Celia Hammond (Curtin, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of attending the Sculpture by the Sea exhibition at Cottesloe with the founding director, Mr David Handley AM. I had the privilege of announcing the winner of the Andrea Stretton Memorial Invitation Award. This award was rightly awarded to WA artist Janine McAulley Bott for her fabulous work entitled Vintage Bush Truck. The Sculpture by the Sea exhibition first started at our iconic Cottesloe Beach in 2005. There is no doubt that it has since become one of Western Australia's premier cultural and artistic events. David Handley deserves enormous respect and praise for his vision and tenacity in founding this event and ensuring that it has developed into such a beloved Western Australia event. In addition to being a great promotion and celebration of incredible works of art, it brings together the community from young to old, and it has a strong educational program. It's a huge boost to tourism and the economy.

This year, more than 210,000 visitors attended the exhibition. Close to 3,000 of the visitors were from interstate and close to 1,000 from overseas. In addition, some 140 international and interstate artists participated in the exhibition. Over 2,000 primary and secondary school students from 58 schools across Perth took part in the various educational programs offered, making a total of 28,000 school students who have participated over the 15-year history of this exhibition. The educational program is superb and has led to a number of schools incorporating their own mini sculpture competition within their curriculum.

A recent OECD report evaluated the exhibition held this year and confirmed the overwhelming positive benefits to both Western Australia and the town of Cottesloe. The 2019 exhibition has been estimated to contribute $6.8 million in direct visitor spending and $13.7 million in total spending in Western Australia. As a result of the event, approximately 175,000 people visited Cottesloe, with a direct visitor spending contribution of around $5.3 million for food and beverages alone. I know from talking to local businesses in the community how much they benefit from the exhibition and how important it is to them.

Unfortunately, one of the consequences of the increased popularity of the event is that the costs of producing it continue to rise—now to the tune of approximately $2.2 million. Although there are many corporate and annual sponsors who have been involved for years, and new donors and supporters have been found this particular year, the sculpture exhibition has only been guaranteed for 2020. The funding uncertainty needs to be addressed. (Time expired)

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