Sculpture by the Sea was born from the idea of providing a major free exhibition to transform the beach into a temporary world-class sculpture park for all. Since then, it’s evolved into one of Perth’s largest, longest running, and most beloved public events.
A significant loss for the state
But following the end of the Catalyst Fund and the RISE Fund in 2023, Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe has received no federal government arts funding to stage the large-scale exhibition that transforms Cottesloe Beach for 230,000 visitors over 18 days in March each year.
Organisers see no other choice but to cancel the 2025 edition due to the significant costs of mounting a free to the public exhibition of this scale.
“This feels like a funeral. We can’t believe it’s happening and how anyone responsible for the public arts in Australia could let this happen. Sculpture by the Sea is what every city in the world would love to have,” WA artist Dr Jon Tarry said.
Exhibiting artists collectively contribute approximately $1 million towards the costs of displaying their sculptures, with 50% of the artists not recovering any of their costs from sculpture sales, artist awards or subsidies.
Nevertheless, a very large number of artists from WA and around the world are in full support of the exhibition and the unique opportunity it provides sculptors to showcase their artworks to people from all walks of life in a stunning natural location.
An opportunity for artists to share their stories
“Sculpture by the Sea gives many local as well as national, and international artists the incredible opportunity to share their stories with hundreds of thousands of people at the one venue,” Longstanding exhibitor from Fremantle, Olga Cironis said.
Denise Pepper, a Perth-based artist who has exhibited at Cottesloe 10 times since 2009, said the event changed the game.
“Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe was a game changer for my career as a sculptor. For once, I could engage in a conversation with the people of Perth about my work and for once the Western Australian arts sector finally got an exhibition that showcases sculpture.”
Artists plea for funding
Senior WA artists are imploring the federal government to demonstrate its understanding of the significance of Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe both locally and internationally to enable the exhibition to be staged in 2026 after a one-year pause.
Over 95% of the WA artists who have been in the exhibition four or more times have signed a letter to the Federal Arts Minister — or have written their own — asking for funding. As well as an explanation as to how Creative Australia can ignore the exhibition and its significant cultural impact.
The letter highlights that some 10,000 school students visit the exhibition each year and thousands of people living with disability visit or take part in the free Access & Inclusion Program. It further underscores the rare and remarkable platform the event provides for Australian and international artists to connect with vast audiences. Few, if any, Australian art exhibitions rival the global renown of Sculpture by the Sea.
Not the first time
This is not the first time the organisers of Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe have been forced to consider pausing the exhibition. However, unlike in previous years, no solution has been found in time.
In March 2019, Sculpture by the Sea signalled the potential end of the Cottesloe exhibition, announcing that unless substantial new funds were raised by the end of June, the exhibition would have to be cancelled.
In June 2019, one dozen private philanthropic donors came on board which allowed the March 2020 to 2023 exhibitions to proceed. The 2024 exhibition should not have proceeded without federal funding; however, organisers hoped the extra year would give the federal government time to respond on the matter.
Without the funding required to stage Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe in 2025, the not-for-profit organisation behind the exhibition is looking ahead to future years as it continues to search for government, corporate, and philanthropic support to enable the event. Organisers hope a solution can be found ahead of the planned March 2026 exhibition.
“Thank you to the people of Perth and WA for making Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe such a wonderful community and cultural event for the last 20 years. Thank you to the artists from WA, across Australia and around the world for their artworks that captured the imagination of so many people year after year,” Founding Director of Sculpture by the Sea, David Handley said.
“We have really enjoyed staging the exhibition despite the financial challenges and hope the federal government will support the exhibition to enable it to return in 2026.”
“When people ask me what I most enjoy about working on Sculpture by the Sea, it is the look of wonderment on the faces of the young children as they explore the sculptures.”
What’s next for the artists
The artists who were selected for Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe 2025 will be invited into one of the next two Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi exhibitions in 2025 or 2026 or the next Cottesloe exhibition if funding is found to revive the Perth exhibition.
Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe is one of Perth’s largest public events attracting an estimated 230,000 visitors to explore the art. Since the exhibition began in 2005 with 35 sculptures on the iconic white sands of Cottesloe Beach, 596 artists from 44 countries have exhibited 1,329 sculptures.
