Our story
The best ideas often come from a small seed of thought, something that germinates into a plant and then eventually develops into a magnificent garden.
Sculpture in the Gardens is run by the Friends of the Auckland Botanic Gardens and is hosted by Auckland Botanic Gardens. Every second year twenty Aotearoa New Zealand artists are selected to show works in the exhibition over summer. Artists exhibit outdoor sculptural works in the beautiful and well-attended setting of the Gardens. And an indoor gallery also allows displays of small works. There is also a permanent collection on display throughout the year.
Louise Purvis, Gravid – Winner of the McConnell Family Supreme Award, 2017.
Marté Szirmay, Seek – Winner of the Friends of the Auckland Botanic Gardens Acquisition, 2015.
Sam Duckor-Jones, Full length mirror – Entry in the 2017–18 exhibition.
Background
Sculpture in the Gardens began in 2007, from an idea by a few local sculptors to show works in the Gardens. It soon blossomed into a biennial exhibition, becoming a major event on Tamaki Makaurau Auckland’s cultural calendar. It is a free, non-profit public event run by the Friends of the Gardens, a registered charity.
What is Sculpture in the Gardens
Every second summer twenty New Zealand artists are selected to exhibit in the 3.5 month-long exhibition. The exhibition’s main feature is a 1.5km sculpture ‘trail of discovery’ through the Gardens. This is accompanied by an indoor exhibition in the Huakaiwaka Visitor Centre gallery. In each exhibition three prizes are awarded: The McConnell Family Supreme Award, The Friends of the Auckland Botanic Gardens Acquisition, and the People’s Choice Award. The event also features indoor galleries, guided walks, entertainment and workshops. Visitors can express their own creativity through activities provided. The community engagement programme is inclusive, offering accessibility options for visitors, with limited mobility, low vision, and the elderly.
How it is funded
The Friends of the Auckland Botanic Gardens runs the exhibition and has fostered partnerships, relationships and agreements with many organisations to achieve this great event. Funding for the event is received from The Friends of the Auckland Botanic Gardens, Auckland Council, the Wallace Arts Trust, and sponsors and patrons. Sculpture in the Gardens provides artists with stipends, engineering support and installation and deinstallation assistance. It runs community engagement programmes and provides marketing to promote sales for the artists.
The benefits
Sculpture in the Gardens has benefited visitors to the Auckland Botanic Gardens since its inception. Held over the summer months, the exhibition encourages exploration, connection and feeling of belonging with the Gardens, while providing access to high-quality art for free. The Friends’ vision for the event is ‘Sculpture for everyone’, removing barriers to accessing quality sculpture, and widening the demographic of visitors to the Gardens. As a result, between 300,000 and 400,000 people visit the Gardens during the exhibition. The associated community programmes further enhance this engagement.
It is believed that Sculpture in the Gardens has the highest number and most diverse range of visitors of any sculpture exhibition in the country. Market research from the exhibition reflects the positive views of visitors with 91% of those attending ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with Sculpture in the Gardens.