Versailles in Paris is like a theme park of delights and I’ve been so many times. A city’s art collection – Paris’s The Louvre, Madrid’s Prado, New York’s Met – is its greatest art hits and testament to its history, its failures and its achievements. When the best in the world is always trying to put on a good show, it’s always worth it.

To get good value for money at a gallery/museum… Look at the permanent collection – it’s almost always free and everything in it was the result of so much passion on behalf of the museum or a benefactor and of course the maker, whatever century they belong to.

I always exit through the gift shop… And buy something, but I also start in the gift shop. The best art is always featured on postcards. It’s both a reminder of what you must see in the museum and something to whet the appetite.

Artist Michael Zavros at the Palazzo Colonna gallery in Rome.

In my carry-on you’ll always find… Pencils and Winsor & Newton watercolours. And good paper.

My favourite type of travel companion is… Someone who reads the guides about what’s on and who comes up with an itinerary.

I pack my suitcase… Very carefully. I roll. I like to make things disappear into the suitcase, into shoes or boots, or pockets. There’s always room for something.

I like to get to the airport… Ahead of time and go to the lounge. A nice drink just sets the mood.

On the plane I dress… Very well, in the hope of an upgrade.

Michael Zavros, who is guest artistic director for Bleach 2025, with some of his work in the HOTA Gallery. Picture: Glenn Hampson

My tip for keeping valuables safe when I travel is… Leave them at home.

My best tip for beating jet lag is… Stay awake when you get there until night-time.

I save money when travelling by… Having picnics in beautiful parks. A chunk of bread, some good cheese and something beautiful to look at.

My best tip for a cheap meal is… There’s always good food going cheap if you know where to look or do what the locals do. For example, in Milan they have aperitivo, which is where you go to a bar from about 6pm and for the price of a drink you can load up on whatever they’re putting out. It might be just chips and olives, but often it’s club sandwiches or calamari. Everyone does it, and bars compete for your appetite.

The destination I think is best bang for my buck is... The Aussie dollar goes a long way in Africa and it’s such an incredible place.

Bleach Festival runs on the Gold Coast across Kurrawa Park, Emerald Lakes, and HOTA for 11 days from July 31 to August 10, 2025. 

Originally published as Artist Michael Zavros travels for galleries, these are his top tips