Now in its 13th year, experience a wondrous display of over 50 sculptures built by local, national and international artists at the 2015 Swell Sculpture Festival along Currumbin Beach 11 – 20 September.
Queensland’s largest outdoor celebration of art and culture transforms the iconic southern Gold Coast beach into a vibrant open-air gallery of interactive, engaging and thought-provoking sculptures and installations from the monumental to the miniscule, including: a 650kg stainless steel chain dragon; a lion made from galvanised aviary wire; and a two metre tall breaching whale, boasting internal LED lighting at night.
Swell Sculpture Festival founder and organiser Natasha Edwards said the growing reputation of the event had attracted top quality entrants from around the world.
“Each year our audience appreciation for the diversity and quality of works presented grows exponentially and the excitement builds heading towards the opening,” said Ms Edwards. “This year’s final selection by the curatorial panel will showcase some of the best sculptural talent on offer in Queensland, Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany and New Zealand.
The Swell Sculpture Festival has cemented itself as the region’s most significant and most loved arts event, showcasing the work of local, national and international artists alongside an exciting program of live entertainment, workshops, kids’ activities, performance art, artist talks, yoga experiences and more.
Visitors will have the opportunity to get creative with a number of exciting Master Classes and Workshops, suiting a range of ages. The Masterclass is hosted by the ever popular Monte Lupo and for the kids to hands on, local creatives Artable are offering a number of sculpture projects. Artist Velvet Pesu will create some noise as kids embellish found objects and create to the sound of their own drum!
Every sunrise is new, bringing a new light, story and energy to the Swell landscape. Be mesmerized as Clara Durbidge explores the relationship between the rising sun and the natural environment by creating a soundscape at dawn. Singing Up the Sun will be held on Saturday 12 September, commencing at 5.00am.
End the day with a twilight walk through the sculptures with an opportunity to discover more about the works. These walks are fascinating and full of insight into messaging and materiality as Emma Collerton, Assistant Curator – The Gold Coast City Gallery takes you on an artistic journey, Sunday 13 & 20 September 2015 – commencing at 5.00pm.
Experience something different with an hour of reflection through the practice of yoga and mediation providing a time to become aware of your creative core and admire the artistic inspiration that surrounds us. This calming movement hosted by Be Free Yoga (17 – 19 September) is a salute to all those sculptors whose works stand before us and inspire an imaginative future.
The 2015 Swell Sculptural Festival runs 11 – 20 September. For more information, visit: www.swellsculpture.com.au for details.
Image: Andy Scott, Arabesque (2005) – courtesy of Swell Sculptural Festival