Deep within HOTA Central, in a space that once housed the precinct’s main gallery, five artists are settling in for six months of creative residency. HOTA’s groundbreaking ArtKeeper program has entered its third year and I’m fortunate to be one of the creative practitioners in residence here.

I’m new to the Gold Coast, having relocated here with my wife, baby and ubiquitous Groodle from Melbourne late last year. I’m an actor and photographer who also writes a bit, I drink black filter coffee and my dog is named after an obscure island in a Shakespeare play. I'm cartoonishly urbane. Notwithstanding this incurable turtleneck energy, I’ve been greeted with so much friendliness and enthusiasm by everyone I’ve met since moving to the Gold Coast. It's been genuinely lovely.

For all my dyed-in-the-wool Melbourne pedigree, the dog-eat-dog struggle for a firm foothold and the relentless pace of the big smoke can be overwhelming and isolating. Since time immemorial, artists have escaped the city and sought sanctuary in milder climates - sometimes to recover from exotic maladies associated with a bohemian lifestyle - but mostly to hit the reset button, find inspiration and advance their creative practice.

I’ll let you guess which one I’m dealing with.

Over the next six months, I’ll be documenting and posting the work that happens down here in our creative bunker, sharing some of my own thoughts and experiences and devising my own creative project. You can also follow me on Instagram at @lachwoods.