HOTA or home of the arts is the new-and-coming-soon destination in art opening on the Gold Coast, Queensland. The gallery, set to open in 2021, will be the largest public art gallery outside a capital city in the country.
Now, the gallery has announced that it is working on a new major exhibition in time for its official open. HOTA announced it will commission up to 20 Australian artists to create a suite of new work to be presented in 2021.
The new $60.5 mil AU HOTA Gallery is currently under construction, but will become the permanent home for the $32 million City Collection. It will also present international exhibitions exclusive to Australia. And of course, the Gallery will have an ongoing commitment to present the work of local and community artists.
The newly commissioned works will be presented in an exhibition within the new HOTA Gallery’s AAA rated 1000m2 main exhibition space, with some works to be placed around the surrounding parklands.
The Gallery is inviting Australian artists who can demonstrate a significant link to the Gold Coast region to submit ideas for indoor and outdoor works. Artist will receive a fee for their participation in the exhibition, and successful applicants will have the support from the HOTA Gallery Curatorial and Exhibitions teams to develop, prepare, and install their work.
Artists will need to be 18 to apply but both establish and emerging talents are encouraged to submit. HOTA is particularly looking for those who locally engaged but globally aware, and those who share the belief that art has the power to unite, challenge, transform and delight.
The exhibition will be curated by the HOTA Gallery team with initial input from a leading industry professional.
Criena Gehrke, CEO of HOTA said: “Now more than ever, we have a deep responsibility to support Australian artists. We have fast-tracked this $100,000 commissioning opportunity for up to 20 artists to create new works for the inaugural HOTA Gallery program in 2021. Artists are at the core of our vision; without artists there is no home of the arts.”
It's an exciting project for artists, art-lovers and Gold Coast residents alike. With the creative community taking a hit from the coronavirus pandemic and many art galleries closing their doors to patrons, this industry needs support more than ever. The HOTA Gallery has the potential to transform the city into a cultural destination. In the same way that MONA and its Dark MOFO festival put Hobart on the map as an international destination for culture.
HOTA Gallery is hoping to become a must-see destination. One that allows the community to shares new ideas and experiences in visual art. It will be an indoor and outdoor experience that draws its strength from collaborations with artists, creatives and institutional partners on a local to global scale.
Come 2021, you'll certainly want to add Gold Coast to your travel destinations list.
Art submissions are open on Tuesday 19 May and can be submitted online at HOTA. Applications close from Friday 19 June. The successful artists will hear by Friday 3 July.
Commissioned artists must have all artwork completed by January 2021, with further details around the exhibition date announced in late 2020.
