Come and see for yourself!
There is something for everyone at SWELL!Celebrating 20 years of connecting people, art, and place, the annual SWELL Sculpture Festival is a free and all-inclusive 10-day outdoor sculpture exhibition, by the people for the people. A celebration of narratives and stories spoken through the artworks produced by local, national, and international artists. Visitors are invited to immerse on their own level and pace with the sculptures set amongst the natural landscape.
SWELL Sculpture Festival 2022 will deliver 70+ large-scale sculptural works of art by nationally and internationally renowned artists, to be presented as a free public exhibition between 9– 18 September 2022 along Currumbin Beach.
From dawn until dusk and into nightfall the sculptures will amaze, delight, and inspire as Currumbin Beach is transformed into an unmissable outdoor gallery experience. Each sculpture tells its own unique story and collectively the exhibition speaks the story of SWELL Sculpture Festival 2022, marking the 20th exhibition, a celebration of connecting people, art and place.
Information hubs are open from 8 am until 5 pm daily along the beachfront from 9-18 September. For the early bird’s, printed programs are available from the Currumbin General Store next to The Salt Mill, Pacific Parade, Currumbin.
Additionally, pop-up exhibitions will be presented as northerlySWELL in the Library and Cultural Precinct, Helensvale, IndustrialSWELL at The Boat Works at Coomera, and SWELL Smalls Gallery, and SWELL Fringe Festival running alongside the main exhibition along Currumbin Beach
Dates for planning your SWELL adventure are;
SWELL Sculpture Festival at Currumbin Beach, 9 – 18 September
SWELL Kids Elements at Currumbin Beach, 9-18 September
SWELL Smalls Gallery at Currumbin Beach, 9 – 18 September
SWELL Fringe Festival at Currumbin Beach, 9 – 18 September
IndustrialSWELL at Coomera Boatworks, Coomera, 1 – 18 September
northerlySWELL at Helensvale Cultural Precinct and Library, Helensvale, 1 – 18 September
SWELL connects PEOPLE, ART AND PLACE.
SWELL Sculpture Festival (SWELL) is Queensland’s premier outdoor sculpture festival, in 2022 the signature exhibition will present up over 70 Australian and international sculptural artworks created by over 132 artists to captivate the hearts and minds of a large and diverse audience of visitors set between two iconic giant rock formations along the Gold Coast’s Currumbin Beach.
The main exhibition along Currumbin Beach will be accompanied by SWELL Kids Elements, an interactive sculpture park for families to enjoy, performance art, outdoor cinema, sculpture workshops and masterclasses, outdoor kids’ library, guided sculpture walks, artists talks and panels, private soirees, Fringe Pavillion and Bar and more.
SWELL is a festival of experiences, a sensory symphony, an opportunity to bring together individual and collective imagining to encourage positive change. SWELL invites artists to tell their stories through public art, encouraging and supporting artistic excellence and vibrancy. SWELL creates cultural experiences for diverse intergenerational audiences to immerse in. Encouraging open dialogue, discussion of contemporary issues, building social cohesion and stimulating a greater sense of place and belonging. Being consciously inclusive and respectful of artists and audiences from all backgrounds.
Artworks explore an abundance of topics including cultural stories, ecology, nature and natural processes, human nature, life and health cultural stories crisis, politics, community, and environment. Mediums for sculpture resolve include concrete, stainless steel, copper, bronze, wood, glass, plastic, natural fibres, fibreglass, bamboo, Corten steel, wire, silk, stone, aluminum and more.
SWELL Sculpture (SWELL) is one of Australia’s leading public art organisations, featuring on the world stage, presenting public art, promoting artists and provoking public engagement with art.
Celebrating 20 years of connecting people, art and place in 2022, SWELL prides itself on nurturing and supporting national and international, emerging, mid-career and professional artists to build sustainable careers. Inspiring and encouraging collaborations. Forging forward to fortify the thriving longevity of the organisation, of the arts community. Significantly contributing to Queensland’s supercharged arts, culture, creative past and exciting future, SWELL is driven by values including excellence, experiential, inclusivity, and collaboration while promoting artists and provoking public engagement with art and community.
Everyone is welcome to come along and immerse at their own level.
Image credit: from top: Permanent Sunrise by Alejandro Propato | Image supplied by the artist, Living Sculptures; how the birds got their colours | Photographer Katie from Embellysh, Navigator by Jeremy Sheehan, Mark George and John Vanderkolk | Image supplied by Artists. Spiral of Life by Melissa Carey | Image by Menna Hornsby. SWELL Art Party | Image by Leximagery. SWELL 2020 | Image BR Images. Philip Piperides Masterclass | Image supplied by Artist. Amy Roberts at SWELL Art Party | Image by Leximagery.