Sculpture By The Sea is the largest free public sculpture exhibition in the world, and in 2016 celebrated its 20th anniversary. The exhibition runs for two weeks every year in October/November, along the cliff top walk from Tamarama Beach to Bondi Beach.
While the majority of the sculptures are not able to be touches, each year there are several that are designed to be interacted with by visitors, be it walking through them, on them or climbing over them – the placards in front of the sculptures lets people know which ones are able to be touched and which ones are too fragile.
A big hit this year was the ship with wooden blocks that were able to be manipulated, so visitors were able to change the shape of parts of the ship.
Please enjoy the photos of this spectacular exhibition, and scroll down to the bottom for tips on attending.
Tips for attending Sculpture By The Sea
- Go early, like 6am early. We arrived at 7am and it was already really busy. If you arrive at midday, forget about being able to get near a sculpture without 20 people right on top of you.
- Parking is a nightmare. Go early and look for a spot around Tamarama or Bronte.
- Bring lots of water, sunscreen and a hat. The sun is brutal on the walk and there is no shade.
- Bathrooms are located at Tamarama Beach, Mark’s Place and Bondi Beach.
- Food is also located at Tamarama, Bondi and Mark’s Place. In 2015 and 2016 The Grounds of Alexandria had a pop-up cafe at Mark’s Place.
- The walk is not stroller friendly at all. If you cannot bring your child in a baby carrier, walk/drive to Mark’s Place – it’s the only stroller accessible point of the walk.
- Try for dawn or sunset for pictures with truly stunning light and less people around.
- There are two kids’ playgrounds on the walk – one at Tamarama Beach and one at Mark’s Place.
- Week days are much less busy than weekends.
- Keep an eye on small children. Not only is the walk crowded, it runs along the cliff tops where there are no guard rails or barriers to stop children from falling over the edge.
- Not all scuptures are designed to be touched. Please respect the signs and only touch those that are designated for interaction.
Photography tip: It might look like we were pretty much by ourselves on the walk but this was thanks to careful shooting and editing. For pics like these, be extremely patient and wait until other people leave the frame, or step around them and find an angle with no-one in it. If you can’t do either, then crop in close.