Following the news in July that Sculpture by the Sea would be making a promised return this year from October 22 to November 8, it has been announced that the popular annual outdoor exhibition in Bondi will, in fact, not be making a reappearance until 2021.
In late September, the organisers stated they would try to put the show on in late spring, but the curtain has officially fallen on that plan. In a press release on November 4, organisers cited ongoing restrictions as the cause of the postponement, and also noted that "the exhibition was not granted an exemption by NSW Health".
Over 100 Australian and international artists collectively spent around $1.5 - $1.8 million to create and freight their sculptures from around the world for the exhibition, but the organisers are determined for that effort to not have been a waste – all will be in the lineup of the delayed exhibition, which "will be postponed and hopefully open for the viewing public in early 2021."
In the meantime, a few bright spots have appeared on the horizon. Organisers of Sculpture have teased the erection of a yet-to-be-announced sculpture on the south Bondi headland in mid-November, in order to "act as a beacon of hope for the future". Additionally, primary and early secondary school students from across greater Sydney and regional NSW, including some of the areas worst affected by the bushfires in early 2020, will welcome sculptors and artists to their classrooms to run workshops, as part of the Sculptors to Your School program.
Still want to get a little sculpture fix? The fascinating Liverpool Sculpture Walk bends around the Georges River in south west Sydney, while Les Sculptures Refusées is comprised of 'rejects' from the main festival and is showing at, aptly, Manly's historic Quarantine Station, where some of Australia’s best sculptors – who have previously shown, or just missed out on exhibiting in Sculpture – will be on show at this open air exhibition.