Find Your Perspective
There's a rumour that we're not a very "artsy" place. Good thing it's just a rumour. Galleries, theatre groups, nostalgia museums, sculpture festivals and indigenous performances just brush the surface of a cultural canvas that goes far deeper. As they say - art is purely a matter of perspective after all. Looking for more inspiration? Check out the cultural highlights of the Gold Coast hinterland.
arts & culture
- Free Event
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From now until 20 Jul 2025
Your Local Wedding Guide Gold Coast Expo
When you visit Your Local Wedding Guide Gold Coast Expo, expect to be inspired by exciting new products and ideas, see gorgeous displays, listen to live music, plus go in the draw to win great prizes! Register Online for Free Tickets to their Gold Coast wedding expo at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, Broadbeach. Loads of inspiration in a friendly and fun atmosphere! Showcasing reception venues through to cars, beauty, gowns, cakes, photographers, entertainment and much, much more, their amazing expo is the largest and longest running wedding expo on the Gold Coast. They help you plan your wedding using the most reliable and trusted wedding industry suppliers from the Gold Coast and South-East Queensland. All weddings are unique, so whether you're dreaming of a bohemian beach wedding, a rustic, vintage or modern styled wedding, let them help turn your dreams into reality. They don't cater to any one 'style' of wedding - everyone is welcome! See you there!
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From now until 20 Jul 2025
Dogs on the Green Markets Benowa, Gold Coast
The Gold Coast's Greatest dog friendly markets. 70+ dog related vendors, with everything doggie available, toys, treats, physios, training, vets, holistic medicines and more! Free entry, free parking. Leashed, social dogs welcome. Delicious food trucks and coffee vendors onsite. $5 charity raffle- go in the draw to win 4+ prizes, each worth hundreds of dollars Please bring cash on the day to support the vendors with fast service and no card surcharges.
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From now until 19 Jul 2025
Welcome to Parad-Ice - The Variety Ice Skating Show
Get your tickets to 'Welcome to Parad-Ice', a one-of-a-kind variety show, featuring fierce ice-skating that will dazzle with acrobatics, spins, and clown antics. Fun for the whole family. Located at Planet Chill Ice-Skating Rink, inside Paradise Resort Gold Coast.
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From now until 23 Apr 2025
The Penguin Lessons
The Penguin LessonsStarring Oscar nominee Steve Coogan, this poignant dramedy from director Peter Cattaneo (Military Wives, The Full Monty) follows an Englishman’s personal and political awakening after he adopts a penguin during a cataclysmic period in Argentine history. Country Of Origin: USA & Spain.
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From now until 19 Apr 2025
Surfers Paradise Easter on the Esplanade
Hop on down to the Surfers Paradise Beachfront Markets this Easter long weekend for a two-night Easter egg-stravaganza! On Good Friday and Easter Saturday, they're transforming the Esplanade into an Easter Paradise! Soak up the vibrant atmosphere, browse up to 100 market stalls, discover unique handmade gifts, enjoy live entertainment, and treat yourself to delicious sweets and goodies. The Easter Bunny will be hopping by for an egg-stra special meet & greet on April 18th and April 19th between 5pm-8pm. Here's what you can egg-spect! Meet & Greet with the Easter Bunny (Both nights 5pm-8pm) Live Music & Entertainment Artisan handmade goodies Family Friendly Activities Sweet treats for all Plus, if hunger strikes - or you're just in the mood for a cheeky drink - Surfers Paradise's vibrant restaurants and bars are just steps away!
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From now until 12 Jul 2025
Anna Carey’s Magic + Memory: make me a home
Anna Carey’s Magic + Memory: make me a homeOur new Children’s Gallery exhibition is your home away from home at HOTA. Gold Coast artist Anna Carey creates miniature models of houses and the rooms inside them. Her work has been spectacularly brought to life in an oversized model created for play and daydreams. What is real? Where could you use your imagination? There are magical and memorable moments to discover as we invite you to ‘make a home’ in our Children’s Gallery. Entry is free. Presented by HOTA, Home of the Arts with Anna Carey Exhibition Major Partner Bendigo Bank Community Bank Paradise Point and Pimpama-Ormeau
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From now until 19 Apr 2025
La Clique
La Clique in The Famous Spiegeltent Presented by HOTA, Spiegeltent International and David Bates Circus. Cabaret. Comedy. Step inside The Famous Spiegeltent and experience the jaw-dropping, spectacular show, La Clique! Sexy, funny, dangerous and very risqué, this spellbinding production has captivated more than a million people around the globe since its ground-breaking debut in 2004. With a blend of daring acrobatics, eye-popping stunts, scandalous burlesque and raucous comedy, the Olivier Award-winning show has reinvented ‘variety’ for the 21st Century. The Famous Spiegeltent will be set in the HOTA parklands. Built in 1920, it’s one of the oldest and longest running Spiegeltents in the world and the very first to grace the shores of Australia. Audiences from New York to Paris have loved this show – now it’s your turn to experience La Clique in The Famous Spiegeltent on the 20th anniversary tour. Strap yourself in! 'Cirque du Soleil's more brash, less inhibited and more naked younger sister.’ NEW YORK TIMES
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From now until 03 Apr 2025
Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Photography Award 2024
Celebrate the best of contemporary Australian photography at HOTA Gallery. The Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Photography Award 2024 presents a diverse selection of artworks by artists at the forefront of photographic media. As a survey of contemporary practice, the award plays an important role in representing the ongoing evolution of photography and the ways in which artists use it to create striking and memorable images. As the richest prize for photography in Queensland, the $25,000 acquisitive award is open to all Australian artists working in the broad medium of contemporary photography. Visitors to the exhibition will decide the $5,000 People’s Choice Award voting for their favourite artwork. Since the Award’s inception, over 60 works have been acquired by HOTA, resulting in a celebrated collection that reflects shifts in the cultural and social landscape over two decades. Previous winners include wani toaishara, Tamara Dean, Shaun Gladwell, Darren Sylvester, Lynne Roberts-Goodwin, Polixeni Papapetrou, Polly Borland and Cherine Fahd.
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From now until 28 Dec 2025
HOTA Farmers and Artisan Market
The HOTA Markets are one of the Gold Coast's most vibrant community markets, held every Sunday morning, in the iconic HOTA precinct. Like the Gold Coast itself, we're a celebration of independence and lifestyle! They are passionate about local farmers, makers, bakers and growers, we like knowing where our goods come from, and we love supporting new and emerging small businesses. The markets are part of the fabric of the Gold Coast, they're proud to support and foster local artists and live music, as well as supporting social causes representing the local community. Each Sunday HOTA comes alive with in-season farm-fresh produce, delicious artisan foods, boutique fashion and handcrafted wears. All nestled against the backdrop of Evendale Lake and the stunning HOTA landscape.
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28 Apr 2025
Writers Festival April 2025
Immerse yourself in the captivating world of words at the Bond Writers Festival.Are you an academic, educator or clinician who wants to ‘write better’? Are you aiming to get published in academic journals or The Conversation, or simply tell better stories to your reader? If any of this resonates, the Writers Festival is for you!After a successful 2024 launch, we simply couldn’t resist offering this opportunity again. The Bond University Writers Festival will bring together a diverse community of writers and readers, to explore the art and science of writing well, and communicating our studies and stories. You can expect to be inspired, energised and given the space to reflect. We hope you’ll join us on the Gold Coast in April 2025.#BondWritersFestival #WordsofWisdom #UnleashYourCreativity #WritingRevolutionKeynote Speaker Lorelei Lingard COST: $250
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From now until 04 May 2025
Dogs on the Green Markets
The Gold Coast's Greatest dog friendly markets. 70+ dog related vendors, with everything doggie available, toys, treats, physios, training, vets, holistic medicines and more! Free entry, free parking. Leashed, social dogs welcome. Delicious food trucks and coffee vendors onsite. $5 charity raffle- go in the draw to win 4+ prizes, each worth hundreds of dollars Please bring cash on the day to support the vendors with fast service and no card surcharges.
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22 May 2025 - 25 May 2025
2025 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show
Welcome to Australia’s must-see boating blockbuster! The Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show is the greatest show afloat! The Southern Hemisphere’s marquee marine event with a superstar lineup of more than 300 exhibitors across everything from the latest marine gadgets and must-have technology to a massive display of trailer boats, sail boats, motor yachts and superyachts plus a raft of exciting new product launches. The Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show promises plenty of showstopping moments from exclusive VIP experiences in The Lagoon Beach Club to boatloads of activities, including live entertainment stages, fishing demonstrations, street performers and a fun-filled kids activities. Get along to the biggest and best boating lifestyle show with over 740 boats and thousands of marine products. Don’t miss this full-on, four-day, action-packed event of all things aquatic. Save the Date - May 22-25, 2025
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24 May 2025 - 30 Aug 2025
Cloudy with a Chance of Art
Cloudy with a Chance of ArtEyes to the sky! HOTA’s Children’s Gallery is a place for dreaming and creativity. The sky is the limit to your imagination, so we encourage families to look up and see some amazing artworks by Australian artists - historical and contemporary - that also look to the skies for inspiration. A curated display of cloud artworks will set the scene for play and creativity ‘beneath the clouds’ in the Children’s Gallery. Artwork: Peter Smets ‘Curious’ 2006, oil on canvas. Collection, HOTA Gallery. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Peter Smets 2012
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06 Jun 2025 - 07 Jun 2025
Gold Coast Disability & WorkAbility Expo
The Gold Coast Disability and WorkAbility Expo brings together a wide range of product and service providers to help people with disability live their best lives. Meet with a range of providers including government and advocacy, aids and equipment, financial and legal services, education, training and employment providers, social and leisure options, transport and vehicles, health and medical products and services, allied health professionals and support services, all under one roof in an accessible and inclusive environment. The expo will also feature a range of informative and interactive presentations delivered by industry experts, and all-ability adult and children’s entertainment. Expo accessible features: Auslan Interpreters, live captioning at the stage, Bindi Maps indoor wayfinding, quiet time Saturday morning 9am-10am, service animal friendly with watering station, accessible venue facilities, drop off zone and accessible parking. Jump the entry queues by registering your attendance for the free Gold Coast Disability and WorkAbility Expo on Friday 6th and Saturday 7th June 2025 at Coomera Indoor Sports Centre. Get organised with the Expo Guide that will give you the lowdown on parking, exhibitors, floor plan, and the stage and entertainment schedule.
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07 Jun 2025 - 17 Aug 2025
National Gallery of Australia: Enjoy this Trip - The Art of Music Posters
National Gallery of Australia: Enjoy this Trip - The Art of Music Posters'The musicians were turning up their amplifiers to the point where they were blowing out your eardrums. I did the equivalent with the eyeballs.' Victor MoscosoDrawn from the National Gallery’s expansive collection of Australian and international music posters spanning the 1960s to 1980s, Enjoy this trip: The art of music posters captures the spirit of the times as an era of experimentation. Journey back to the Summer of Love and be transported to a time when the music was funky, the art was kaleidoscopic and psychedelia was in full swing. Enjoy this trip presents a nostalgic exploration of the times through art, graphic design, music, colour and typography. This is a National Gallery Touring Exhibition supported by the Australian Government through the National Collecting Institutions Touring and Outreach Program. Curator: Leanne Santoro, Curator, Sharing the National Collection. Artwork: Paul Worstead, Jimmy Jones Souvenirs, Mental as anything - Creatures of leisure (Martin), 1982, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, gift of the artist 1994 This work appears on screen courtesy of the artist © Paul Worsted / Copyright Agency, 2024
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07 Jun 2025
Hota Twilight Markets
Saturday 7th June 4pm - 9pm Step into a twilight wonderland at Hota's mid year Night celebration! They'll have an array of gourmet food stalls, live music and unique artisan goodies! Soak up the goodies with your family and friends and enjoy the live tunes all night long.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
Experience Gold Coast acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we are situated, the Kombumerri families of the Yugambeh Language Region.
We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging, and recognise their continuing connections to the lands, waters and their extended communities throughout Southeast Queensland.