Sculpture by the Sea Has Been Pushed Back Again and Will Now Go Ahead in October

'Sculpture Rocks', a smaller scale exhibition in The Rocks set to take place this January, has also been postponed till mid-2021.
Ben Hansen
January 15, 2021

Sculpture by the Sea is a landmark event in Sydney's cultural calendar each year, drawing huge crowds to the two-kilometre Bondi-Tamarama coastal walk every October to gaze at the larger-that-life artworks. Unfortunately, as with many events, 2020 wasn't the exhibition's year. Plans for the event were forced to be abandoned, although Sydneysiders were treated to Milan Kuzica's towering fluro sculpture Green Life on the Tamarama foreshore as a consolation.

When organisers originally announced there would be no 2020 edition of Sculpture by the Sea, an early 2021 date was floated. Sadly, this date has been pushed back again and large-scale art fans will have to wait until spring for the event's latest iteration, with October 2021 being announced as the new, pandemic-pending date for the exhibition.

Organisers were optimistic an early 2021 event could be achieved but failed to secure an exemption from NSW Health Department last October. The event will instead go ahead in October with the same lineup of artists originally planned for 2020, plus two or three new additions scheduled to join the roster.

Sculpture Rocks, a collaboration between Sculpture by the Sea, Place Management NSW and the Ports Authority of NSW that was set to see Japanese sculpture take over Campbells Cove in The Rocks this January, has also been postponed. The smaller-scale sculpture event is now planned for mid-2021.

It has been a turbulent couple of years for the team behind the beloved Sydney art exhibition. In 2019, organisers clashed with Waverley Council over the design of a new path, threatening to move the event out of the council area. The planned upgrades to the area were completed in October 2019 before Sculpture buy the Sea came to an agreement with Waverley Council to remain in Bondi until at least 2030.

Sculpture by the Sea is currently aiming to take place in October 2021. Stay up to date with the latest announcements at sculpturebythesea.com.

Images: Trent Van der Jagt

Published on January 15, 2021 by Ben Hansen
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