SWELL Sculpture Festival 2026
SWELL Sculpture Festival is the Gold Coast’s free outdoor sculpture festival, held every September along Currumbin Beach. In 2026 it ran from Friday 11 to Sunday 20 September, with more than 70 sculptures on the sand and the headland.
Cornerstone Stores is a few minutes’ walk from the festival, at 570 Gold Coast Highway, Tugun. Plenty of visitors parked with us, grabbed a coffee at Stable, and walked down to the sculpture trail. Our SWELL visitor guide has the details for next year.
Octopus Tentacle Tales at Cornerstone
This year we were lucky enough to have a SWELL piece of our own. In late August, sculptor Clayton Blake and artist Courtenay McCue installed Octopus Tentacle Tales in the garden at the front of Cornerstone.
Giant tentacles rise out of the plants, each one covered in Courtenay’s bold, hand-painted characters. Clayton is a Currumbin local and the SWELL Sculpture Festival Major Prize winner in 2024, and his work has shown at Sculpture by the Sea and Burning Man.
Down on Currumbin Beach
Down on the beach, the festival trail ran from Currumbin Surf Club along the sand. A few of our favourites from the opening weekend:
Visiting SWELL next year
SWELL returns every September. Park at Cornerstone, get a coffee from 6am at Stable, and walk to Currumbin Beach. We are open seven days with free on-site parking, directly opposite Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.
Join Friends of Cornerstone and we will let you know when SWELL 2027 is on.
Good to know
When was SWELL Sculpture Festival 2026?
SWELL Sculpture Festival 2026 ran from Friday 11 to Sunday 20 September 2026 on Currumbin Beach, on the southern Gold Coast.
Who made the octopus tentacle sculpture at Cornerstone Stores?
Octopus Tentacle Tales was made by sculptor Clayton Blake and artist Courtenay McCue, and installed at Cornerstone Stores in Tugun for SWELL 2026.
Where can I park for SWELL Sculpture Festival?
Cornerstone Stores at 570 Gold Coast Highway, Tugun has free on-site parking and is a few minutes' walk from Currumbin Beach, with coffee from 6am at Stable.
Is SWELL Sculpture Festival free?
Yes. SWELL is a free outdoor sculpture festival held every September along Currumbin Beach.
Cornerstone Stores — 570 Gold Coast Highway, Tugun QLD 4224. Open 7 days, dog-friendly, free parking. Meet the stores →