Long considered a cultural backwater, the Gold Coast is establishing itself as a new and unlikely hub for the 'surfing as art' movement. Tim Baker explains.

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Back in March I organised what might be termed an “alternative” surfing event at Burleigh Heads, with the idealistic aim to showcase surfing as a performing art rather than a competitive sport.

As part of the annual Bleach Festival, we had a stage and sound system setup on the Point where the Band of Frequencies and a rotating roster of special guests performed. We had an historical quiver of surfboards spanning the past 100 years - everything from solid timber, to a hollow plywood toothpick, from Michael Peterson’s own board from Morning of the Earth to modern shortboards (with thanks to Carl Tanner) to Tom Wegener’s timber alaias and bellyboards. The surfcraft ranged in length from four feet to 16 feet. The surfers spanned ages from six (Quincy Symonds) to 70 (Rusty Miller).

The cast of surfers included Dave Rastovich, Asher Pacey, Leah Dawson, Ellis Ericson, elders like Rabbit Bartholomew, Peter Harris and Wayne Deane, and some of the best young grommets from the Burleigh Boardriders. The idea was to present a cooperative model of surfing rather than a competitive one, to explore the synergy between surfing and music, to celebrate 100 years of Australian surf history and showcase wave-riding as a dance. The surf was tiny but the surfers, musicians and crowd of several thousand seemed stoked none-the-less.

And the whole thing was funded by an arts grant I received care of Arts Queensland and the Gold Coast City Council’s Arts and Culture Unit. Now, I’m aware this last bit of information might be seen by some as the latest in a long line of surfer scams to fund our indulgent lifestyles, in the fine traditions laid down by the likes of Miki Dora. Some might consider me a conman, others a genius. I would contend I am neither.

What I am is very fortunate to be one of the beneficiaries of a concerted push to accelerate arts development on the Gold Coast. Partly, this is in preparation for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, when the GC has an opportunity to present itself to the world, and stage a credible arts and cultural program alongside the sporting events. But it also stems from a genuine groundswell amongst what might be loosely termed the Creative Community here to overturn tired old stereotypes of the GC as a cultural wasteland. My line to the arts funding bodies was that if we can re-cast surfing as an artform then the Gold Coast is already a great, global, cultural hub.

I’ve lived here nearly 25 years, after doing the slow drift north from Melbourne, and there is definitely something afoot. Young GC locals with creative ambitions are striving to create career opportunities that don’t require moving to Sydney or Melbourne. Others are returning home after stints interstate or overseas, wanting to continue their arts practice and still enjoy what the Coast has to offer. Still others, like myself, have moved here from elsewhere and want to be pro-active in cultivating the kind of cultural environment we want to live and raise kids in.

The latest step in this process is 2790 degrees, the Boiling Point, a three-day arts forum, conference, provocation, call it what you will, that sets out to explore the connections between art, culture, science, technology, sport, architecture and politics. It brings together artists, scientists, futurists, activists, cultural workers and social change agents to explore possibilities for the Gold Coast’s future. The event is being curated by artist David Pledger, who also happened to be my mentor for (m)Ocean. David has carved out a decorated CV working across a variety of artistic practices, from acting to directing, film-making to physical performance, after injury curtailed a promising AFL career.

“I think that the Gold Coast is probably the most exciting city in Australia to be an artist,” he says. “The constraints and traditions that usually suffocates artists in the other cities is actually not present here. The cultural infrastructure has the potential to grow with the artists’ trajectories rather than stifle them. It’s really a brilliant opportunity for the artists who are here, but also for Australian culture in general.”

David’s central thesis is that cities that put the arts at the centre of their planning do better, not just culturally, but socially and economically, that the arts are the glue that hold things together. This would be stating the obvious in many European centres but it is a radical idea in Australia.

I understand some might be deeply cynical about all this - the use of public funds to nurture the arts and stage high-minded talkfests and ambitious performance art pieces. I clearly have a vested interest, but having been part of the process, I’m convinced it’s a bold, meaningful and beneficial undertaking that yields all kinds of benefits for the Gold Coast that might only become apparent years down the track.

2790 degrees Celsius is the boiling point for gold and the event aims to facilitate a kind of alchemy that allows new possibilities to emerge. Speakers include “speculative architect” Liam Young, filmmaker Alex Kelly, neuroscientist Dr Daniel Glaser and performance artist Stelarc, a man who once had a surgically-constructed and internet-enabled ear embedded in his arm. I’ll be interviewing artist and surfer Alex Monteith, a former Irish surf champion now based in New Zealand, who stages ambitious outdoor performance pieces at large scale in extreme environments, often involving such elements as big wave surfing and helicopters.

I don’t have much idea what to expect of the three days but I’m excited by the potential. There’s a boldness of ambition here, to not define what the event is, to create a space for ideas to germinate and ferment, for unexpected conversations to take place and alternative futures to emerge.

2790 degrees, the Boiling Point, is being held June 26 to 28. To find out more click here.