Beyond the beaches: Gold Coast Triennial features 42 local artists

Before arts executive Yarmila Alfonzetti moved to the Gold Coast to become head of arts and culture with Experience Gold Coast (a merger of various tourism and events organisations), she held roles with high-profile entities such as the Sydney Opera House and the Perth Festival. She had preconceptions about her new home, although she found they were quickly dispelled.

HOTA, Home of the Arts, is an arts and entertainment facility that has been on the same site under different names since the 1980s.

“I thought the Gold Coast was fast and furious – all high rises, glitter and glitz. But the arts and culture scene here is anything but superficial,” she says. “There is deep emotion, passion, love and community at every arts event I have attended.”

Perhaps no event is more emblematic of the changes and growth in arts and culture for the region than the Gold Coast Triennial, which runs at HOTA until February 16, 2025. Unlike three-yearly exhibitions in other cities which might feature big international names, the Gold Coast Triennial – titled Here and Now – showcases works by 42 Gold Coast artists.

Alfonzetti says a growth in the arts on the notoriously-bereft-of-it Goldy is begetting more of the same. “The vibe is absolutely one of ‘a rising tide lifts all boats.’ If you want to experience something special, this is the place.”

That epicentre for “special” is HOTA, Home of the Arts, the ambitious contemporary incarnation of an entertainment facility that has been on the same Surfers Paradise site under different names and configurations since the 1980s.

HOTA is in the middle of an arts precincts that has stunning local views.

It hosts a gallery, concert hall, restaurant and a weekend farmers’ market, and its custodians strive for it to be as emblematic of the Gold Coast’s cultural life as the Opera House is to Sydney’s, or the Arts Centre to Melbourne’s.

The work explores what is going in the Gold Coast’s creative community.

Visitors to Here and Now will find seven interconnected spaces containing pieces ranging from medium-scale installations, video and sculpture to 2D works, all curated to capture the depth and dynamism of the Gold Coast’s creative community.

“The works tell a personal story and provide a window into each artist’s soul. They might be about a connection, a relationship, or a special interest,” says Alfonzetti.

“The HOTA Gallery, amid an arts precinct that is quite beautiful, will give visitors pause for thought. The interior of the building is stunning, as are the views.

“The landscape is there to greet you from every window, as you meander in and around.”
See hota.com.au