Ash Bolt
With just over six weeks to go until the Lorne Sculpture Biennale returns, organisers have revealed plans for the event.
Along with the highly anticipated sculpture exhibition, based on the theme Spirit of Place and located across 16 precincts in Lorne, there will also be several supporting performances and events.
The Sculpture Plus initiative will feature free and ticketed performances, workshops, nature walks, Indigenous education and other experiences around the township of Lorne over the three-week festival.
Also running at the same time will be the Small Sculpture Prize and Exhibition, which will feature small works by Biennale and other invited artists, giving art lovers, supporters and visitors the opportunity to take a small piece of the Biennale home.
Featuring works by all 16 selected Biennale artists, the Small Sculpture Exhibition will be held in Lorne’s Community Connect building and will run for the duration of the Biennale.
Biennale artistic director Graeme Wilkie said a range of invited emerging, mid-career and established artists will also be showcased on the exhibition.
Works from the exhibition will be available for purchase online through the Biennale’s new online shop, with commissions being reinvested into future events.
Invited artists include Bruce Armstrong, Lorne Sculpture 2016 People’s Choice winner Jenny Crompton, Geoffrey Bartlett, Peter Schipperheyn, Cara Johnson, Dean Bowen and Lucy McEachern.
The Lorne Sculpture Biennale is also offering a Small Sculpture Prize of $5000, with a judging panel including former Geelong Gallery director and Point Leo Sculpture Park head curator Geoffrey Edwards, former Ian Potter Museum of Art director Kelly Gellatly and Dr Graeme Williams.
“After one postponement, we are excited to be getting close to bringing the Lorne Sculpture Biennale to our iconic foreshore for everyone to enjoy,” Wilkie said.
“The addition of the Sculpture Plus and Small Sculpture Exhibition lend even more activity and excitement to our full program.
“The online Gallery Shop gives collectors the perfect opportunity to support our artists whilst investing in the future of the Biennale. [It’s] a wonderful outcome for us all.”
The Lorne Sculpture Biennale will run from Saturday, March 12 until Sunday, April 3.
