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*|MC:SUBJECT|* *|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* View this email in your browser Pelican Sculpture finds its home at Miami State High School An environmental project has unfolded at Miami State High School with the installation of a striking Pelican sculpture made from marine-grade stainless steel by Gold Coast artist Mike Van Dam. The sculpture sits poised in serene repose

*|MC:SUBJECT|* *|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* View this email in your browser SWELL Sculpture Festival wins Gold at the Australian Street Art Awards SWELL has been named as the best street art festival experience in Australia for the third consecutive year! We are thrilled to share that SWELL has taken home the Gold Award for Best Street Art Festival

*|MC:SUBJECT|* *|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* View this email in your browser   Tell us about your SWELL experience   Support SWELL and complete a short survey for your chance to win a family pass to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary valued at $169! We would love to hear your feedback – tell us about your experience at SWELL Sculpture Festival 2023.

*|MC:SUBJECT|* *|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* View this email in your browser SWELL is Popping Up Across the Gold Coast! easterlySWELL 2023 | Community Art Project Where the Wildflowers Grow with parthenopi Parthenopi has a magical way with found plastics, turning them into beautiful blooms to tell the environmentally critical story of single use plastics. The crafted blooms will

*|MC:SUBJECT|* *|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* View this email in your browser   SWELL 2023 Call for Entries Now Open Artists are invited to be brave, bold and daring with their creative minds and apply to be a part of SWELL 2023, Queensland’s largest outdoor sculpture exhibition taking place  8 – 17 September at Currumbin Beach on the Gold Coast.

*|MC:SUBJECT|* *|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* View this email in your browser   CALLING ALL ARTISTS TO APPLY FOR  SWELL SCULPTURE FESTIVAL 2023!   Entries are now open for the 21st annual SWELL Sculpture Festival. With over $32,500 in Awards, additional Artist subsidies, programming, and installation support available.  CLICK HERE TO APPLY ONLINE SWELL is Queensland’s largest outdoor sculpture exhibition; we

*|MC:SUBJECT|* *|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* View this email in your browser   The SWELL Team sends our warmest wishes to you and yours this holiday season!   As we reflect on a wonderful year presenting awe-inspired sculptures by so many amazing Artists, we hope you all find some time to reflect on the amazing creations and stories shared. We

*|MC:SUBJECT|* *|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* View this email in your browser   A huge thanks to everyone who came along to  SWELL 2021 and to those who experienced SWELL from afar online! Share your SWELL Sculpture Festival photos with #swellsnap2021   Click here for the SWELL Sculpture Festival 2021 Image Gallery Also check out: northerlySWELL 2021 Image Gallery

*|MC:SUBJECT|* *|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* View this email in your browser   Only one more week until SWELL 2021 Pop-Up Exhibitions begin! The countdown is on for SWELL 2021! Our main exhibition rolls onto Currumbin Beach 10-19 September.    This year’s pop-up events will kick off from the 1st of September with westerlySWELL at Mudgeeraba + Lower Beechmont,

Use the links below to view our latest newsletters – exciting events, artist opportunities, announcements and more. Stay up to date on all things SWELL by subscribing to our newsletter! CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE IMAGE: SHIFA by Clayton Blake, Image by Leximagery

Joel Adler NSW – Viewfinder   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? I love having space where I can combine my creative and practical sides. For me, creating art is a blend of craziness and sensibility. Do you have a favourite material you like to work with? Material for me is only a

Mimi Dennett NSW – Measuring the Sky   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? Being able to produce what is in my mind and look at it in 3D form. It’s another way to communicate. Do you have a favourite material you like to work with? I love all materials. Would you rather

Robert Guenther NSW – Ragnar V Moby   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? I like the fact you are forever bringing it back to the art. Someone loves it-someone hates it. It does not matter. But then unless you want to exist in a bubble, its great to get feedback and evolve

Stephen Newton QLD – Can you hear its tender frame, screaming from beneath the waves?   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? As a sculptor I get to work in different locations with different people. My studio work is R & D and exhibition objects, my large scale public sculpture engages people, places

Charlie Trivers NSW – The Alley Sirens   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? Working with my hands. Do you have a favourite material you like to work with? Plywood at the moment. Would you rather share an Uber with Barbara Hepworth or Cornelia Parker or Antony Gormley? Barbara Hepworth hands down. If

Barbara Licha NSW – Tenants   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? Communication. Dialogue between me and my creation in studio, dialogue between finished work and individual viewers. Do you have a favourite material you like to work with? I can easily say wire, as I am working with it for more than

Karl Meyer SA – Life Support   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? The journey & processes associated with moving ideas from the mind into a physical reality. Do you have a favourite material you like to work with? Every material has characteristics, I am currently engaging with stainless steel. Would you rather

Simon McVerry QLD – Julara – The Mullet   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? Taking the time to go to my shed and create art work. It opens doors in your thinking – how to balance form, creativity and make-ability. I also enjoy the installation process where you attempt to set your

Yoshio Nitta Kyoto Japan – I put a moon on the table but it has cracked   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? My work moves the human heart. Do you have a favourite material you like to work with? Copper, bronze, wood. Would you rather share an Uber with Barbara Hepworth or

Phillip Darnton Kent UK – ANOMALY   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? I love building and creating. I love working through complications and problem solving. Do you have a favourite material you like to work with? I have always loved plywood but mirrors are what I am into at the moment, creating

Nikita Zigura Ukraine – Drop of Wine   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? My favourite moment is when I finish a work, when a draft finds embodiment in a perfect creation. Do you have a favourite material you like to work with? I mostly work with clay. Would you rather share an

Pam Walpole & Yanni Van Zijl (Art forARTsake QLD – Vortex   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? The chance to bring art to the people – to surprise – comment and delight onlookers. Do you have a favourite material you like to work with? We strive to use recycled material. So much

Monte Lupo QLD – Cohesion   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? As a group of artist working together , we get to bounce ideas around, work through the making process then make the pieces.  The collaboration is great, bringing all the creative minds together to work on one amazing sculpture.  This is

Mari Hirata QLD – Sentinels   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? I love the feeling when I’m in the state of ‘Flow’. It’s like a very focussed, intentional phenomenon. It’s out of this world. I also love the fact that as long as I have a space and the means to create,

Robert Barnstone NSW – Gene Rosa   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? The intellectual endeavour of developing a body of work, my work often is an exploration of spatial concepts and signifiers.  Forms of containment that force the minds eye to to imagine the depth of the piece.  I also enjoy the

Miles Allen QLD – 15 000 Declarations of Love   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? Starting with nothing but an idea and finishing with a tangible object that says something. Do you have a favourite material you like to work with? Wood. Would you rather share an Uber with Barbara Hepworth or

Lana Scoville NSW – Interconnection   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? Birthing ideas and seeing them come to life. Do you have a favourite material you like to work with? I like to use materials that are often overlooked. Anything from used tea bags, to fallen wood on the forest floor to

Luke Zwolsman QLD – Unity   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? Being able to be freely creative, work in solitude most of the time, and being able to choose myself when to come out of hiding and play with others the rest of the time. Do you have a favourite material you

Jasmine Mansbridge VIC – You/Me/Sky/Sea   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? The making of new things and seeing ideas in my head come to life and then being able to share them. Do you have a favourite material you like to work with? As I am a multi-media artist this is a

Jessica Harris NSW – What Was Pavilion   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? I am trained in architecture and so I don’t necessarily identify myself as an artist but find that the two are inextricably linked. The discipline of architecture is exciting to work within because it crosses so many disciplinary boundaries

John Forno QLD – Totem/ What’s that Skip? There’s a fire on the horizon!   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? What I remember of my childhood is limited in its narrative playback to a few ready-made toys, BMX riding, skateboarding and Atari. As a child while this limiting form of play helped

Jeff Raglus VIC – BONEYARD or BONEHEAD.   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? The freedom, the lack of ‘normal’ timeframes  and the pleasure of doing what you actually love for a living. Do you have a favourite material you like to work with? Acrylics and wood. Would you rather share an Uber

Guy Cooper QLD – Guardians of the Gold Coast   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? I love the freedom of being able to create with my hands. Ideate something in my head and then translate it to a physical manifestation through sculpture. Being able to embed a feeling and emotion through the

Hugh Burrell NSW – The Five Elements Orrery   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? To create in the world the wildest thing I imagine. Do you have a favourite material you like to work with? I love all materials, especially re-working found items into art. I’m fascinated with steel currently and its

E Farrell Huntley Florida – The Womb   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? I feel moved to create. Most of my creations are inspired by natural events. Research and conversation is a big part of my process. One of my favourite aspects of being an artist is meeting people. I love to

Gabriel Rosati NSW – Adam and Eve   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? Whilst planning a new work, searching for a solution, sometimes this can take months, its like being in a vortex and you’re just hoping that you can feel and find the answer to complete the artwork. And when the

Egor Zigura Ukraine – Colossus that Rebelled   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? My favourite aspect of being an artist is presenting my works in my native country and abroad. Do you have a favourite material you like to work with? I mostly work with bronze. Would you rather share an Uber

Christian Newton NSW – Five fathoms deep   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? The opportunity to make intangible tangible. A thought turns into a scribble that may inspire an object. Do you have a favourite material you like to work with? Wood. Hands down. It comes with its own story. Take something

Courtenay McCue, Connor McCue & Eduardo Knox (District 23) QLD – Umbrella Effect   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? Getting to create and discover new things everyday that people enjoy, and putting a smile on their face. Do you have a favourite material you like to work with? Paint! Would you rather

Arvin Abbassian QLD – Coral Rehab   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? I love the power of expression & total freedom art enables. I think art can envelop a sense of empathy and help us better understand people, places, periods of history, and issues with which we may otherwise be unfamiliar with.

Dragons Abreast Australis QLD – The Good Ship Awareness   What’s your favourite aspect of being an artist? As an eclectic group we naturally would provide a wide range of answers to the following questions, but we would all agree that there is unlimited satisfaction in fulfilling the creative urge. Do you have a favourite

German Jauregui QLD– Flow. The power of a single golden module has been created with simple geometry to bring harmony when it blends with itself into the greater pattern of a single whole. Geometry is the language of man to provide rhythm to the eye and these rhythms are the root of human activities. Flow represents this imperceptible rhythm, with a hidden sequence behind the intense and passionate red colour. A piece with multiple points of view.

Russell Solomon Food for Thought Photo: Masa Russell Solomon QLD – Food for thought. Rubbing Buda’s belly for good luck, rolling the ball in the lion’s mouth and spinning prayer wheels in temples are some examples of interactions with sculptural forms. As a young boy my Grandfather introduced me to the Paul Klee image of

Charles Robb creating the likeness of General Sir John Monash Image: awm.gov.au Charles Robb is an Australian artist based in Brisbane.  His work focuses on sculptural, digital and photographic media and explores notions of subjectivity and incidental form. His work has been seen in both group and solo exhibitions at venues including MONA (Hobart), the

Kirsten Baade is a talented Queensland artist. Her work Lenticular Lenses is used to display multiple images from different viewing angles. Her intention with Lenticular Lenses is to create an engaging visual effect by using wind power, gear trains and lenticular lenses. Kirsten intends to use them to create an animated effect, by using a

  Clayton Blake is a Queensland artist who has taken his artwork all over the world. His artwork for SWELL this year, Transparent Connection, represents the connections and relationships we have are the single most important aspect of our lives and we must strive for greater transparency with one another. The artwork encourages us all

Brad Hill is a talented Queensland artist. His work Caged is a reflection on emotions of mental illness. Behind closed doors nobody knows what you’re experiencing or how you’re feeling. We all put on a fake persona where we are caged behind our emotions. Let’s strip the cage. Writer Haley Smith spoke with Brad about