Overview
Before the pandemic, it was one of the annual highlights of Sydney's art calendar. If you don't live in the Harbour City, it has long been reason enough to book in a weekend spent walking around Bondi. And, in 2022, for the first time since 2019 — for obvious reasons — super-popular free outdoor exhibition Sculpture by the Sea is finally making a comeback.
The dates to lock into your calendar: Friday, October 21–Monday, November 7. That's when Sculpture by the Sea will unveil more than 100 large-scale artworks by Australian and international sculptors, all along Sydney's two-kilometre Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk.
While the full lineup of artists hasn't been revealed for 2022's event as yet, keen Sculpture by the Sea attendees can start looking forward to the return of a few exhibition favourites. On the lineup: Marina DeBris and Stephen King, recipients of the Helen Lempriere Scholarship; and Danish artist Naja Utzon Popov, the first person to nab the new $15,000 Friendship Society of Denmark, Australia and New Zealand Danish Artist Award.
Katja Grinling
2022 will mark the exhibition's 24th year and, as always, it's set to draw a crowd. In 2019, Sculpture by the Sea attracted approximately 450,000 visitors over three weeks, with the same number of art lovers expected this time around.
"It is great to be planning to stage the exhibition without the spectre of almost certain cancellation hanging over our heads," said David Handley, Sculpture by the Sea's founding CEO and Artistic Director. "The excitement is building as the artists, our staff and everyone who supports us financially believe the exhibition will go ahead."
Indeed, the event's return won't just unleash a heap of eye-catching sights upon Sydney, and give locals and tourists alike an excuse to soak in the scenery as well — it'll cap off an understandably tumultuous few years for the exhibition. Sculpture by the Sea tried to make a comeback in October 2021, but had to scrap those plans due to the pandemic, marking the second year it went through that process. In 2020, the event initially planned to go ahead as normal in October, then aimed for an early 2021 berth. It did successfully stage a CBD spinoff, Sculpture Rocks, in autumn 2021, however.
David Jensz
That said, even before the current global health situation interrupted its annual plans, it had been already been an eventful period for Sculpture by the Sea. To rewind a little, in mid-2019, organisers were at loggerheads with the Council over the construction of a new path, and were scoping out alternative locations for the long-running art exhibition. In fact, it was only early in 2021 that the parties came to an agreement to remain in Bondi until 2030, with the organisers and Council agreeing to a ten-year deal.
Amid all of the above, the Sculpture by the Sea team also branched out this year, opening the Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail. It's a permanent 100-kilometre collection of outdoor art along the Snowy Valleys Way, passing through the towns of Adelong, Batlow and Tumbarumba, the hamlet of Tooma, plus the Tumbarumba wine region's cellar doors.
So, as well as checking out what dazzling delights this year's array of sculptures in Bondi has to offer come spring, you can add even more huge art to your must-see list — and your travel list, too — in the Snowies whenever you like.
Danai Kotsaki
Sculpture by the Sea is will return to the Bondi–Tamarama coastal walk from Friday, October 21–Monday, November 7. For more information, head to sculpturebythesea.com.
Images: Henrique Fanti / Clyde Yee / Charlotte Curd.