HOTA, Home of the Arts

HOTA, short for Home of the Arts, is the Gold Coast's main cultural precinct, set in parkland beside Evandale Lake on Bundall Road, just inland from Surfers Paradise. It grew out of a council arts centre that opened in 1986, was relaunched under several names, and took the HOTA brand in 2018. Since then it has been transformed by a series of new buildings that give the city a serious arts venue to set against its beaches and theme parks.

The centrepiece for most visitors is HOTA Gallery, which opened in May 2021. Spread over six levels, it has more than 2,000 square metres of exhibition space, including a large main gallery, and it houses the city's art collection. Exhibitions change through the year, drawing on both the HOTA Collection and touring shows, so check the gallery pages of the website to see what is on during your visit.

Performances are the other half of the picture. Theatre 1 seats more than 1,100 people and hosts touring productions, music, comedy and dance, while a smaller black box theatre and the HOTA Cinema widen the programme. The Outdoor Stage, opened in 2018, is a lakeside amphitheatre used for concerts and festivals, with crowds of several thousand on the lawns. Around the buildings, the parklands include a sculpture walk, a children's adventure trail and the lake itself.

Food and drink is handled by Palette, the precinct's restaurant, The Exhibitionist Bar and HOTA Cafe, so a gallery visit can easily become a lunch or a pre-show dinner. HOTA suits culture-minded travellers, couples looking for an evening that is not a nightclub, and families who can combine the parklands with an exhibition. Allow one to two hours for the gallery, more if you are eating or seeing a show.

The box office at HOTA Central is open from 9am on weekdays and from 10am on Sundays, staying open later for events, and the contact page lists phone and email details for enquiries. The precinct has its own stop for the HOPO ferry on the waterways, and the address is on Bundall Road on the inland side of Surfers Paradise. Check the Getting Here page on the website for parking and transport options before an evening show.