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Sculptures at Scratchley

Stretching the Imagination by Susan Dorothea White Sculptures at Scratchley

Sculptures at Scratchley

Sculptures at Scratchley is a planned annual sculpture exhibition held for the first time this year in the grounds of Fort Scratchley, a historic fort at the entrance to Newcastle Harbour in New South Wales, Australia. Held for the first time in 2023 the exhibition showcases a selected number of international, national and local artists’ works, with a variety of styles and materials.

The exhibition is open to the public with free entry and the chance to nominate a sculpture for the main prize of People’s Choice Award, which is a non-acquisitive award of $25,000. The exhibition also has a peer-judged award, also non-acquisitive, of $15,000. For anyone interested, non-acquisitive means that the operator of the exhibition does not purchase the winning piece. Instead, the winner is able to sell it on the open market. The exhibition ran from May 13 to May 28, 2023.

The variety of sculptures was great and the backdrop of the fort and surrounding beaches was a great setting. Hopefully this will be an on-going annual event, like the Sculptures at the Sea at Bondi.

Bleaching by Michael Greve
First Prize Winning Sculpture Bleaching by Michael Greve
The Miss Fits by Geoff Harvey
The Miss Fits by Geoff Harvey
The Miss Fits by Geoff Harvey Sculptures at Scratchley
The Miss Fits by Geoff Harvey
Juno by Ulan and Rachel
Juno by Ulan and Rachel
Warrior by John Lynch
Warrior by John Lynch
Tipping Point by John Lynch
Tipping Point by John Lynch
Learning to Fly by John Logvyn Sculptures at Scratchley
Learning to Fly by John Logvyn
Persistence by John Logvyn Sculptures at Scratchley
Persistence by John Logvyn
The Leadlight Garden Shed with Glass and Timber Tools by Lee and Zac Howes Sculptures at Scratchley
The Leadlight Garden Shed with Glass and Timber Tools by Lee and Zac Howes
Prancer by Nicole O'Regan
Prancer by Nicole O’Regan
Advance by Nicole O'Regan Sculptures at Scratchley
Advance by Nicole O’Regan
Stretching the Imagination by Susan Dorothea White Sculptures at Scratchley
Stretching the Imagination by Susan Dorothea White
Following Orders by Anthony Xerri Sculptures at Scratchley
Following Orders by Anthony Xerri
The Messenger by Kylie Gardner
The Messenger by Kylie Gardner

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

The Newcastle Lock-Up 2023

Glass Sculpture

The Newcastle Lock-Up 2023

On display at the Newcastle Lock-Up until 5 February 2023, “Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt” by Alex Seton was specifically made for the cells of the Lock-Up. The title of the show refers to Kurt Vonnegut’s anti-war novel “Slaughterhouse-Five” about the fire bombing of Dresden that dislocates linear time.

These beautiful artworks are worth the visit and with free entry it’s even better. We had a great time here, slowly walking around the exhibits.

Our previous visit to the Lock-Up can be found here. It details the building’s history and shows the rooms and cells with no artwork installed.

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

Big Picture Festival 2022

by Goya Torres

Big Picture Festival 2022

The Big Picture Festival 2022 in Newcastle New South Wales added ten beautiful murals to the city’s streetscapes. Sponsored by the Newcastle City Council, the event continues to add to an already impressive collection of street art.

The council produced a downloadable PDF with the location of the latest additions which also includes last years murals in case you missed them (see our post here).

We parked near Civic Park on King Street and then walked a roughly circular route taking in all of the new works. With stops along the way and a break for coffee, it took around one and a half hours to walk. If you wanted to see the older works it would probably take over two hours.

This was a fun and easy walk and a great way to see the centre of Newcastle and it’s buildings.

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

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