WENDY WHITELEY TO OPEN SCULPTURES IN THE GARDEN 2018

~ The celebrated artist’s muse confirmed to open this year’s event ~

Regional Australia’s premier sculpture exhibition, Sculptures in the Garden is excited to announce that Wendy Whiteley has been confirmed to open this year’s event.

Whiteley, who is well known for her contribution to the Arts and her secret garden in Sydney’s Lavender Bay, will be involved in the two-day event for the first time. 

“I am really excited to be taking part in the Sculptures in the Garden event. I am passionate about both art and beautiful gardens so for me, it made perfect sense to be involved,”

— Wendy Whiteley

Past events have seen Her Excellency, Dame Marie Bashir, Lord Mayor Clover Moore, renowned sculptor, Paul Selwood and respected art scholar, Edmund Capon open the event and having Wendy Whiteley assigned to the honours this year will again bring both prestige and interest to the exhibition.

Sculptures in the Garden Founder, Kay Norton-Knight has said, “We are absolutely thrilled to have Wendy Whiteley open this year’s event. Wendy is renowned and well respected in the art world and having her involved is a real feat.”

“Since submissions opened last month, we have had some amazing talent enter work and I think Wendy will be really impressed with the quality and variety of the sculptures on display,” Norton-Knight added.

Submissions are being accepted until Friday 7th September with judging to take place by a selection committee on 5th October and winners to be announced at the opening of the event on Saturday 6th October.

The not-for-profit event raises funds for the local branch of Guide Dogs NSW/ACT. Each year SIG contributes funds to acquire works for the Mudgee region’s public sculpture collection.

For more information, please contact Madeleine Wilson Director – tide.pr madeleinewilson@tidepr.co 0424 638 855

LAWSON PARK SCULPTURE WALK

Lawson Park in Mudgee is a beautiful, tranquil and peaceful setting that plays host to a magnificent sculpture walk showcasing artwork from the Sculptures in the Garden exhibition.

The sculpture walk came to be after Sculptures in the Garden (SIG) founder, Kay Norton-Knight, along with the exhibition committee, proposed the idea to the Mid-Western Regional Council (MWRC) who deemed it a worthy and important asset for the local community.

In 2013, Sculptures in the Garden and MWRC funded a $15,000 acquisition prize to purchase an artwork from the exhibition. The following year, Moolarben Coal came on board and donated $5,000 for another acquisition prize and has continued donating this prize for the past four years.

In 2015, the SIG committee initiated “Friends of Sculptures in the Garden” with the goal of raising funds to offer another acquisition prize for contributing artists. In 2016 ‘Friends of SIG’ raised enough money for a $5,000 acquisition prize and in 2017 enough money for a $10,000 prize.

Each of these prizes enable a growing collection of works to be acquired for the sculpture walk, which is visited and enjoyed year-round by both locals and visitors to the region.

The creation of the sculpture walk, in conjunction with MWRC, is one of the main reasons why the SIG exhibition continues to take place.

“We want as many people as possible to enjoy the amazing artworks created for SIG, and the permanent art display that is the sculpture walk, provides this opportunity to all members of the public.”

— Kay Norton-Knight, Founder, Sculptures in the Garden.

'Town' By Paul Bacon SIG2017

“The importance of the sculpture walk to the community is the reason we created ‘Friends of Sculptures in the Garden’. We wanted to provide another reason for all sculptors to consider exhibiting at Sculptures in the Garden. Our objective is to continue enhancing the quality of works displayed at Sculptures in the Garden. Prize money is a big draw card for artists but for their works to be acquired by the Council and displayed in the public realm, is also very attractive and a more permanent celebration of their work,” Kay concluded.

The sculptural works are created using a variety of materials and techniques and are selected by a committee of people from backgrounds including council, engineers, architects and art curators, whom abide by strict guidelines when selecting the winning pieces. 

In addition to the sculptural artworks that run along the river in Lawson Park West, there are additional works for the public to enjoy that are currently located in council chambers and the local Mudgee library. MWRC will continue to add to its public art collection not only for works to be installed in Lawson Park but elsewhere throughout the region.

“The collection reflects our natural and cultural heritage, engages with our community and adds value to our infrastructure, attractions and public amenity. Council is committed to developing this public art program and encourages the participation in and appreciation of art by our community,”

— MWRC Mayor, Des Kennedy.

The collection’s creators are both local and visiting artists including, David Sherlock, Ingrid Morley and Wynne Prize finalist, Ulan Murray for his copper tree sculpture which currently resides in council chambers. 

Since conception in 2013, SIG has enabled MWRC to acquire 15 sculptures for their public art collection. 

- SIG and MWRC have purchased 9 sculptures

- Moolarben Coal have donated prize money for 4 sculptures

- ‘Friends of SIG’ have donated prize money for 2 sculptures

Thank you from Sculptures in the Garden 2017

The Sculptures in the Garden Committee would like to thank you for participating in the 7th annual Sculptures in the Garden exhibition and helping make the event such a success. We are all very pleased with the results of the exhibition and feedback that we are receiving. Over the course of the 2 day event Rosby welcomed over 2,300 people through the gate and sold approximately 50% of all artwork exhibited. The Mudgee Support Group for Guide Dogs NSW/ACT were also very pleased with their fundraising efforts.

Sculptures in the Garden has received extensive coverage in the local and wider media with the profile of the event and Mudgee Region receiving a significant boost. We look forward to be able to build upon this platform and grow the event further next year.

Congratulations to our 2017 prize winners. Paul Bacon was awarded the $10,000 Friends of Sculptures in the Garden Acquisition Prize with his work 'Town'. Tobias Bennett took out the $5,000 Moolarben Acquisition Prize with his work ‘Turbulent’ and congratulations to Simon Pankhurst who's work ’Gathering’ was purchased by Sculptures in the Garden and Mid-Western Regional Council. All three works have now become part of the Mid-Western Regional Council Public Art Collection and will be installed in the coming weeks. Congratulations also goes to Sam Anderson for who received the People’s Choice Award for his work 'Wild One'.

Please put next year’s exhibition dates in your diary as we hope to be back on the 6th & 7th of October 2018. If you would like to be involved again next year or have any feedback or suggestions on how we could improve the event we would love to hear from you.

Thanks again for your support and we hope to see you again in 2018.

CALL FOR WORKS - SCULPTURES IN THE GARDEN 2017 ROSBY VINEYARD, MUDGEE

May 16, 2017: Artists are invited to be part of Sculptures in the Garden 2017, an annual two-day exhibition in the garden at Rosby vineyard in Mudgee NSW.

Sculptures in the Garden displays an outstanding collection of works each year, in the beautiful setting of a country garden surrounded by Rosby’s vineyards and farming fields.

Sculptures in the Garden 2016 displayed more than 250 pieces, attracted over 2500 visitors, and sold half the artworks in the exhibition. This year’s exhibition offers $25,500 in prizes and acquisitions.

The not-for-profit event raises funds for the local branch of Guide Dogs NSW/ACT and each year contributes funds to acquire works for the Mudgee region’s public sculpture collection.

The exhibition includes polished bronzes, rusty recycled constructions, and work in every medium ranging from carved timber to plastic bottles. Exhibiting artists come from interstate and regional and metropolitan NSW, including sculptors featured in Sydney’s Sculptures by the Sea.

The acquisitive prizes include the $15,000 Sculptures in the Garden and Mid-Western Regional Council Acquisition funded by money raised at the previous year's exhibition the $5,000 Moolarben Acquisition Prize funded by Moolarben Coal Mine, and the $5000 Friends of Sculptures in the Garden Acquisition Prize, all of which will form part of the town’s growing sculpture walk.

A $500 People's Choice Award will be decided by visitors to the event.

This year we are also encouraging pieces that can be enjoyed without the sense of sight.  Our “Sensory Pieces” will be displayed throughout the exhibition and guests will be encouraged to appreciate them through the senses of touch, hearing and/or smell.

Sculptures in the Garden will be held on Saturday October 7 and Sunday, October 8, with entries open until Friday, September 8.

To lodge an entry, artists should visit www.sculpturesinthegarden.com.au to find terms and conditions and entry forms.

HIGHLIGHTS

• An estimated 3,000 visitors are anticipated to visit the exhibition over the two days.
• At the 2016 event, we displayed over 250 sculptures and sold 50% of the artworks.
• Proceeds from the weekend exhibition go to a local arts initiative to develop a sculpture walk in Mudgee’s Lawson Park
• At the 2016 event, over $18,000 was raised by the Mudgee Support Group for Guide Dogs NSW/ACT

For any enquiries and high res images, please contact Amber Norton-Knight on 0414 942 917 or info@rosby.com.au