17 April 2025
WONDER RETURNS WITH THEIR BIGGEST ARTWORK TO DATE: CLOUD PLAY BY POETIC KINETICS
This winter, prepare to be awe struck as WONDER 2025 unveils its biggest and boldest artwork yet: CLOUD PLAY by internationally renowned artist Patrick Shearn of Poetic Kinetics.
Suspended high above HOTA’s Outdoor Stage, CLOUD PLAY is a breathtaking 530sqm kinetic sculpture - a poetic dance of tens of thousands of ribbons fluttering with the wind. Each ribbon carries a personal message from the Gold Coast community, answering the heartfelt prompt: “I’m grateful to call the Gold Coast home because…”
Created exclusively for the Gold Coast and exhibited only at HOTA, this Australian-first installation will take over the sky from Saturday 31 May – Sunday 13 July.
Enjoy a series of free and ticketed events beneath the canopy of CLOUD PLAY.
HOP INTO A WHIMSICAL EASTER AT HOTA!
Saturday 19 April 2025
Looking for a fun and free Easter activity for the whole family? Come along to HOTA for a Wonderland-inspired day of colour, creativity and entertainment.
- Face painting | 9am–1pm
Head to the Lower Foyer at HOTA Central and get your face painted as your favourite Alice in Wonderland character – costumes are welcome too!
- Free movie screenings – bookings essential | Theatre 1
Snuggle in and enjoy a family favourite on the big screen:
- Easter bingo: The Golden Egg | 11:30am, Theatre 1
Join us for a special round of Easter Bingo, where five lucky participants will take home a giant golden egg crafted by HOTA’s talented culinary team.
Come for the fun, stay for the magic – there's something for every bunny at HOTA this Easter!
TASTE THE TALE: A CULINARY CHAPTER OF WRITERS REVEALED
Feast on words and experience Writers Revealed through fine dining and cocktail alchemy. Our very own Palette and Exhibitionist Bar are proud to unveil two captivating new menus - one fine dining, one cocktail - each inspired by the Writers Revealed exhibition here at HOTA - here’s your sneak peek!
Palette’s fine dining experience takes guests on a whimsical journey through the pages of literary history, with dishes that echo the quirky twists and turns of Alice in Wonderland, alongside oceanic flavours drawn from the evocative works of Daniel Fleming and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Palette has selected a mixture of inspirations from nearly 300 literary artefacts, creating a redefined culinary journey through time, paying homage to our exceptional literary traditions and the joys of storytelling on a plate.
In tandem, The Exhibitionist Bar launches a bold new cocktail menu that celebrates the history of classic cocktails, reimagined with a modern twist. From the earliest known recipes and ingredients of the 1800s, to the iconic Vesper, from Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale, and an array of flavours spanning the globe from Peru to London. Each cocktail is an ode to the diverse techniques, ingredients and rich stories that defined and influenced the history of the glass, stirrer and shaker. The art of words meets the art of mixology.
Join us and taste the experience of Literary Legends reimagined.
SIPFEST
Saturday 10 May 2025
Just launched! The signature Short Film Festival, SIPFEST, returns to HOTA’s Outdoor Stage as part of the Gold Coast Film Festival in 2025.
SIPFEST will showcase approximately 12 of the best local, national and international short films curated by the Gold Coast Film Festival on Saturday 10 May. The event will feature food trucks, bars and will culminate in an awards presentation, where the audience can vote for their ‘People’s Choice’ best film of the night.
Grab your picnic rug and pull up a patch of lawn for some of the best short films under the stars as we fire up the big screen for SIPFEST 2025 – and best of all, its FREE!
SIPFEST is proudly presented by Experience Gold Coast through the EGC Arts Fund.
CROSSING THE DIVIDE
Thursday 1 May 2025
Liam, a scholarship student from the Torres Strait is on his high school History excursion - a two-day trek across the Great Dividing Range, learning about the expedition by Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson. As their guide Lionel draws attention to events often left out of the history books, tensions mount when Liam’s friend Max refuses to see how European settlement created anything but a pathway to progress for a newly forming nation.
CROSSING THE DIVIDE is a vital conversation starter for anyone who calls Australia home and asks the question, “Can we find a path to a more unified Australia, or will we always be divided?”
Presented by HOTA and Shock Therapy.
VIEW THE 3 APRIL 2025 ARTS & CULTURE UPDATE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
Experience Gold Coast acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we are situated, the Kombumerri families of the Yugambeh Language Region.
We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging, and recognise their continuing connections to the lands, waters and their extended communities throughout Southeast Queensland.