If you’ve done any travelling overseas — or taken a casual stroll through the back lanes of Melbourne — you might have noticed a culture of street art and murals that simply leave you in awe. Not one to be far behind, the Gold Coast has been creating urban-based pieces of art at an impressive pace for the last several years, further confirming our slow burn and steady rise as a hub of culture in the land down under.

You may pass by these pieces without noticing them, or worse, not even know of their existence. And for the sake of the hard work and talent that has gone into them, we think that would be an utter travesty. And as our art scene is only going in one direction (up), we thought it fitting to give you the lowdown on the city’s most notable and impressive pieces of outside/mural art! (listed from north to south).

Water Walls Project — Hope Island
As part of an installation for the Commonwealth Games, Creative Road commissioned local favourite Kiel Tillman (and others) to create some street art on bare spots across the Coast as a legacy to the games, with exceptional results. This piece is an impressive bird painted on the side of an unassuming little building facing the road — therefore, it’s unlikely you’ll miss it.
Where: Oxenford Southport Road & Pendraat Parade, Hope Island

Abbott Park, Parkwood
The Gold Coast City Council commissioned local artist Fiona Hutchinson-Mackenzie to create a community art mural in Abbott Park. Unfortunately, the drive behind it was mostly to deter vandalism. However, good things can come from bad. The beautiful, brightly coloured piece depicts the Surfers Paradise skyline and a little basketball action to boot.
Where: Abbott Park, Parkwood

Golden Walls — Ichiban Lane + Davison Lane Southport
You may have ventured past these dreamlike alleys in the Southport CBD and wondered how on earth it’s possible to paint something so good. Well, get this, some of the work was completed in one day and completely improvised — yes, you read that correctly. The artists behind the alley art are world-renowned Brisbane artist SOFLES and Lachlan Hansen – an artist of 40/40 Creative on the Coast. If you’re in the area, we say treat your eyeballs to some clever artwork hinged on depicting Asian cultures within the community.
Where: Off Scarborough Street, and Davison Lane, Southport

HOTA, Bundall
Created by Melbourne-based artist Mike Makatron, the pieces were commissioned to brighten up the cultural precinct, and what a great job he did of it! When you go to check out the newly opened Gallery — as if that isn’t enough — be sure to seek out these two outbuildings. They are a feast for the eyes with so many colourful aspects that you can expect to lose some serious time gazing up at them.
Where: HOTA, 135 Bundall Road, Bundall

Mexicali, Nobby Beach
No doubt you’ve spied this pretty piece on your travels to Nobby Beach on a margarita fuelled odyssey of fun. Designed and painted by local legend Luke Day, the colourful creation has quickly become a favourite Instagram opportunity for, well, pretty much everyone with a phone. In enchanting hues of pink and blue, it’s so Gold Coast, it hurts!
Where:1/2223 Gold Coast Highway, Nobby Beach

AWOL Brewery, Burleigh Heads
The innovative crew behind Black Hops are right back at it again with their sister project, AWOL Brewery. With inventive work taking place inside, there was a call to ensure their space looked the goods inside and out. Kiel Tillman was naturally brought in to create some funky and unprecedented illustrative work — be sure to check it out, and don’t forget to grab a beer!
Where: AWOL, 4 Hibiscus Haven, Burleigh Heads

Tugun Fruit Market, Tugun
Does this man ever stop? He’s created countless cool projects over the years, but this one we feel is the jewel in the crown of Kiel Tillman’s talents. The Welcome to the Gold Coast mural painted onto the side of Tugun Super Market is nearly impossible to miss, and for those who have just touched down in the sunshine state: what an entrance!
Where: 499 Gold Coast Highway, Tugun

Southern Cross University, Bilinga
Involving over 50 litres of paint and taking over a month to create this incredible ten storey high artwork is quite an artistic achievement. Created by Guido van Helten, a Brisbane-raised artist, the piece depicts an ultra-realistic-looking man and a woman looking back toward the campus. Taking it in makes you wonder how somebody could paint something so realistic, while at the same time not being able to see the bigger picture (literally).
Where: Gold Coast Airport, Terminal Drive, Bilinga

The Pink Hotel, Coolangatta
The bracing sight of The Pink Hotel in Coolangatta is a somewhat (welcome) sensory overload by anyone’s standard. Like many, we were excited when the dilapidated corner building was given an entirely new lease of life nearly three years back. Part of that is the ever-changing mural wall on the north-facing side closet to the beach. The artwork has recently undergone a new design in conjunction with Stone & Wood and artist Jamie Peters (AKA @poongoat) – but keep your eyes peeled because it won’t take too long for it to change again!
Where:  171 Griffith Street, Coolangatta

Words by Alex Mitcheson.

It seems quite likely that at some point in your life, you’ve considered making your own spirits. Same. But without a little expert knowledge, the right gear and a few spare hours, it’s probably always been a little too hard. Until now that is Gold Coasters.

The good folks at Granddad Jack’s Craft Distillery are offering you the opportunity to do exactly that, thanks to a distillery experience that is without a doubt, one of the best things you’ll ever do.

Particularly because at the end of the night, you get to take home a bottle of gin you whipped up with your very own hands, properly and under the supervision of people who know a thing or two about making an exceptional sip. It’s the first of its’ kind on the Gold Coast and led by the most experienced gin distillers our fair city has to offer.

Let’s start from the beginning though because the entire experience is a good time. Granddad Jack’s Craft Distillery has been creating their very own brand of exceptional gin for a few years now and in mid-2019, decided they’d share what they’ve learned with the people (us) and so making your own gin at their Miami space became a new thing.

The experience begins with a tour of the distillery (gin and tonic in hand) where you’ll learn about the man behind it all, Granddad Jack. What entrepreneurial ventures he tried to keep his family farm afloat, the process of building the industrial-style space with ALL recycled materials, how they’ve challenged craft culture and rules in Australian distilling (a thing or two passed down through generations), you’ll also see a few of Granddad Jack’s mementos and the stories behind his love of each.

Luke (Granddad Jack’s great-grandson) will take you through the distilling process and then you’ll take a seat to sample a few different types of gin, including some made right there at the distillery. After that, it’s time for a spot of science.

There are six spots at the bench, each set with a mini 2L copper still and all of the tools you’ll need to create your very own bottle of gin. You’ll be taken through the process and then you get to head over and choose the botanicals that will make up the taste of your gin.

Just a heads up, lemongrass, lemon rind and rosehip are a winning combination but feel free to disregard if you don’t like winning.

You’ll then go through the next critical steps in making the best gin ever, label and wax your bottle, eat some dinner (burgers and nachos, yes please) from Pretty Handsome down the road and then sample each other’s gins to crown the winner of the night.

The entire experience is absolutely value-packed, not only do you get so much knowledge from a team who knows exactly what’s up when it comes to creating epic gins, you also get plenty of drinks throughout the night, dinner, a bottle of gin to take home and maybe a new friend or three.

Not to mention the bragging rights when you get to tell everyone you made your own bottle of gin.

Tickets are $230 each and spots book out super quick so get on that ASAP. You can also purchase a gift voucher for the gin-lover in your life.

LOCATION: 43 Lemana Lane, Miami
WHEN: Wednesday’s at 6pm

Book online here.

STORY SPONSORED BY GRANDDAD JACK’S

Words and photos by Kirra Smith