DESTINATION PUBLIC ART
THE Gold Coast Tourism slogan is ‘We Are Destination Gold Coast’. I think it is terrific and that it works for all of us. It taps into all of the expectations that travellers have, whether they are from Ipswich or Incheon; Enoggera or England.
It also works well for all of us in the education sector since we are committed to making the Gold Coast an ever-better destination for students from Queensland, interstate or overseas.
Equally, Study Gold Coast has come up with some excellent initiatives, such as the Human Rainbow theme – emphasising the cultural and linguistic diversity of the city. We are all totally behind it.
And sports on the Gold Coast is legendary. I have never been prouder than when I attended the amazing swimming finals during the recent Commonwealth Games. That was Australia at its finest, Queensland at its most proud, and the Gold Coast at its best.
But there is another element which is still emerging, where I believe that we have room to grow. That is in the area of the arts and performance.
We do have world-class entertainment on the Coast (think of The Star at Broadbeach, for example). And we do have the very strong Gold Coast Arts Festival, Swell Sculpture Festival and Bleach Festival. But I believe we are still underdone in the area of public art as a tourist magnet.
Look at the national trends: the way in which the Garma Festival has transformed the Northern Territory. The way that the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) has spearheaded a ‘cool arts’ renaissance in Hobart. The way in which street art is revolutionising Adelaide.
Just south of the border, the way that the Byron Bay region has transformed itself from a backpacking Mecca to a festival hub is remarkable. Think of the Byron Writers Festival, Splendour in the Grass and more recently Falls Festival. The annual Bluesfest. The festivals in Mullumbimby and Nimbin; the Lantern Festival in Lismore and so on.
There is no doubt that the Northern Rivers is one of the participating and creative arts hotspots of Australia. And it is just a hop, skip and a jump away from the Gold Coast.
As one indication, more than 440,000 people each year fly into the Ballina-Byron Gateway Airport. A very high number are tourists interested in one of the key festivals.
Equally, millions of people arrive at the Gold Coast airport each year and a large number head south.
In itself, that is no bad thing. We are one country after all. But I think that the standard of – for example, public art – still has a way to go on the Gold Coast. And it is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate truly Australian talent.
We recently welcomed back Guido van Helten, a graduate in visual arts from Southern Cross in 2008. He has spent the last decade painting major murals worldwide, for ever-increasing audiences.
He has perfected an incredible, photo-realist style of painting by hand, executed 40 metres in the air on a cherry-picker. His technique is astounding. The results are amazing. Whether in Reykjavik, the Ukraine, Nashville or Dubai he has painted distinctive, large-scale works which are superb.
Now he has finished one at the Gold Coast campus of our university: an intriguing, 10storey high portrait of two students looking into the future, into the buildings, into the campus. It signals the openness and excellence of Australian talent. And it is stunning. We should have more of it at the Gold Coast.
I argue that more commissioning of Australian public art – surprising work of the highest quality – is what we need. We have taken the first steps. But the road lays ahead, and it is a global one.
Let’s have a new festival – of public art – in the city.