A week ago, the team at HOTA: Home of the Arts on the Gold Coast confirmed that amid the actions pertaining to COVID-19 at the time, they would shut their doors until at least the end of the month. In a notification distributed to all venue patrons yesterday, this closure was extended indefinitely “until further notice”. This is very likely the action that many venues will have to take over the coming months until isolation rules are lifted by the Australian Federal Government.
Taking on board advice and directives from Government and health officials, we will remain closed until further notice. This probably doesn’t come as a surprise to you and, in the circumstances, we believe it to be the best course of action.
If you have purchased tickets for an event that has been cancelled, we will be in touch to process your refund. This might take up to 20 working days, perhaps longer, so please bear with us.
HOTA: Home of the Arts
Understandably as a large albeit regional venue, this shut down will likely have financial implications of the venue, its employees and the many artists who call the venue “Home”. HOTA: Home of the Arts have commenced a “Rage Against the Virus” fund which themselves and the community are invited to contribute to. According to HOTA, “Our response is for HOTA to step up and show solidarity with the creative community. Without artists there is no home of the arts. We remain deeply committed to continuing to support artists and art-making here and now.“.
This fund offers up to $1,000 cash for projects that take up no longer than one week of an artist to deliver. Flipping this period from being one of just quarantine, they hope this will serve as “an opportunity to develop an imperfect and unformed idea, or an idea that you have had formulating for some time. It is both creative development and presentation at speed. It is the chance to experiment with new forms, think outside the box, do things differently. Think of it as an incubator, developed and delivered from your home“.
If this sounds of interest to you, or you wish to donate, I strongly recommend checking out the official HOTA: Home of the Arts website.
