Overview
When spring arrives in southeast Queensland each year, fans of soaking in the region's great outdoors can ignore boy band names and head in two directions. Go west and all things floral await for the entire month of September, thanks to the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers. Venture down to the Gold Coast, however, and you'll find a huge outdoor art gallery gleaming for ten days, and stretching across a one-kilometre expanse of sand.
The latter comes courtesy of Swell Sculpture Festival, which returns to Currumbin Beach for 2022 between Friday, September 9–Sunday, September 18. As it has for 20 years now, the event features large-scale artworks displayed along the shore, ready for patrons to see while getting their feet sandy and/or wet, with more than 70 pieces popping up at this year's festival.
Once again, visitors can expect to get an eyeful of stunning creations. Yes, by simply walking along the beach, you'll view some stellar art. This year's fest features more than pieces made by more 132 artists using a variety of materials — including works using concrete, stainless steel, copper, bronze, wood, glass, plastic and natural fibres, as well as fibreglass, bamboo, wire, silk, stone and aluminium.
Some creatives, such as Malvika Satelkar, have taken inspiration from the ocean's unknowns. Others, like Irene Messia, pay tribute to the natural world — while Amelia Batchelor uses recycled materials to draw attention to humanity's dependence upon plastic and its environmental impact.
Emily Hastie has taken cues from her love of surfing, Phil Darnton ponders the crossover of art and architecture, and Dion Parker found inspiration from Where the Wild Things Are. Obviously, the list goes on.
Of course, every day, every beach becomes an art gallery in its own way. If you've ever taken a bucket, filled it with sand, plonked it onto the shore and shaped it with your bare hands, then you've sculpted something — and you've added a tiny piece of temporary art to the shoreline, too. So, it makes sense that part of the Gold Coast would celebrate this specific art form right by the water — with more than just sandcastles on offer, though.
The 2022 fest includes guided walks; yoga among the art; pop-up food vendors; and masterclasses covering everything from photography and weaving to bush dyes, native foods and sculpture wheels. A beachside fringe fest features live tunes and comedy as well, alongside artist panels and poetry.
Swell Sculpture Festival 2022 runs from Friday, September 9–Sunday, September 18 at Currumbin Beach. For further information, head to the event's website.
Top images: PBR Images/Leximagery.