Face of Nation : An iconic Sydney event that attracts half a million visitors a year is in danger of being forced to closed — all because a local council wants to build a footpath.
Organisers of Sculpture by the Sea, which pops up each spring near Bondi Beach and ploughs almost $40 million into the city’s economy, have said the new pathway is such an eyesore it will “kill” the event.
Sculpture by the Sea founder David Handley told news.com.au the site of the new walkway, through Bondi’s Marks Park, would mean fewer large blockbuster artworks would able to be installed, while artists would be less willing to send their works to Australia.
“Artists from around the world respond to this location; this is our window to the world and we are about to ruin it,” Mr Handley said.
But the local council has hit back saying it “suspects the impact (of the path) is being overstated” and that more services for people with disabilities “outweighs some inconvenience” for the event’s organisers.
Held every October, Sculpture by the Sea sees hundreds of artworks installed on the famous costal pathway which runs south from Bondi Beach in Sydney’s east.
Now in its 21st year, the show is completely free to wander around and often features out-size and whimsical works which have included a melted ice cream van and a giant frying pan in the sand.
Exposed to the elements, larger works are often displayed at Marks Park, a large headland where sculptures can be installed with a dramatic and uninterrupted view of the Pacific Ocean behind it.
Last year, just short of 500,000 people visited Sculpture by the Sea. The event injects around $38 million into the Sydney economy annually; $11 million of that just to food and beverage outlets in the city’s eastern suburbs.
But Mr Handley said a decision made last week by Waverley Council to push ahead with a new accessible pathway will destroy the event’s unique vista and mean 40 per cent of sculpture sites would be lost.
As the path will be cited on a ridge, it will be centre stage behind the sculptures blocking the views.
“The mundanity of this path is part of the issue. Why would any artist place their work beside a concrete path when what has inspired them is the sea, sky and horizon?” he asked.
“Putting a bleak concrete path behind the art will kill Sculpture by the Sea.”
Work has already begun on the path, which Mr Handley said had immediate consequences with nine planned sculptures now axed as they are in the way of construction works and another 12 having their locations “compromised”.
His organisation has suggested an alternative plan that links up current paths around the park and brings the route away from the ridge and so not in the background of the artworks.
“Let’s make Marks Park more accessible in a more meaningful way rather than pouring 500sq m of concrete onto a headland,” he said.
Almost 200 artists from around the world, including those who have previously participated in the festival, have sent letters to Waverly Council protesting the pathway.
