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In this video, we step away from the beachside high-rises to visit a special historic pocket on the Gold Coast—the Gold Coast Potters Association Public Viewing Gallery in Benowa!

This charming area is home to repurposed heritage structures, including the original Benowa State School building and the historic Benowa Post Office building. Preserving these character buildings alongside modern Gold Coast developments makes this site particularly unique to visit.

Inside the public viewing gallery, you'll discover a curated collection of original ceramic and pottery art created by local association members. Instead of mass-produced items, each artist's section displays distinct styles and techniques side-by-side—ranging from colorful modern art pieces to understated, natural kitchenware. Watch through to the end to check out two unique handcrafted pieces I selected during the visit—a small ceramic octopus and a penguin!

Visitor Information:

Location: Gold Coast Potters Association (Benowa, Gold Coast, QLD)

What to See: Public viewing gallery, artist displays, sculptures, and historic precinct buildings

Opening Hours: Gallery open Saturdays (check local listings or goldcoastpotters.com for current exhibition schedules)

#GoldCoast #GoldCoastPotters #QueenslandTravel #ArtGallery

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Travel
Transcript
00:00Hi guys, we're here at the Gold Coast Potters Association Post Office Public Viewing Gallery
00:07which is open on Saturdays. We can go in and see beautiful pieces of pottery that have been
00:13created by members of the association. So the association was founded in 1977 by a group of
00:20artists here on the Gold Coast that really wanted a community space or a hub where they could run
00:26classes, do studio work and also display their wares to the public. So they repurposed an old
00:35building that was originally the Benoa State School and this old building was first built in 1908 and
00:44the state school started in 1909. So it's actually a really historical cool building and then they
00:53later brought in what was the old post office that was actually built in 1915. So the precinct
01:01has sort of become or is a heritage precinct basically with these beautiful old buildings
01:08you know protected here and so you don't often think of a Gold Coast as having you know these
01:14old buildings here and yes I know people in Europe would sort of say our building's just over 100
01:19years old is that really old but for here it is old so it's really special to come here to
01:25enjoy this
01:25little precinct enjoy the you know the beautiful old buildings themselves and also come and see the
01:32beautiful pottery work that has been done by members of the association. So let's go and have a look at
01:38some
01:38of the pottery.
02:12So the gallery space sort of meanders around there's a few sort of different sections and rooms
02:17and so here this one looks a little bit like a beach themed or a Gold Coasty vibe room. We've
02:26got
02:26a bikini up there and we've got all these beautiful sea creatures in this section
02:35and yeah that's it's just really beautiful so this this area here has been created by an artist called
02:41wendy wendy wendy lane very sea themed
02:49these are lovely look at these they're so they're so unique that's the thing about coming to a space
02:58like this that's um all these pieces created by the community of the Gold Coast Potters Association
03:04you really do see the unique creations of of the whole variety of of creations by these artists
03:14and these is beautiful
03:28these beautiful little planters how nice they would look in your garden
03:32or on the balcony i would also see the balcony garden
03:37and then we've got these beautiful little gratitude bells
03:50and we've got what look like these little mini houses here with little mini vases and flowers and candles
04:00and here's a lovely shelf full of these beautiful colorful like i love that teapot and the mugs that
04:06go with and all these beautiful colorful mugs and these birds they're just beautiful
04:22so as soon as you walk into this space i mean one it's just a beautiful space like it's got
04:28that feel of
04:29the old historical building but then you're immediately met by such a beautiful variety
04:35of pottery works and what really strikes you is that each sort of area they're all
04:41by obviously different artists but each area is so unique and so different like you can have really different
04:50pottery works that's very striking and artistic right next to it's sort of more understated i guess
04:57um homeware sort of themed pottery works so i mean that's that's what's so amazing about having this
05:04public gallery that's um obviously the works of artists in the gold coast potters association because
05:11you do just get this beautiful variety of works and you get these beautiful bright colors and also
05:17every area here is then by um obviously unique artists and the way they operate is um they can come
05:25here and use the studio space but many of them obviously then do have their own wheels at home and
05:31they work on their art and then they can choose what wears they're going to display here for the public
05:37to see and um each area is um obviously the artist's name is here and all the pieces in this
05:45gallery
05:45are for sale and yeah it's just beautiful i think the um biggest challenge if you do come here is
05:52if
05:53you are interested in actually purchasing a piece of pottery is then nailing down exactly what you would
05:58buy because they're just all so beautiful i mean you can fill your kitchen up with that
06:04and then also here i love this red color as well like you will get real sort of unique different
06:11um
06:12you know colors hues different sets and and we've got jewelry here beautiful pottery jewelry like pottery
06:21um earrings necklaces with different designs just absolutely gorgeous little heart um heart earrings there
06:34so it's just gorgeous it it really is exciting to come and explore and and see all these creative
06:41pieces like oh that's gorgeous and then we've got you can have a mirror with a beautiful pottery um
06:51border to it and these little mini houses here well they look like mini houses like i said if you're
06:58interested in pottery and you do come here and you want to purchase a piece that's going to be your
07:03only dilemma as in what on earth would you sort of pick to bring home like these you know there's
07:09little
07:10pots with leaves and and these these are just absolutely gorgeous what i love about pottery is when
07:18they've really polished it like there's just the colors that you can get into them like the swirls and
07:23the stripes and the different blends
07:27well that was so special to go into that beautiful gallery and what makes the pottery in there so
07:33gorgeous i think is it hasn't been mass produced by any sort of big company it really is a collection
07:40of unique handcrafted pieces as you can see when you go into the gallery each each section is just very
07:47unique by a different artist here and i couldn't help myself i did choose a couple of pieces for the
07:54kids
07:54this awesome octopus and this beautiful penguin so that's just a beautiful memento of our time here
08:02and what's also really special is just to enjoy being in this little historical precinct that's
08:09tucked away in the gold coast in amongst all our high rises it just makes this little pocket all the
08:14more special and same with when you walk into the gallery just the beautiful feel of that old building
08:20just enhances the just the vibe of all that beautiful artistic material that you come to see so that
08:27was just a really special experience and if you are here on the gold coast especially if you're
08:32interested in pottery i really do highly recommend a visit to that gorgeous gallery
08:37you
Comments
suvisjournalism
Creator
It was such a treat finding this historic little pocket nestled right here on the Gold Coast! I loved seeing the contrast between the bold modern art pieces and the understated ceramic kitchenware. Which style of handmade pottery do you usually prefer in your own home—the colorful, artistic statement pieces or the natural, minimalist look?

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