CITY FINALLY HAS VENUE IT DESERVES

IT’S been a long time coming — but boy, was it worth the wait.

More than four years since plans for a new Gold Coast Arts and Cultural Precinct were formalised, the Gold Coast’s new Home of the Arts, HOTA, is born.

HOTA chair Robyn Archer has played a crucial role in the development of the space and its Outdoor Stage, the centrepiece of the $37.5 million Stage 1 of what was previously known as the Evandale Cultural Precinct

“Any time there is a new space for art it is a time to celebrate,” she says.

It’s unlikely arts and culture buffs of all ages and persuasions will need to be convinced HOTA’s new state-of-the-art outdoor arena is a must-visit performance venue.

In fact, as the calibre of acts already signed on to play the stage shows (Tim Minchin, Neil Finn, Laurie Anderson), HOTA is sure to be one of the most talked-about venues in the country in its inaugural year.

Even the naysayers — and there have been plenty of them on the road to yesterday’s reveal — will have trouble resisting HOTA’s charms.

The Outdoor Stage is a work of art in itself. A beautiful building framed by a grassed amphitheatre and blue skies to the west; the lake, river and Surfers skyline to the east.

There’s no doubt HOTA will change people’s preconceived ideas about what the Gold Coast is and what it has to offer.

“I think there’s a very good chance that we’ve cheekily fallen in line with other very prominent precincts throughout Australia and I think this place will deserve that respect,” Ms Archer says.

“I think now that the Gold Coast is coming of age culturally I think it’s really important that we align ourselves with the best in Australia quite unashamedly, so this is the Home of the Arts.”

Ms Archer says she’s watched the enthusiasm of Mayor Tom Tate and his council help power the development of arts and artists on the Coast since she arrived here four years ago.

“There have always been arts and artists on the Coast — many of them — it’s just that they lacked platforms to show their work,” she says.

HOTA’s creative team are already working to ensure the performances it presents provide opportunities for local talent to share its stages with established artists.

“This place can be as creative as the people who want to be here or the audiences who want to see things so they will go from mainstream, big concerts like Tim Minchin or Neil Finn through to symphony orchestras and community orchestras,” Ms Archer says.

“You can have anything that the artists and the audiences want on the Gold Coast.”

HOTA will co-present — and subsidise — some of the biggest shows on its 2018 Outdoor Program to make them if not free, then highly affordable.

Residents should make the most of their opportunity to sample what’s on offer on the new world stage in our beautiful backyard.