quarta-feira, 27 de março de 2013

TURNING 50




Um aprendizado de meio século...

Muito legal essa data redonda, redonda como a Terra que gira e nos permite novas oportunidades a cada dia. Aí a gente faz aquele balanço do que aprendeu e do que ainda falta. E estabelece mais algumas metas, faz alguns desejos...

E AGRADECE:

Por todas as chances que tive – as que aproveitei e as que deixei passar;
Pela família que tenho,  meu porto-seguro, que não é perfeita, mas que posso chamar de MINHA;
Pelos amigos que conquistei e que me conquistaram nestes 50 anos;
Pela minha fé, mais forte ou mais fraca porque a gente as vezes desconfia do poder de uma oração;
Pelo meu marido de idas e vindas, mas o meu eleito;
Pela dádiva de ser MÃE e MADRINHA;
Pela minha saúde, que possibilitou trabalhar e criar meus filhos;
Por toda a ajuda que recebi nas horas de maior necessidade, quando a gente acha que não tem mais jeito;
Por trabalhar no que escolhi e que me escolheu;
Pela confiança e ensinamentos dos meus chefes, muitos dos quais grandes “gurus” e orientadores da minha trajetória profissional;
Pela sorte que sempre me sorriu e pela luz que iluminou meus caminhos;
Por conhecer o AMOR, nas suas mais distintas formas;
Por poder celebrar a VIDA!

APRENDI:

Que o AMOR se transforma, se reinventa;
Que podemos amar e desamar alguém várias vezes na busca da tal felicidade;
Que nunca é tarde pra MUDAR os rumos da vida, recomeçar;
Que podemos tudo que queremos;
Que mudamos muitas coisas e que muitas coisas nos mudam;
Que não há salário no mundo que pague o prazer de ajudar alguém voluntariamente;
Que o desconhecido não deve ser tão temido, mas desvendado;
Que os momentos de tristeza são inexoráveis e chegam de surpresa;
Que algumas coisas jamais terão explicação, não adianta procurar;
Que não tem ditado mais certo que “um dia é da caça e outro do caçador”;
Que saber esperar é um dom para poucos (menos ainda para os afobados arianos);
Que como mulher, preciso acreditar nos pressentimentos, no feeling;
Que perdoar é um gesto nobre e que precisa vir do coração;
Que o medo existe, mas que precisa ser vencido... “construir pontes ao invés de muros”;
Que viajar “alimenta da alma” e nos ensina sobre o DIVERSO, o BELO e o TRISTE;
Que poupar é fundamental, mas que gastar também é;
Que a vaidade tem a dignidade como limite;
Que POUCO, as vezes é MUITO;
Que valorizar hoje é melhor que lamentar amanhã;
Que a simplicidade facilita a vida;
Que “mais vale um gosto”;
Que o corpo espelha o que você faz por ele e que escolher o exercício certo pra você, fará toda a diferença;
Que gerar grandes expectativas também pode gerar grandes frustrações;
Mas que quando você DESEJA com todas as suas forças, o universo conspira a seu favor;
Que a gente precisa se proteger...
Que a gente pode e DEVE ser AMIGA dos filhos e fazer dessa amizade uma aliada na educação;
Que a gente precisa buscar o melhor em cada um;
Que o respeito pelas diferenças é fundamental, amo a DIVERSIDADE!
Que o desapego é necessário;
Que a SOLIDARIEDADE pode mudar qualquer realidade;
Que julgamentos precipitados podem destruir laços promissores;
Que nada é impossível e...

Que ser feliz é uma escolha que se faz todos os dias!

Hoje é meu FELIZ ANIVERSÁRIO!!!



OBS: A LISTA DO QUE NÃO APRENDI É COM CERTEZA BEM MAIOR QUE ESSA E VAI FICAR PRA OUTRA METADE DO SÉCULO QUE AINDA DESEJO VIVER!

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1a. comemoração, com amigos no Merriwell.... MEGA FELIZ!! Dia 20 de abril tem mais...  

Por que? Porque um monte de amigos têm filhos pequenos e compromissos de trabalho durante a semana ... 

Então, depois do feriado da Páscoa (quando todos já estarão de volta das viagens) e num almoço de Sábado...vamos fazer tudo de novo. Nunca é demais brindar à vida!

OBRIGADA!!!
















domingo, 24 de março de 2013

Pizza, Churrasco, Esporte e Lazer!



Que delícia descobrir uma pizzaria que tem como proprietários a melhor dobradinha que podia existir: Itália e Brasil!!!

Assim é o Mamma Mia onde estivemos recentemente, apresentados por um casal de amigos. Não é pertinho ( e isso depende do ponto de vista, né?), mas juro que vale à pena. Fica em Clarkson, num lugar super modesto que não deve ter mais que 5 mesas para clientes porque o forte mesmo é delivery.

Endereço: 2/30 Ainsburry Pde - Clarkson






Maurício, o brasileiro e Rossela, a italiana são os donos desse “achado” e tratam os clientes com muito carinho e atenção. Wesley, outro brazuka que faz parte do time,  também participa animado das conversas! Tudo muito friendly, à vontade mesmo...a gente não sente o tempo passar.

Nosso amigo levou um vinho delicioso e fomos provando tudo o que conseguimos: Garlic, Cheesy chicken, Cheesy delight, Potato in a Jacket pizza e npor aí vai... O cardápio é variado e a delivery zone é: Butler, Mindarie, Clarkson, Ridgewood, Jindalee, Quinns Rocks, Merriwa e Kinross.

A Mamma Mia é tão boa, que foi “ VOTED PERTH’S BEST PIZZAS 2012”!!!  Merecidíssimo!






O Sábado foi de churrasco na casa de amigos recém chegados... Bem vindos ao grupo Laerte e Luana!




E meu Domingo começou às 4h30 da matina, deixando Ramírez na estação da Esplanade pra que ele pegasse o trem pra Mandurah com seu “time” de onde correriam a Freeway Bike Hike.  



Essa é a maior corrida de bicicletas de WA e o maior objetivo é para angariar fundos para Fundação de Asma do Estado,  que faz pesquisas para a cura da doença, além de dar suporte na educação e na prestação de serviços sobre a doença junto as comunidades.

2013 foi o nono ano de sucesso desse evento, que contou com mais dez mil participantes distribuídos nas três categorias estabelecidas por distâncias e locais de partida diferentes.

E é chamada de Freeway Bike Hike porque os percursos passam pelas freeways de Kwinana e Mitchell, fechadas ao tráfego por algumas horas para que todos corram em perfeita segurança e tranquilidade.

Ramírez e sua equipe completaram com sucesso o mais longo percurso, 68 quilômetros!  Fiquei muito orgulhosa!  

E a razão principal desse orgulho, é saber que pudemos ajudar na luta contra essa triste doença, que mata até os dias de hoje e que rondou nosso filho Pablo até os 15 anos de idade... Torço para que finalmente descubram a cura definitiva.

E depois de tudo isso, ele ainda teve forças pra encarar uma praia com os amigos... 

Meu herói!


Com mais um herói, esse salva-vidas voluntário!!! Viva a solidariedade!


quinta-feira, 21 de março de 2013

Falling in Love ...with special places



Um dos meus passatempos preferidos aqui em Perth é descobrir lugares especiais, aconchegantes, que apresentem um diferencial. E que de certa forma me façam lembrar de cantinhos especiais do Brasil também.

As vezes, só passando por algum lugar pra tomar café ou comprar um presentinho fofo pra alguma amiga que aniversaria, a gente acaba fazendo grandes descobertas.
E sabe que normalmente estão bem pertinho da gente?

Esse foi o caso da CHINTA, uma lojinha pra lá de charmosa em Doubleview, por onde eu sempre passava e nunca parava. Me chamava a atenção umas bandeiras coloridas que eram colocadas fora da loja desde muito cedinho, a partir das 8 horas. E também umas pessoas que tomavam café em mesinhas redondas na calçada.

Seria uma loja, seria um café? Um dia parei pra conferir e foi muito gostoso descobrir um cantinho assim tão perto de mim.

A CHINTA é uma loja-café que pertence a um casal super simpático que importa coisas de Bali  pra vender: vestuário, coisas para casa, lindas bijouterias e outros mimos.

A loja foi dividida em dois ambientes: um Café, com quitutes deliciosos, comandados por um brasileiro (claro que tínhamos que estar nesse lugar!) e que tem mesinhas e cadeiras na calçada, no interior e num simpático jardim backyards.




O ambiente é perfumado pelos aromas do Café e pelos sabonetes e velas que exalam um cheirinho gostoso por toda a parte.

Junte a esse clima, um repertório de músicas serenas e de muito bom gosto, inspiradas no na coleção de CDs do restaurante KU DE TA ( sei que existe um em Cingapura).

O nome CHINTA também é inspirador, significa AMOR em balinês, segundo a bela história que figura no site da loja, contada pelos propritários – veja abaixo.

Todos os detalhes desse espaço adorável tornam a sua compra uma verdadeira viagem. Sem falar do atendimento encantador e dos embrulhinhos lindos e coloridos para presente que a dona da loja faz com um sorriso nos lábios.

Tive que elogiar, comentei sobre os perfumes, sobre a música, sobre a paz que reina no ambiente e sobre a escolha dos itens à venda.  O casal ficou bem feliz!

Ela agradeceu o meu sorriso, sorrindo! Dá ou não dá vontade de voltar?

No site do CHINTA...
We fell in love with Bali many years ago. Travelling there for holidays over the years we started to wonder if we could bring some of the fabulous products back to Perth to sell.Our business started life in 2003 with a quick trip to Indonesia. A short time later we were unloading our first 20 foot container into the loungeroom of our small townhouse. Now all we had to do was come up with a name... well the Balinese word for love is Chinta...perfect!
This resulted in us leasing our first premises in Balcatta. We operated out of this warehouse wholesaling our unique homewares up and down the West Australian coast.
Over a few glasses of red one night it was decided that we needed to open our own retail store, to stock unique and large pieces that were difficult to wholesale. Premises were soon found on a very busy corner and was opened 4 weeks after the idea first sprung to mind. The store is celebrating it's fifth birthday this year and has carved out a successful market amongst Perths many homewares stores.
Over the years we have slowly moved away from wholesaling our products and are now focused on bringing you our fabulous products at very affordable prices.
Our beautiful store is open 7 days a week and stocks an extensive range of homewares, art, jewellery, glassware and unique one off furniture pieces.
So come on in and experience the CHINTA lifestyle and take a piece of paradise home with you.
PHONE - 08 9242 8887
EMAIL - chinta@chintadesigns.com.au 

 

location - Chinta Designs

www.chintadesigns.com.au/location/
CHINTA. ph 08 9242 8887. 251 Scarborough Beach Road, Doubleview. 6018. Cafe open 7 days a week 8.30- 4.30. Store open 7 days a week 8.30- 5.00 ...


Um outro lugar bem gostosinho também, para um café e um “dedinho de prosa” é a Casa Bianchi, em Mount Hawthorn, onde corto meu cabelo e levo roupas para pequenos consertos. 


Passava de carro por ali, na Scaborough Beach Road e sempre via numa esquina esse lugar, que mais me parecia uma loja de plantas, tal a quantidade de verde que tem lá dentro.

Seria um “Jardim Secreto” ?? rsrsrsrs

Um dia,  com mais tempo para explorar “o desconhecido”, fui fazer uma hora com a Isa nesse lugar, por volta de umas 11 horas da manhã.

Se você não entrar pra conferir, nunca vai imaginar como é. São mesinhas e cadeiras muito estilosas por entre fontes e um impecável jardim. E que roseiras lindas!




No salão principal, mais mesas e cadeiras em volta de um lindo arranjo de plantas.




Quando fui ao toilette, passei por mais um jardim e reformas em outro salão. Acho que eles estão em franca expansão.

É um lugar muito agradável, pra quem quer relaxar!

E contrariando alguns reviews na Internet sobre o serviço, fomos muito bem atendidas e pela cara dos nossos pratos e guloseimas, dá pra perceber que tudo estava uma delícia.





193 Scarborough Beach Rd 
Mount Hawthorn,WA 6016

Casa Bianchi

04 0554 5864

quinta-feira, 14 de março de 2013

9th Sculpture By The Sea - Cottesloe



Ontem eu e Isa visitamos a Sculpture By The Sea, uma exposição ao ar livre, na praia e nos gramados de Cottesloe, que acontece anualmente – este ano de 8 a 24 de Março. Já postei sobre ela no primeiro ano que a visitei, logo que chegamos, em 2011.

Idealizada por David Handley e iniciada em Sydney em 1997, a exposição só chegou a Perth no ano de 2005, mantendo a tradição de um site bastante especial – Cottesloe,  uma das mais lindas praias da cidade, onde o por do sol no horizonte do Índico traduz a beleza e a liberdade que marcam o estilo livre desse evento comunitário de artes visuais.

O dia estava perfeito! O céu e o mar disputavam os tons de azul, o sol brilhava e esquentava um dia que já lembrava o fim do Verão. Um ventinho gostoso soprava do mar quase parado no cantinho da praia, onde muitos banhistas ainda aproveitavam pra nadar.

Paramos para um café no delicioso Naked Fig e já “abastecidas”, partimos para visitar a exposição.


Olha essa vista! 




Tiramos nossos sapatos e começamos pela areia branquinha, que contrastava com o colorido das exóticas criações...


 E molhar os pés nessa água clarinha é mandatório!



Umas coisas bem esquisitas, né?



Mas bem criativas, devo admitir!



Adorei essa aqui abaixo. Me lembra reverência, oração, um momento de paz e fé!


Essa caveira é bem engraçada, mas ficaria melhor no Sci Tech do que nas ruas da cidade!





Em algumas esculturas, como o buraco da agulha abaixo,  é permitido tocar e interagir...


 Tudo informado e explicado...







Passamos para o quebra-mar, onde geralmente são posicionadas grandes esculturas, que precisam de um local alto para se destacarem a contento.




Também adorei essa aqui embaixo. São caniços (varas de pescar)!!!!


Dali, subimos para os gramados onde encontramos mais curiosidades...




Essa é no mínimo criativa e crítica...







Vista a exposição, partimos para a votação da melhor peça, que costuma ganhar destaque em algum ponto da cidade – vejam detalhes sobre as premiações no site. Disponibilizei várias informações no final do post.




Deixei transparecer novamente a minha “porção criança” e votei nesse multicolorido móbile. Acho que alegraria muito qualquer lugar onde fosse pendurado, não acham? Isa também votou nele. Mas tive dúvidas... Outras tão lindas também!



Ah, e também fizemos a nossa doação, para que a exposição possa se manter ainda por muitos anos!


E pra quem gosta de viajar e perdeu a expo de Cottesloe,  ela também acontece de 1 a 30 de Junho na Dinamarca em Aarhus e em Sydney de 24 de Outubro a 10 de Novembro no Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk

Excelente programa... Bom para os olhos e para o bolso! Recomendo!

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INFOS ADICIONAIS

9TH ANNUAL COTTESLOE EXHIBITION

Sculpture by the Sea returns to Cottesloe Beach, Perth, Western Australia. Over 70 local, interstate and international artists will transform Perth's most popular beach into a stunning sculpture park overlooking the Indian Ocean with some of the most glorious sunsets of any major city in the world.


One of the world's largest free to the public events.

What

Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe
When

Friday 8 - Sunday 24 March 2013
Where

Cottesloe Beach, Perth, Western Australia
Enquiries

info@sculpturebythesea.com or phone +61 2 8399 0233

Visit our artist page for a list of Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe 2013 exhibiting artists.

COTTESLOE 2013 EXHIBITING ARTISTS
Akiho Tata, Japan
Kathy Allam, WA
Ayad Alqaragholli, WA
Chloe Banicevic & Archana Murugaser, NSW
Toby Bell, WA
Bronwyn Berman, NSW
Vaughn Bisschops, WA
Senden Blackwood, NSW
Tom Blake, WA
Suzanne Bosanquet & Sarah Foley, QLD
David Brophy, WA
Tim Burns, WA
Robert Butler, WA
Imel Cabrera, Puerto Rico
Sir Anthony Caro, UK
Mikaela Castledine, WA
Cave Urban, NSW
Madeline Clare, WA
Jennifer Cochrane, WA
Hilde A. Danielsen, Norway
Thomas de Munk-Kerkmeer, WA
Ruth Downes & Geoff Webster, NSW
Kevin Draper, WA
Kate Dunn, NSW
Rico Eastman, USA
Ben Fasham, VIC
Manuel Ferreiro Badia, Spain
Fiona Gavino, WA
Ghostnets Australia, QLD
Ron Gomboc, WA
Michael Grau, WA
Simon Grimes, NSW
Robert Hague, VIC
Richard Hammer, NSW
Eiji Hayakawa, Japan

Veronica Herber, NZ

Lewis Horne, WA
Dion Horstmans, NSW
Toshio Iezumi, Japan
Koichi Ishino, NSW
Sui Jianguo, China
Greg Johns, SA
Ben Juniper, WA
Akira Kamada, NSW
Subodh Kerkar, India
Orest Keywan, NSW
Phillip Harry Koch, SA
Blaze Krstanoski-Blazeski, NSW
Peter Lundberg, USA
Ganghadar Mahato, New Delhi
Maia Marinelli, USA
Stephen Marr, NSW
Tim Macfarlane Reid, WA
Hugh McLachlan, TAS
Keld Moseholm, Denmark
Heini Nieminen, Finland
Jonas Hallberg & René Dybdahl Pederson, Denmark
Holly Pepper, WA
Richard Rhodes, USA
Geoffrey Ricardo, VIC
Sue Roberts, NSW
Alessandra Rossi, WA
Philip Spelman, ACT
Mitsuo Takeuchi, Japan
Richard Tipping, NSW
Ken Unsworth, NSW
Keizo Ushio, Japan
Jeannette Vernooij, WA
Carmel Wallace, VIC
Chen Wenling, China
Robin Yakinthou, WA


HISTORY
Sculpture by the Sea 1997-2012

The concept for
 Sculpture by the Sea was the culmination of many years thinking, where a new step in the thought process came up every year or so. Essentially the exhibition came from my wish to create a major free to the public arts event for Sydney.

Like so many other people I have always loved large community arts events like 'Opera in the Park' and 'Symphony Under the Stars', especially the way total strangers sit next to each other listening to music while enjoying a picnic dinner and a few glasses of wine. To me this sense of community is too rarely displayed or available in the modern world where there are few opportunities for seriously enjoyable cultural activities that are free and not fringe (but hey, long live fringe!).

Pretty much straight away I thought there was a need for an accessible visual arts event in Sydney but the 'what and where' took some time to nut out especially as I did not have a visual arts background.

While running away from the corporate world and living in Prague in the early 1990's I was taken to an outdoor sculpture park set amongst 13th century ruins near the town of Klatovy in northern Bohemia. Playing amongst the ruins and sculptures one night with my Czech art school friends I had my first experience of the power, if not majesty, of sculpture. From here my thoughts for the 'event' I might one day put on began to turn to sculpture.

Returning to Sydney, in 1996 friends who knew about my idea suggested i take a walk along the Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk (thanks Marie- Violaine and Matthew). All around me I saw natural plinth after natural plinth where sculptures of all descriptions could be installed. At the time I was expecting to land a major film job any day so the idea for the exhibition was put on hold until I realised the film job was not going to come through. With nothing scheduled in my life for several months, I thought I would set 'Art by the Sea' in motion - as I was still thinking of including paintings. It did not take more than a day to realise paintings would be an absolute liability in the wind and sometimes rain of the cliff-top walk. So that idea was dropped.
Fortunately for the exhibition, by now called Sculpture by the Sea, a number of key people fell for the idea and helped to make the exhibition a reality. Chief among these people were Anita Johnston at Waverley Council, which is responsible for managing the coastal walk, and Ron Robertson-Swann OAM one of Australia's most recognised (if not occasionally controversial) sculptors. From the first phone call Anita was enthusiastic and guided the exhibition through Council's environmental, safety and crowd management issues, while Ron advised on matters relating to installing and siting sculpture in a vast outdoor environment. Of equal importance Ron put his reputation behind the exhibition introducing many other substantial artists toSculpture by the Sea and thereby ensuring from year one that we had an exhibition of a high standard. Obviously many more people were crucial for getting the first exhibition off the ground but without Anita and Ron nothing would have happened.

In the exhibition's first year, 1997 (and still far from resolved now) our biggest problem was financing the show. Run from my lounge room and staffed entirely by volunteers, none of whom knew each other before hand, the first exhibition started with a bank account of $100. Some of the volunteer crew were sensational and within no time we had over 100 artist submissions for the show, media interest, Council approval and a principal sponsor in Sydney Water which put up $5,000 for the first Sydney Water Sculpture Prize and also assisted with advertising costs.

Produced on a shoe-string budget of $11,000, of which $8,500 went to the exhibiting artists in the form of the artist awards, the first exhibition was hustled together in 10 weeks. Given that we had no budget for security the first exhibition had to be limited to daytime and therefore to one day only, but this had the advantage of allowing Waverley Council to see how we produced the show before being prepared to authorise us to stage a multi day exhibition in 1998.

That 25,000 people visited the 1997 exhibition, the quality of the show and the media interest gave the impetus required for the future development of
Sculpture by the Sea. But given the fact our first major sponsor dollars did not show up for nearly 12 months it was a very hard time.

For 1998 the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) through the Artistic Director of "A Sea Change" Andrea Stretton, commissioned five
 Sculpture by the Sea exhibitions around Australia for the 1998 Olympic Arts Festival. This was a huge step up for us and one which artists really responded to with over 260 sculptures being installed among five locations around Australia (Darwin, Noosa, Albany, Bondi and the Tasman Peninsula).

It was a pity not to be able to maintain each of these interstate exhibitions but without the SOCOG funding - which was fairly limited any way - it was not feasible, though we tried to keep Tasmania running with an exhibition included in the 2001 Tasmania wide arts fest "10 Days on the Island'. I loved this Tasmanian show and it was a pity that it was not financially feasible to keep it going. At least we now do the smaller, lovely 'Ephemeral Art at the Invisible Lodge', so we keep our ties with Tasmania.

From 1998 on the challenge of producing the exhibition was to attempt to stay in tune with the artists' and the public's expectations while growing our financial resources. To this end our major developments have been: (i) extending the exhibition over three weeks; (ii) significantly increasing the support we provide to the artists in the form of awards and in some cases subsidies, in 2007 this was over $300,000 (thank you to our sponsors and private donors); (iii) developing ties with overseas sculpture organisations that see two dozen overseas artists exhibiting every year; (iv) developing the exhibition's sales, which totalled over $1 million for the first time in 2007; (v) encouraging those artists who incorporate the sun, sea, wind and rain to continue working in this area by developing an Environmental Sculpture Prize; and (vi) developing our schools education program in which over 1,600 students participated in 2007.

The most substantial development in terms of our organisation has been the establishment of Sculpture by the Sea incorporated (SXSINC) as a not for profit incorporated association to run our exhibitions. In this regard the company that previously produced the shows has given the rights to the exhibitions to SXSINC.

Establishing SXSINC and its listing on the national cultural register has enabled us to provide our private patrons and friends with tax deductions for their donations, aswell as allowing access to grants from philanthropic foundations. In this regard we are very appreciative of the support of the Balnaves Foundation with Neil and Diane Balnaves our Bondi exhibition Patrons.

In 2005 we launched
 Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, held annually at Cottesloe Beach, Perth on Australia's Indian Ocean coastal. With its sunsets, long horizon and the gorgeous pocket of beach near Indiana Tea House it's a wonderful location.

It has been an exciting, frightening and busy time and to everyone involved and in particular to the exhibition's staff, sponsors, Waverley Council our Board and most of all to the sculptors, thank you for coming along for the ride.

David Handley, Founding Director


FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS & MYTH-BUSTERS

1. Where did the idea come from?

“I love the idea of staging free events as they make us all feel a bit better about the world and help to create more of a sense of community.   At the same time I wanted to create an event that captured the essence of Australia with the ability to project an image of Australia internationally that is cultured, sophisticated yet laid back. The third element in the idea was that sculpture as an art form is dramatic and almost theatrical and it is meant to be seen in a spectacular and beautiful location where it looks it best.  In this way the exhibition helps facilitate the dreams of artists and to foster the Arts in WA and Australia.” David Handley, Founding Director


2. How do the sculptures get installed?

It’s actually a huge logistics operation to install 70 sculptures in 3 days.  Many of the sculptures have as much going on under the ground from an engineering point of view as they do artistically above the ground.   Several sculptures need engineering certificates and every artist has to clearly detail how they will install the sculptures on site and the equipment they need to use.


3. What do you do the rest of the year?

Actually we have 10 full time staff and 6 permanent part time staff working the Cottesloe and Bondi show. We liaise with the artists, supervise the safety and logistics of the show, seek corporate sponsorship and philanthropic donations, run our schools education programme, event production management, sculpture sales, accounts, marketing including our website (www.sculpturebythesea.com).  On top of this we have 4 – 6 volunteer interns at any one time.


4. How do the artists get selected? How do they choose their sites?

Anyone in the world can apply and increasingly architects, designers and engineers are joining artists in submitting proposals.  This year we had over 200 submissions from more than 20 countries which were considered by our curatorial panel.  This year’s panel is Stefano Carboni, Director, Art Gallery of WA; Helen Carroll-Fairhall, Manager, Wesfarmers Arts; and Geoffrey Edwards, Director, Geelong Gallery and former Senior Curator, Sculpture & Glass at the National Gallery of Victoria.   Once selected the artists have 6 months to make their works and we work closely with them to make sure they are built safely and can be installed safely.

When the artists apply we ask them to nominate where they want their sculptures to be sited.  Once they are selected we meet with all the local artists at Cottesloe beach to get to know more about their sculptures and we discuss with the artists where it is best to site their works.  We then have similar discussions by phone and email with the interstate and overseas artists.  Our Site Logistics & Technical Manager and Founding Director then finalise the place for each sculpture taking the artists’ views in account as much as possible.


5. Who puts it on?

The Australian exhibitions are run by a not-for-profit organisation set up in 2003 specifically to run
 Sculpture by the Sea in Australia called Sculpture by the Sea Incorporated.  Prior to then they were run by the Founding Director’s company which gave the Australian rights to the not-for-profit organisation in 2003. In this way we can give our donors tax deduction receipts for any donations they make to help us stage the exhibitions.


6. Does the Government pay for everything?

The Federal Government does not provide any funding. This really, really causes us problems with raising enough funds for the exhibition and it means we get limited support for the artists. Our grant applications to the Australia Council for the Arts keep getting knocked back, which we cannot understand as we satisfy all the reasons for which the Australia Council for the Arts was established under the Australia Council Act.

Happily the WA Government through Eventscorp helps providing an important part of our income which amounts to about13% of our budget. In the last few years Lotterywest has funded our access program for people with disabilities which we run with DADAA.


7. Isn’t someone making a lot of money?

All the money raised goes towards staging the exhibition. This includes all donations, sponsorships and sculpture sales. By definition a not-for-profit organisations cannot pay any profits to its members or to anyone else, which is one of the reasons why we set up Sculpture by the Sea as a not-for-profit organisation.  Most years the exhibition is produced for a small loss or at best a small profit.


8. Are the sculptures for sale?

Yes they are and this is the main means by which the exhibition is able to raise funds for the artists.  We also have an exhibition of small works in the Cottesloe Surf Life Saving Club called ‘
Sculpture Inside’. The artists receive 65% of each sale and our organisation receives a 35% commission which is an important contribution towards the costs of staging the exhibition.  We don’t overly market that the sculptures are for sale because first and foremost Sculpture by the Sea is a free to the public event, so except for at the indoor show, you never see a sale price next to a sculpture because we want everyone to enjoy themselves not to think we are trying to sell them something.


9. How do we secure the sculptures at night?

We have night time security guards.  Each evening the senior security guard walks around the site with one our senior site crew to check each of the sculptures before the security guards take responsibility for the site for the night.  Despite what happened to Chen Wenling’s sculpture in 2012 it is reasonably easy to see almost all of the site from key vantage points. The Cottesloe Police and Town of Cottesloe Rangers also include the site in their patrols.  Much of the site is covered by CCTV cameras.


10. How hard is to work with artists?

Most people think it is impossible to work with artists, children and animals!  But seriously, some artists are the most professional and organised people you could ever hope to work with.  While, like the rest of society, there are those at the other end of the spectrum.  Being a group show a lot of the artists help each other and several have developed strong professional relationships. Among the most significant of these is the work of Keizo Ushio from Japan and Ron Gomboc from Perth. Ron invites Japanese artists to live and work at his studio and to exhibit at the Gomboc Sculpture Park in Middle Swan in June each year.  In exchange Keizo has organised several WA sculptor symposiums in Hyogo, Japan, which has a sister province relationship with WA.


11. Why doesn’t the exhibition run for longer?

We don’t have the funds to run for any longer.  We would like to run the show for at least an extra week but this would cost us tens of thousands of dollars more, partly for security and hire charges.  We would also need several more staff because by the end of the 3 week show our staff have worked long 6 day week for 7 or more weeks in a row and are exhausted, with another long week of wrapping up the show to go.


12. Can you touch the sculptures?

In general sculptures can be touched and it great to touch them because sculpture is such a tactile art form.  We put ‘Please Do Not Touch’ signs out for those sculptures which are fragile.  Unfortunately, some people seem to think they can climb on the sculptures, and except in very rare cases this is not the case, so we put ‘Please Do Not Climb’ signs on some sculptures that children (and others) are tempted to climb on.  We really appreciate parents helping to keep curious children off the sculptures.


13. How can anyone help us put on the exhibition?

Please consider making a gold coin donation or buying a $10 catalogue or a $6 kids’ guide. Catalogue sales make up 8% of our total income.

Any donation of $2 or more is tax deductible so please ask for a receipt.

We also have a Patrons & Supporters program for people who want to meet the artists, come to functions in artists’ studios and to donate the amount of $250 or more to help us stage the show while increasing the support for the artists.

If you run a small or large business please consider becoming a sponsor of one of the artists.

Our aim is to be able to afford to cover the artists’ freight and installation costs.  This seems only fair as it’s the artists whose works everyone comes along to enjoy and whose works get shown all around the world promoting WA as a great place to live and visit.