Woollahra Council in talks to host Sculpture by the Sea
Bondi is facing competition from close to home as one Mayor attempts to nab the lucrative Sculpture by the Sea after discussions with organisers over a potential move this week. HERE IS WHERE IT COULD MOVE TO.
Wentworth Courier
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Woollahra Council is making a sensational bid to steal the lucrative Sculpture by the Sea exhibition from its neighbours at Waverley Council.
Woollahra mayor Peter Cavanagh made the announcement at a Woollahra local government conference tonight, telling members he and other senior staff had held discussions with Sculptures founder David Handley on Monday in a bid to lure the marquee event away from Bondi next year.
Tensions have strained between event organisers and Waverley Council, where a concrete path at one of the sites of the exhibition sparked a feud that culminated in Mr Handley’s threat to move the event from Bondi in 2020.
About half a million people from Australia and overseas attend the exhibition every year.
“I am pleased to announce tonight that … the general manager and I met with David at his office yesterday (Monday) to discuss the transfer of Sculpture by the Sea to Woollahra,” Cr Cavanagh said.
“We are now exploring a feasibility study to use our clifftop and harbourside parks and reserves for their exhibitions.”
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“Woollahra is ideally suited to take Sculpture by the Sea over, as it is still in the eastern suburbs, and we share the same dramatic coastline as Waverley.
“They are also interested in using some of our parks, possibly for a different exhibition.”
As part of the announcement, Cr Cavanagh revealed he will run for mayor again next year, in part to nurture Woollahra’s bid to nab Sculpture by the Sea.
“I think Watsons Bay would be a beautiful location,” Cr Cavanagh told the Wentworth Courier.
“There is Steyne Park, we’ve got the cliffs, we’ve got Parsley Bay, there’s Nielsen Park, Lyne Park, Rushcutters Bay and Guilfoyle Park.
“There are lots of places we could do it.”
Mr Handley, who has guided the vision for Sculptures for more than two decades, confirmed Woollahra was in the running and that there was one site that was “particularly interesting” in the municipality.
The founding director added that discussions were still at a very early stage and stated that the exhibition’s future location would only be determined after this year’s event.
“There are some advantages to staying in the Eastern Suburbs but for us there are also some advantages to starting totally fresh outside the east,” Mr Handley said.
“We’re not considering anything until after this year’s show at Bondi … but a lot of our donors are based in the east and donations make up 20 per cent of our budget.
“I don’t want to put the cart before the horse but we are very pleased to have such strong interest from the mayor and senior staff from Woollahra Council.”
Woollahra is one of about a dozen councils to have thrown its hat in the ring, though only very few are understood to have had discussions with event organisers.