Bringing together creative pursuits inspired by surf culture, Bleach Surfing the Fringe will celebrate all art forms kissed by the ocean, encrusted in salt and bleached by the sun. From 11 to 26 February, art, music, film, fashion, theatre, food and photography sharing the common theme of surfing will be on display across the iconic beaches and venues of the southern Gold Coast.
One of the largest arts events in size, scope and duration ever held on the Gold Coast, Bleach will feature the works of more than 50 artists in dozens of separate pop-up events and installations that will stretch over a radius of 10km, including shipping containers laid on prominent foreshores, outdoor mobile music concerts, film nights, art projections and more.
Music at Bleach
The festival has a great line-up of acts over the course of the event – the headline act is Blue king Brown. Led by multi-talented Natalie Pa’apa’a’s powerful vocals and relentless energy, Blue King Brown offers a mix of dancehall, roots, rock and afro groove in a mash-up built upon an irrepressible percussive foundation.
They will be joined by Tabura and their unique blend of traditional and contemporary music genres. Fresh from rocking Port Moresby in front of a 20,000-strong crowd, Tabura is the new voice of West Papua. This group of West Papuans, Papua New Guineans and Australians are united in their cause, and hope to strengthen civil resistance in West Papua through the power of music.
As well as Blue King Brown you can expect a ton of great acts over the rest of the fortnight including The Break, Mat McHugh, The Windy Hills, King Tide, Tijuana Cartel, Band of Frequencies, A French Butler Called Smith and the list goes on and on – there is something for every musical taste.
Pop-up Bleach
Expect the unexpected with these unique art pop-up exhibitions peppered across shops, galleries and iconic southern Gold Coast beaches and landmarks.
As part of Pop-up Bleach, celebrated local visual artists, photographers, street artists and new-media artists will be on display.
The line-up includes internationally renowned artists Claudio Kirac, Peter Joli Wilson, Dick Hoole, Jack McCoy, Mal Sutherland, Sean Scott, Ted Grambeau, Shelli Bankier, Trent Mitchell, Duncan Macfarlane, Jasson Mackay, Joel Rea, Jenny Midson, Magnus Kennedy, Yoshi, Narani Henson, Justin Crawford and Switchfoot plus many more. Emerging artists from a number of disciplines will also be invited to display their work within this exhibition.
A major component of the Pop-up Bleach concept is enabling surf-inspired creations to be displayed in the place that inspired them – the beach. This will be achieved by creating temporary galleries in shipping containers placed along the Southern Gold Coast foreshores.
The vision is for the containers to be illuminated each night with lighting and surf imagery. Also keep an eye out for artist talks, live art shows, film screenings and other activities at each gallery site.
Bleach theatre
The stunning children’s tale The Surfer and The Mermaid is set to be brought to this year’s Bleach Festival. Take a journey to an enchanting oceanic world with this exciting new theatre production. In collaboration with the Arts Centre Gold Coast, Bleach will bring The Surfer and the Mermaid to life.
The book by internationally renowned Gold Coast writer Tim Baker and world famous surf photographer Ted Grambeau depicts a magical underwater world where a young surfer is guided by a mermaid to meet her marine friends. He must earn their trust before he can return to the surface.
The premiere of this theatre adaptation will be presented at Surf World Gold Coast Museum as a children’s cushion show before it moves to The Arts Centre Gold Coast. This production features music direction by Nadia Sunde and theatre direction by Melinda Collie Holmes.
Bleach on the rocks
Watch Elephant Rock come to life each Saturday and Sunday night of the Bleach festival with animation and lighting to create starlit evenings.
Every city in the world has iconic buildings or landmarks that are instantly recognisable and create a sense of identity. For the Gold Coast, this would be Currumbin beachfront’s striking natural rock formations, forged as ancient volcanic eruptions met the sea.
The piece de resistance will be live installations by celebrated artist Kellie O’Dempsey, whose vast scope of work spans international platforms including the Festival Internacional de Benicàssim, Spain, M on the Bund 10th-anniversary event in Shanghai, and the University of Queensland centenary celebrations.
So take a stroll along the beachfront promenade or take a picnic rug down to the sand and enjoy the vision of the Rock’s spectacular beauty illuminated at night.
To find out more visit the festival website: www.bleachfestival.com.au
