Sculpture by the Sea finds lifeline after flagging funding shortfall

Sculpture by the Sea is back on at Bondi next month after it secured a major corporate sponsor to fix a $200,000 funding shortfall that had left it scrambling for corporate and public donations.

NRMA Insurance is to fill the budget breach, while the organisers of the iconic Bondi to Tamarama sculpture walk also welcomed $125,000 in public donations from as far as Singapore, France and Japan.

The partnership was announced on Friday morning, a day after federal Arts Minister Tony Burke ruled out federal funding for the exhibition, saying he had been advised Sculpture by the Sea did not pay its artists.

The federal funding agency, Creative Australia, last funded Sculpture by the Sea Bondi in 2023.

Asked by this masthead if federal funding could be forthcoming, Burke said Sculpture by the Sea was a wonderful event. “People enjoy going to it, it attracts huge crowds but one of the principles we established in our cultural policy was that, for too long, artists have been expected to work for free as though their life’s work was a hobby and not a career.

“The last information I have received was to have your works included in Sculpture by the Sea you are not paid. In fact, you had to pay them. And I think that should be a question that should be put directly to Sculpture by the Sea.”

Founder David Handley said a portion of NRMA Insurance’s sponsorship would be directed to help artists who “needed further assistance” and support the revival of some aspects of its school education program in time for next month’s exhibition.

“We realise just how much the artists contribute to the exhibition and in the absence of federal government funding we need to do as much as we can to help the artists,” he said. “In this case an amount to be decided is going to artists who we know need further assistance.”

More broadly, he acknowledged artists paid a $50 entry fee, but said each participating artist was guaranteed a minimum $3000 contribution towards installation costs. Artists contribute to complex installs that take longer or need more equipment.

“Each artist who applies to be in the exhibition pays a $50 application fee – there are no other charges or costs applied to all artists and again and regrettably the minister has been seriously misinformed,” he said.

“Artists who exhibit in Sculpture by the Sea in Sydney and Perth collectively earn $2 million to $3 million from the exhibitions in the form of artist subsidies, awards, and sculpture sales. Each artist in this year’s Bondi exhibition is guaranteed an income of at least $3000.

“The only other possible matter that Minister [Tony] Burke could be referring to is the small number of artists who have very expensive installation costs who choose to exhibit knowing that they may have to pay more if their use of machinery, such as cranes, exceeds the amount that we can afford to provide for free to each artist each year thanks to the support of our donors, sponsors and Create NSW.”

Burke’s comments came before the opening of a historic arts tax meeting convened at Sydney Opera House attended by arts ministers for NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. Ministers came empty-handed, but Burke said tax breaks would be considered when its national cultural policy, Revive, came up for review next year.

“There are many parts of the arts sector that are very much struggling ... [but] you don’t get bigger reform without doing the rigorous work first,” Burke said.

“We’re right at the beginning of a whole lot of ideas and I want the work to be done. If you do make changes to the tax system, they’re got to be big enough to make a difference, and they’re long-lasting and would give real security to the sector.”

The most popular idea to emerge from 307 submissions was making government art prizes tax-free, NSW Arts Minister John Graham said.

“That way the winner of the Archibald Prize would pay as much tax as the winner of a bet on the Archibald Prize, who pays zero tax,” he said.

Support was near universal for extending tax incentives – allowing for rebates on upfront production costs – from screen and digital gaming to theatre and performance.

A joint communique issued late on Thursday did not commit to any particular reform, instead restating that government funding alone would not “keep up with rising costs, the scale of the challenge and the many opportunities our cultural sector presents”.

“One of the other big levers that could be pulled is tax reform. Annual funding comes and goes with budget cycles but structural changes to our tax system could boost culture for generations to come.” the ministers said.

“Tax reform is not easy, but we are at a unique moment where crisis meets opportunity.”

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.