Home of the Arts (formerly The Arts Centre Gold Coast) has today, unveiled a new name, a spectacular new $37 million outdoor stage, and its first outdoor program featuring big names, collaborations and local talent.
The new Outdoor Stage is like nothing the Gold Coast has seen before. Completed at the end of 2017 it brings extraordinary new capacities for performances and events, and the ability to attract artists and performers of a calibre not seen before in the region.
Home of the Arts (HOTA) will be a place for conversation, collaboration, and creativity. A place that locals love and visitors must see, with the iconic backdrop of Surfers Paradise, one of Australia’s most famous destinations.
“We’ve talked about the cultural precinct becoming the city’s cultural heartland,” said City of Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate. “What better than to name the precinct Home of the Arts. Everyone knows home is where the heart is.”
Kicking off the 2018 outdoor program is none other than Australia’s brilliant showman and provocateur, the internationally acclaimed Tim Minchin. This special free concert to officially launch the HOTA outdoor program for 2018 will be held on 17 March; Minchin’s first in Australia for years.
“I’ve just moved back to Australia after 12 years living overseas, and the first stage I get to play on is a spanking new, world-class amphitheatre on the beautiful Gold Coast!” said Minchin. “It’s a hugely exciting venue in a part of the country I’ve not been in years.”
Other highlights of the program include celebrated Crowded House front man Neil Finn performing with an orchestra in Out of Silence; and The Spirit of Churaki – an epic music production inspired by the story of an Aboriginal man heralded as the Gold Coast’s first surf lifesaver, under the musical direction of Brian Ritchie (Violent Femmes) and cultural collaborator Kyle Slabb (Banaam).
The Queensland Symphony Orchestra will perform the music of five-time Academy and 23-time Grammy Award Winner, John Williams in From Jaws to Jurassic: The Music of John Williams; and in a major coup for the region, multi-award winner and pioneer, musician and film director, Laurie Anderson will leave her home in New York to take up residency at HOTA, creating five separate events including Concert for Dogs.
Also unveiled today was a spectacular new mural by New York based street artist MOMO on the walls of the Fly Tower at HOTA. Known for his large scale, big and bold geometric compositions with clean lines in vibrant colours, MOMO’s intention was to create an iconic, eye catching beacon for the city with a dynamic and changing quality according to the viewer’s position.
A pattern of shimmering contrasting colours up close, while at a distance blending together for a completely different experience. Work on the mural; an abstract design began in January and took around 14 days to complete.
“A new name, a spectacular new venue, and a wonderfully energised new program comes as the result of many years of planning and hard work by multiple teams and a huge commitment from the City of Gold Coast,” said HOTA Chair Robyn Archer AO.
“This moment is the inspirational beginning of a new era for the Gold Coast, for both its residents and its millions of visitors. At last, the sixth largest city in Australia has created a brilliant state-of-the-art platform for the commissioning, producing and presenting of the most exciting artists from the region, the nation and the world,” Archer added.
The next stage of construction, scheduled to begin in mid-2018, will be a new green bridge across to Chevron Island which will be followed in 2019 by a new Art Gallery constructed by Hansen Yuncken. Once built, it will be the largest regional art gallery in Australia, becoming a cultural beacon showcasing the City of Gold Coast art collection and hosting international exhibitions of a calibre never before seen in the region.
Tickets for the free Tim Minchin concert can be secured by subscribing here. The rest of the program will be on sale from Friday 9 February 2018. For more information, visit: www.hota.com.au for details.
Image: The new outdoor stage at Home of the Arts (HOTA) on the Gold Coast (supplied)