Jessica Page: Art and tourism the real victims in Sculpture by the Sea funding blame game

‘Tis the season to be giving freebies. No, not Christmas. It’s election season, two elections for the price of one so how did Cottesloe’s Sculpture by the Sea end up with a lump of coal? The decision to knock back a four-year $2 million funding application was made by advisory body Creative Australia, but Federal Arts Minister Tony Burke should have intervened the moment it became apparent WA was the only state or territory that missed out in the “visual arts” category. Contemporary Art Tasmania received $1.5m. Its current showpiece titled “Apologue Isle” uses puppetry, sculpture and sound to explore Tasmania’s relationship with the climate crisis. Adelaide Contemporary Experimental received $1.2m. Its next exhibition features culturally diverse artists and their take on definitions of gender, class and sexuality. Art is subjective and a skill I am particularly lacking in, but I do wonder if Cottesloe’s inflatable goon bag missed the political mark. There were plenty of nods to ideological debates over the years by the groyne, including Oceane Jacob’s shark fin made out of recycled fishing nets last year and the “plastic world” built out of rubbish in 2014. Art should make you think. But the beauty of the annual installation at Cott was the mix of astute, bizarre and beautiful. The “Seated Man” in 2011 and “Benoit” last year were simply sublime. Marcus Tatton’s “viral escapade” was perfectly timed for the Covid era. The inexplicable maze of steel snow poles and bird repellent tape created by Zilvinas Kempinas in 2016 provided hours of fun for kids and adults alike. The smiles on Chen Wenling’s red people remain contagious dotted around Perth after proving so popular they stayed. The City of Vincent paid $59,800 for one, another was the target of thieves. Yet organisers say Sculptures by the Sea was ranked in the bottom 30 per cent of applications to Creative Australia, despite around 230,000 people trekking beachside for it last year. Art is too often the first luxury sacrificed in a cost of living crisis and it wasn’t only the Federal Government that pulled funding from the event. Corporate sponsors did too. The State Government offered more and alternative locations were willing to pay more too, but organisers don’t want to budge and have declared the $700,000 shortfall too big to overcome. That sounds like a refusal to be held financial accountable. It seems there is plenty of blame to share around. One local artist described the cancellation as “like a funeral” but the exact cause of death is hard to pinpoint. The event has been on life support before, bailed out by billionaire Andrew Forrest in 2020, but on radio — organisers were reluctant to knock on his door again in 2025. “He’s been very generous over the years, it’s not his job description,” founder David Handley told 6PR. The reasons for Creative Australia’s knockback remain a mystery. “You tell me, they say it’s at arms length from the Minister but there’s an inner sanctum and we’re not in it,” Mr Handley said. Creative Australia would only say: “we do not provide public commentary on declined applications.” The same day the event was officially cancelled, Premier Roger Cook’s office was trumpeting “dividends” from WA’s diversification plan. That makes this event a no-brainer. Tourism is the key to monetising our State’s best natural assets without digging them up. Only three months ago Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared Sculpture by the Sea one of the reasons he likes coming here. He’s back this weekend to open a rail line. Perhaps he can build a bridge for Governments and artists to meet in the middle and make a new plan. Start by putting Cottesloe’s sculptures on a postcard and selling it to the world, then spread the love across Scarborough, Fremantle and as far as Esperance and Broome. Turn it into a treasure map of WA shores to explore and interact with. The beach is our best selling point, art can provide an eager audience something to do there.