You might have heard the news already, but the highly-anticipated SWELL Sculpture Festival is kicking things off with a bang in 2023 and we can't wait. Queensland's biggest outdoor art show is running from Friday 8 September to Sunday 17 September 2023 in various pop-up locations around the Gold Coast, with Currumbin Beach as the main hub.
The iconic Currumbin Beach will be transformed into an interactive free outdoor gallery, where you can wander among nearly 80 large-scale contemporary sculptural works by 190 nationally and internationally renowned artists.
From dawn until dusk and into nightfall, the sculptures will amaze and inspire you as Currumbin Beach becomes a ten-day unmissable outdoor gallery experience with each sculpture telling its own unique story.
There is so much more to SWELL 2023 than just the main Currumbin beach art hub—other festival highlights include:
- A beachside SWELL Fringe Festival happening alongside the main sculpture exhibition
- The SWELL Smalls Gallery at Currumbin
- SWELL Kids Elements for the little ones
- A new easterlySWELL flower exhibition on Chevron Island
- SWELL trumpet flowers at Pacific Fair
- Giant inflatable installations of Lil Dusty at Gold Coast Airport and Oasis Shopping Centre
- A water python timber installation at NortherlySWELL in Helensvale.
From an archway made of single-use plastics turned into flowers to a multi-sensory playground of sound and light and a giant inflatable installations of Dion Parker's iconic Lil Dusty, SWELL's artworks this year may be the most diverse yet.
There is also an exciting program of live events across a jam-packed ten days, including sunrise yoga, morning swims, silent discos, arts masterclasses, talks with artists, art parties, guided walks, live music and spoken word experiences. 
From thought-provoking, larger-than-life works to creative cultural performances to tiny minuscule sculptures, it’s going to be yet another unmissable year at SWELL Festival 2023.
THE DETAILS
What: SWELL Festival 2023
Where: Various locations at Currumbin Beach and around the Gold Coast
When: Friday 8 September to Sunday 17 September, 2023
For more information, click here.
Looking for events to jam-pack your weekend with? Check out the best events happening on the Gold Coast this weekend.
Image Credit: Jellyfish Journey by Kate Bennett, Permanent Sunrise by Alejandra Propato, Arc Circus & Luther Cora and Embellysh by Kate Bennett