A new $1.5 million arts fund will be open to support Gold Coast’s artists across practices including theatre, dance, music, film and photography, circus, and multi-genre collaborations.
The Experience Gold Coast (EGC) Arts Fund will distribute grants of up to $200,000 per application to artists and creatives, whose presentation of local content can be aligned to EGC’s signature festival and events.
Current EGC events seeking the inclusion of Gold Coast artists include:
- Blues on Broadbeach (May)
- Wonder (June)
- Cooly Rocks On (June)
- Bleach Festival (August)
- Kids Take Over (September)
- Artcation Festival (all school holidays excluding September)
- Groundwater Country Music Festival (October)
- HOTA Gallery
- HOTA Presents:
- Outdoor Stage
- Theatre
- Lawn Bar
- HOTA Outdoor Stage Live Music Season (March – May 2026)
The new EGC fund will focus on three grant categories: Gold Coast Stories, Gold Coast Creates and Gold Coast Presents. Applicants can apply for the three grant categories with funding tiers of up to $25,000, $100,000 or $200,000.
Details of the three grant categories:
- Gold Coast Stories – Development of new content by Gold Coast artists, companies, and community for presentation across EGC platforms, festivals, events and stages
- Gold Coast Creates – Attracting high-calibre artists with strong connection to the Gold Coast back to the city to create and deliver work, and
- Gold Coast Presents – Presentation of readymade high quality local creative content.
The EGC Arts Fund has a specific local focus and seeks to build the city’s arts ecology on the back of the success of HOTA, Home of the Arts, which opened in 2021 and, in 2023, saw 750,000 people visit the gallery.
Read: Not just casinos and beaches: being a Gold Coast artist at HOTA
Experience Gold Coast’s Head of Arts and Culture, Yarmila Alfonzetti, says, “A thriving society needs arts and culture practitioners and activities of all types and levels. A melting pot of vibrant and distinctive cultural experiences that inspire locals and visitors alike will ensure that the Gold Coast continues its impressive trajectory to maturity.”
She continues, “HOTA, Home of the Arts, is in the privileged position of being able to support dozens of Gold Coast artists and creative personnel each year, and the opportunity for HOTA to present even more artists and their work at this wonderful precinct is one that I welcome wholeheartedly.”
Gold Coast Mayor, Tom Tate adds, “We know we have incredibly talented locals across a whole range of artistic pursuits, and this project will provide the support they need to go to the next level.”
Applicants practising in any art form are eligible to apply for the EGC Arts Fund with new and unusual contemporary arts practices encouraged.
Experience Gold Coast is an amalgamation of five entities – HOTA Home of the Arts, Destination Gold Coast, Major Events Gold Coast, Study Gold Coast and Placemakers – brought together under one umbrella in 2023 to help drive the city’s tourism, events, education, and arts and culture sectors.
Applications are now open for the three EGC Arts Fund grant categories with varying closing dates; learn more.
