Celebrated Australian music icon Paul Kelly will perform live at the festival alongside Meg Washington, Brendan Maclean, Beddy Rays and other special guests at the How to Make Gravy – Live in Concert event on the HOTA Outdoor stage hosted by Richard Wilkins and featuring performances from the BINGE Original film soundtrack. Leigh Whannell, co-creator of the billion dollar Saw and Insidious franchises, joins AACTA Festival with an exclusive in-conversation on his work and his immense contribution to the horror genre. Back by popular demand, Australian director Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman) will unpack his latest project, the Robbie Williams biopic Better Man.

The Festival has also announced an exclusive discussion with the creators of the upcoming Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar, with Samantha Strauss, Liz Watts, Jeffrey Walker and Que Minh Luu taking you behind the scenes of the shocking con-story centred on one the world’s first wellness influencers. Also added is a panel featuring storytellers from the Torres Strait islands, moderated by Screen Queensland’s Danielle Ah Boo, which will highlight the skill and talents of Torres Strait creatives who are redefining what it means to tell a story.

Whether you’re a fan of the macabre or an aspiring filmmaker, visionary brothers Colin and Cameron Cairnes unpack Late Night With The Devil. For garden enthusiasts, presenters Costa Georgiadis and Millie Ross reveal the magic that makes Gardening Australia a household favourite. Plus Millie Holten shares the inside scoop on her viral sensation Long Head, with the creators of Lesbian Space Princess, to discuss how bold storytelling is reshaping the world of animation. For lovers of comedy, AACTA Festival presents the 25th Anniversary screening of The Dish!

The AACTA Festival 2025
5-9 February 2025
HOTA, Gold Coast
www.aactafestival.com/

Also announced was the first outdoor program at HOTA featuring big names, collaborations and local talent.

Kicking off the 2018 outdoor program at HOTA is none other than Australia’s brilliant showman and provocateur, the internationally acclaimed Tim Minchin. This special free concert to officially launch the HOTA outdoor program for 2018 will be held on 17 March; Minchin’s first in Australia for years.

Standouts in the 2018 program include Australian music legend Neil Finn, the mighty Queensland Symphony Orchestra, and in a major coup for the region, multi-award winner and pioneer, musician and film director, Laurie Anderson will leave her home in New York to take up residency at HOTA.  Tickets for Tim Minchin can be secured by subscribing at hota.com.au, the rest of the program will be on sale from 9 February.

Announcing the news this morning was City of Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate, HOTA Chair Robyn Archer AO, and HOTA CEO Criena Gehrke along with supporters and friends of the precinct.

“We’ve talked about the cultural precinct becoming the city’s cultural heartland. What better than to name the precinct Home of the Arts. Everyone knows home is where the heart is,” said City of Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate.

“A new name, a spectacular new venue, and a wonderfully energised new program comes as the result of many years of planning and hard work by multiple teams and a huge commitment from the City of Gold Coast,” said HOTA Chair Robyn Archer AO.  “This moment is the inspirational beginning of a new era for the Gold Coast, for both its residents and its millions of visitors. At last, the sixth largest city in Australia has created a brilliant state-of-the-art platform for the commissioning, producing and presenting of the most exciting artists from the region, the nation and the world,” she said.

“That HOTA has been able to attract artists of the quality of Tim Minchin, Laurie Anderson and Neil Finn to its opening program is a testimony to a starry future: the instinct to set them alongside a wholly local new work like The Spirit of Churaki, the musical richness of the QSO, and grand-scale community participation shows that HOTA is welcoming to one and all. HOTA unapologetically embraces the broadest sense of culture and at the same time insists on excellence every step of the way.”

Also unveiled today was a spectacular new mural by New York based street artist MOMO on the walls of the tower at HOTA. Best known for his huge, playful, complex and brightly coloured abstract murals, the internationally famed MOMO was chosen from more than 120 submissions to create a spectacular piece that heralded the coming of HOTA.

“The MOMO mural is a proud statement of the new direction that we have taken as we become HOTA, Home of the Arts.  To attract an artist of MOMO’s calibre is a real coup and underlines the commitment we have to bringing great art and artists to the Gold Coast, as well as ensuring artistic leaders share their knowledge and skill via mentorships with our local artists,” said HOTA CEO Criena Gehrke.

The unveiling and launch of HOTA today is the result of years of work, and a vision driven by City of Gold Coast.  “This magnificent and state-of-the-art $37.5 million Stage 1 is just the beginning for HOTA, and there is much more to come. Today we pay tribute to a truly extraordinary new precinct for not only our region and state, but for the country – it is a place where artists from all over the world can converge and perform, create and mentor,” said Mayor Tom Tate.  “The next stage of construction, scheduled to begin in mid-2018, will be a new green bridge across to Chevron Island which will be followed in late 2018 by a new Art Gallery. Once built, it will be the largest regional art gallery in Australia. The Gallery will become a cultural beacon showcasing the City of Gold Coast art collection and hosting international exhibitors of a calibre never seen before on the Gold Coast,” he said.

HOTA CEO Criena Gehrke said HOTA presented a once-in-a-generation transformative program for the cultural life of the Gold Coast.  “Surrounded by parkland and lake with Surfers Paradise as the backdrop, HOTA, Home of the Arts is a place for live performances, lake-side strolls, star-gazing, farmers markets, cinema-watching, art and new-ideas, gathering, dance, creation and more.  We are now home to the Gold Coast Film Festival, and are working with The Farm, Bleached Arts and The Walls,” she said.  “We call out to all fans and followers of arts, entertainment, creativity, music, storytelling and more – come and visit, go for a swim, dry off your sandy feet and wander over to the outdoor stage to experience world class artists. Welcome home!”

Tim Minchin In Concert
17 March – 7pm
HOTA – Outdoor Stage, Gold Coast
www.hota.com.au