Lace up your roller skates and pump up those bike tyres, as today (20 September) marks the launch of ART ROLL Gold Coast: an honour roll of Gold Coast Street art, curated into a free, self-guided tour on wheels.
From hidden laneways to hip cafes, seaside staircases and striking inner-city buildings, the Gold Coast’s urban landscape is the perfect canvas for artists and creatives to showcase their works.
Following a map that stretches from the city’s north to the southern end of Coolangatta, ART ROLL Gold Coast guides locals and visitors through a free trail of more than 100 street-art murals. Some are hidden in unknown secret spots, while others are showcased on iconic buildings and or along coastal strips, most going unnoticed even by locals up until now.
Locals and tourists can now embark on ART ROLL’s self-guided tour of the Gold Coast’s most colourful laneways, streets, neighbourhoods and landscapes by bike, skateboard, roller skates, scooter, car, or foot, while admiring the eye-catching work of more than 75 artists.
The city-sized trail features work by artists such as Steen Jones, Jai Vasicek, Mike Shankster, Claudio Kirac, Loretta Lizzio, Dion Parker, Cara Sanders, Kiel Tillman and Sarah Beetson, alongside work from a stable of new and emerging artists and even ‘mystery artists’, all waiting to be discovered.
Venture through lesser-known local streets, take an hour or two to explore your closest suburb, or experience the entire Gold Coast art trail over a few days. Round up the kids for a fun-filled day out or gather the crew and weave in stops at local cafes or craft breweries as you travel between murals.
Another exciting new creative tourism initiative supported by The City of Gold Coast, ART ROLL is a passion project by longtime locals, Maddy and Nicole of marketing firm Habitat, created to showcase the city and give back to the Gold Coast creative community. Through the arts trail initiative, the duo aims to create more opportunities for artists to connect with corporates, and to prompt corporates to think more broadly about their marketing and brand executions, by encouraging locals and tourists to explore the Gold Coast in a fun and active way.
Nicole from Habitat says she wants people to experience, know and love the Gold Coast she does every day.
“It’s the little villages in behind the coastline that we love, the creative spaces and the people you meet. The laneways, the coffee shops, and of course the mural works that have been commissioned and created across different venues that just pop up out of nowhere,” Nicole says.
"Art Roll has been born out of a vision Habitat Marketing had for employing local creatives to build brands through creative execution. Our small team is passionate about continuing to grow and change the narrative around culture on the Gold Coast nationally. We were the successful recipients of the Creative Tourism Grants Program the City of Gold Coast supported earlier this year to help bring this vision to life."
Maddy also shared she's excited to shine a spotlight on the lesser-known areas of our city.
"When we embarked on the project, we never expected we’d find more than 100 murals located across the coast. The trail of mural works will take locals and visitors to villages and precincts beyond the more popular destinations known and to places we know and love as locals. It’s great for the City and it’s great for local business," Maddy says.
"We are hoping to introduce clients and businesses to new ways to think about customer experience and beautifying their buildings, workspaces and venues with mural work. We hope people who explore the trail also find and support a local cafe, boutique, or locally-owned business they may not have visited before."
The ART ROLL Gold Coast initiative has been able to come to life thanks to the City of Gold Coast. They believed in our vision along with a number of other partners who have joined us on the journey to launch this project.”
ART ROLL Gold Coast is not only a must-do for the September school holidays – it’s here to stay! The Habitat team, supported by the City of Gold Coast, will continue to map out and expand the free art trail, fostering connections with businesses and creatives to execute ongoing commissioned mural works across the entire city.
Businesses or locals interested in a mural at their business or residence, or artists wanting to be part of the initiative, are invited to ‘join the roll’ by registering via www.artroll.com.au
However you chose to roll, be sure to take a selfie with your favourite mural or street art spot with the hashtag #letthegoodtimesroll
ART ROLL Gold Coast is online now. For more information, and to view the art trail map, head to artroll.com.au.
ART ROLL Gold Coast has been proudly supported by City of Gold Coast.
