Audience- getting ready for Homegrown, the big finale at Burleigh Heads

What a few weeks it’s been on the southern Gold Coast. Throughout May, Flotsam Festival brought together photographers, filmmakers, surfers, artists and audiences for a packed program of exhibitions, screenings, artist talks and community events celebrating coastal culture.

From Icons at The Pink Hotel to the Focal Point photographic trail stretching between Snapper Rocks and Burleigh Headland, this year’s program showcased an impressive mix of established names and emerging creatives. Surf Girls on Film in Currumbin drew a sold-out audience together for an evening of powerful storytelling, while Homegrown brought together photographers, filmmakers and artists for a final celebration of local talent.

Even severe weather couldn’t slow things down. While parts of the program were impacted, audiences continued to show up in strong numbers, filling galleries, screenings and artist talks across the coast.

“Despite the weather, audiences showed up in huge numbers for artists, filmmakers, photographers and community spaces across the coast,” said festival director Carolyn Emge. “That support matters. Every packed screening, every exhibition visit and every artist showcase inside these venues feeds back into the creative ecosystem.”

What began during the COVID border closures has grown into one of the Gold Coast’s most unique cultural events. Founded by local artists, photographers, filmmakers and small businesses, Flotsam has built a reputation for celebrating surf culture through a distinctly local lens while creating opportunities for new voices to be seen and heard.

“Flotsam wasn’t imported. It was built here,” Emge said. “The festival exists to reflect Australia’s surf culture back to itself through the lens of local creatives.”

One of the things that continues to set the festival apart is the opportunity it creates for emerging artists to share space with some of the most respected names in surf imagery.

Through exhibitions, screenings and artist talks featuring photographers such as Ted Grambeau alongside leading contemporary practitioners, creators are able to learn directly from the people who have helped shape surf culture’s visual language.

For many, those moments can be career-shaping. A photograph, a conversation or a film can spark a new direction, open a door or simply remind someone why they picked up a camera in the first place.

Gold Coast, surf photographer Travis Johnson experienced that firsthand after taking the first prize in the Gold Coast Homegrown photo competition.

“Flotsam Festival is a wonderful avenue for creatives in the surf community to share their work and receive recognition for the passion and skill for their craft. It’s an honour to be able to present work via Flotsam and humbling as well as inspiring to learn from those who’ve blazed a path in the surf community. Winning the Homegrown photo competition is a great feeling, and seeing the work of others on display inspires me to keep enjoying the ocean and pushing what I can do within it. What an honour to be part of such an incredible event amongst some of the most talented filmmakers and photographers. I felt so inspired by everyone’s work and left in complete awe getting to meet some heroes of mine.”

That sentiment was echoed by filmmaker Katie Sharer, whose film Home featured as part of Surf Girls on Film. Shot on Super 8, the film is an ode to Victoria’s Surf Coast, told through the eyes and words of local surfer Linley Hurrell and her deep connection to the land, ocean and surfing.

Supporting emerging creatives has become a key part of the festival’s focus, with initiatives such as Next Wave creating opportunities for young artists to exhibit, perform and share their work alongside established practitioners.

“The Next Wave showcase exists because young creators deserve a runway,” Emge said. “Supporting local artists isn’t charity, it’s city building. Every photographer, filmmaker, designer or musician who gets backed is another reason creative people stay creative, and continue shaping cultural identity.”

As galleries packed down, screenings wrapped and another year of Flotsam came to a close, the festival once again proved why it has become such an important fixture on the Gold Coast calendar. More than a showcase of photography, film and art, it remains a place where stories are shared, creative connections are made and the next generation of surf storytellers can see what’s possible.