A major event can’t run for 28 years without a few ups and downs, but 2025 has been an especially difficult time for Sculpture by the Sea (SXS). Since its inception in 1997, this famous, annual sculpture fest has attracted more than 400,000 visitors every year to the coastal walk between Bondi and Tamarama. This makes it not only one of Sydney’s biggest tourist attractions, but a major drawcard for those who live in this city.
This year’s SXS has an air of dejection I’ve never previously encountered. The problems began when the show allegedly came within a whisker of cancellation, after SXS founding director, David Handley, announced a $200,000 shortfall in the budget, subsequently made up by injections of cash from private donors and the NRMA. To make matters worse, rockfalls on the headlands have prompted Waverley Council to close off a crucial section of the walkway in front of Marks Park, including the circular platfom that usually plays host to a standout work. Another blow has been Typhoon Matmo which delayed the arrival of a significant group of works from Japan (now installed!).
Prior to the arrival of the Japanese pieces, the exhibition was down from the usual 100 works to something in the mid-80s. It not only felt smaller, it felt lacklustre, as if sculptures had been arranged with less care and thought than in previous years – or maybe just with greater haste. The one bright spark was the awarding of the major prize to James Rogers for Siren’s Song, an elegant abstract work in which strands of metal allude to the rise and fall of the nearby waves.