HOTA, Home of the Arts has announced a commissioning opportunity for 20 Australian artists to be presented in a major exhibition in its new Gallery opening in 2021.

In early 2021, HOTA in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia, will open the City’s new AUD$60.5M (approx. USD$40M) Gallery.

Australian artists who can demonstrate a significant link to the Gold Coast region, are invited to submit ideas for indoor and outdoor works, ranging from medium to large-scale installations, video projections, free-standing sculptures and performance, to all types of outdoor art that can be executed well in the environment.

As well as receiving an artist fee for their participation in the exhibition, successful applicants will have the support from the HOTA Gallery Curatorial and Exhibitions teams to develop, prepare, and install their work.

HOTA are accepting submissions from established and emerging artists aged 18 years or older, who are either based on, or can demonstrate a significant link to the Gold Coast. Artists who are ambitious and locally engaged but globally aware, who share the belief that art has the power to unite, challenge, transform and delight, are encouraged to submit ideas.

The exhibition will be curated by the HOTA Gallery team with initial input from a leading industry professional. 

Applications open on Tuesday 19 May and can be submitted online at hota.com.au/opencall. The deadline for applications is Friday 19 June. Successful applicants will be notified by Friday 3 July.

Successful artists must have all artwork completed by January 2021, with further details around the exhibition date announced in late 2020.

HOTA Gallery is the centrepiece of the City’s Cultural Precinct Masterplan which guides the evolution of the precinct over the next 10-15 years as the city’s artistic and cultural needs grow. And with more than AUD$399 million allocated to deliver the precinct, this is a City serious about supporting the arts.

William Robinson’s stunning painting The Rainforest (a key work in the City’ collection) has been the inspiration for both the architectural design and future gallery programming: a trail-blazer full of wonder, discovery, creation, beauty, spectacle and scale. It will be filled with multiple ideas, an unfolding experience of viewpoints and trails that challenge us to dig deeper and get lost in creative ideas. It will have aspects of light and dark; points of discovery – both internally and externally.

Designed by international architects ARM and spanning six levels with over 200mm2 of AAA rated, international standard exhibition space, the new Gallery will include a 1000m2 main exhibition space, with the capacity for touring exhibitions of an international size and scale. It will also feature 900m2 of exhibition space for the City Collection and temporary exhibitions, a dedicated Children’s Gallery and almost 1000m2 for collection storage and exhibition preparation.

HOTA Gallery will become a must-see destination that facilitates and shares new ideas and experiences in visual art both indoors and outdoors; that draws its strength from integrated arts programming, and collaborations with artists, creatives and institutional partners on a local to global scale.

HOTA Gallery will be the largest public gallery outside a capital city in Australia with the ability and ambition to present exhibitions and projects of national and international scale. In the first two years the Gallery will host three major international exhibitions that are Australian exclusives and will continue to celebrate local talent along with presenting the AUD$32 million City Collection in its new home The annual Gallery program will also feature commissions, children’s exhibitions and education initiatives, talks, performances and Up-Lates alongside external activations and installations. For more information visit:  https://hota.com.au/new-hota-gallery.