New Zealand Sculpture OnShore is New Zealand's largest sculpture exhibition which started out of its founder's backyard in 1996.
The sculpture exhibition started when Lenore Sumpter heard a friend talking about how she was tired of doing street appeals for the Women's Refuge and wanted to do an art exhibition to raise funds instead. The idea quickly evolved into running a sculpture exhibition in Sumpter's backyard. 1500 people showed up for the first exhibition. Four years later, 6000 showed up and plans were made to hold the exhibition in Ford Takapuna Historic Reserve, where it has been held ever since.
This year 66 emerging and established artists will feature their work, including Karen Sewell, Trish Clarke, Richard Wells and Jin Ling. There is a diverse range of works, including performative and interactive works that reflect social issues important to New Zealanders as global citizens.
A percentage of every sale of the sculptures go to the Women's Refuge charity. To date over $1.65 million has been donated to help Women's Refuge support the victims of domestic violence in New Zealand.
Image: New Zealand Sculpture OnShore.