Many WA artists have signed a letter to the federal arts minister or written their own, asking for funding to resume.
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Denise Pepper, a Perth-based artist who has exhibited at the Cottesloe event 10 times since 2009, said it had been a “game-changer” in her career.
WA artist Dr Jon Tarry said the lack of funding “felt 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,” he said.
This is not the first time the organisers of Sculpture by the Sea Cottesloe have been forced to consider pausing the exhibition but, unlike in previous years, no solution has been found.
In 2019 private donors rescued the event.
In 2020, only public donations matched by billionaire Andrew Forrest allowed the show to go on and it was forced to close three days early because of the COVID-19 crisis.
State sponsorships only represent about 20 per cent of the $2.2 million it costs annually. Private donors and sales commissions each contribute another 20 per cent and corporate donors 10 per cent, with other smaller income streams making up the rest.
Jarrod Taylor, ‘Structural Wave’, Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe 2021.Credit: Richard Watson
In 2021 Tourism Western Australia stepped in, with three years of funding.
Founding Director of Sculpture by the Sea, David Handley said he hoped the federal government would support the exhibition to enable it to return in 2026.
“As Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe grew in response to the large number of visitors, the interest from artists around the world and the scale of the sculptures, so did the costs to stage each exhibition,” Handley said.
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