Sculpture in the Garden Wollongong 2027: Terms and Conditions for Artists

The following Terms and Conditions apply for the Sculpture in the Garden Wollongong (SITGW) 2027 exhibition, the Acquisitive Sculpture Prize, the Ephemeral Sculpture Prize and the People's Choice Prize.

By submitting an online entry form to Wollongong City Council, you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.

In the event of any dispute regarding the Terms and Conditions and all matters relating to the Prizes, the decisions of Council will be final.

Eligibility

Entry is open to Australia-based Artists aged 18 years or over.
The sculpture must be produced post-March 2024.
The sculpture that wins the Acquisitive Sculpture Prize will become part of Wollongong City Council's Public Art Collection.
To be eligible for the Acquisitive Prize, sculptures must be built to last a minimum of 10 years.

Entries

A separate online entry form is required for each proposed sculpture.
A limit of three entries per artist can be submitted.
Completed online entry forms must be received by Council by 10pm on Monday 31 August 2026.
Enquiries may be directed to culturaldevelopment@wollongong.nsw.gov.au
Council does not accept responsibility for any lost, damaged or delayed entry forms due to any cause and recommends you do not send original maquettes or original photographs.
If selected, you undertake to deliver the sculpture detailed on the entry form to Council by the due date.
Artists are responsible for the cost and risk of transporting artworks.
Selected artists will be paid a $1,500 exhibition fee to help cover their costs.

Sculpture requirements

The Botanic Garden can accommodate a range of types and sizes of sculptures. There are restrictions in size and weight for some sites (see site details in the Artist Brief). For the exhibition, sculptures must comply with the site specifications.
Sculptures must be suitable for outdoor installation and be able to withstand sun, wind and rain.
Artists need to consider issues of security (the Garden is locked at night), safety, ease of installation and removal, environmental impact on the Botanic Garden site and safe interaction by the general public, in particular interaction with children.
Sculptures will be assessed for safety before and after they are installed. Sculptures deemed unsafe may be removed or may not be considered for the exhibition.
Artists may be required by Council to supply engineering reports prior to selection.
Sculptures that are deemed by Council to be discriminatory or offensive in any way will not be accepted.
The Artist agrees that their work will not damage the site or the grounds of the Wollongong Botanic Garden.
All successful Artists must supply an ABN and a $20 million Public Liability Insurance policy for payment of the exhibition fee.
Once proposals are accepted by the Curatorial Panel any substantial changes to the sculpture are to be submitted to the Exhibition Installer and approved by the Curatorial Panel prior to exhibition. No changes can be made after January 2027.
All directions from Council staff, police or other public authorities and exhibition staff must be complied with.
The Artist agrees not to release any press releases without written consent from Wollongong City Council.
Artist or artist sponsors are not permitted to use images of the sculpture taken in situ for commercial purposes.
Artist’s sponsors are not permitted to host functions on the exhibition site or issue press releases without written permission from Wollongong City Council.
Neither the Artist nor Wollongong City Council is authorised to use images taken at the exhibition for commercial purposes without entering into a licence agreement with the Artist or Wollongong City Council.
All Artists are to provide a daytime contact number for sales or other issues arising.
If successful you will be requested to supply information for didactic panels that will be displayed next to each sculpture. No other signage will be permitted.
Artists are not permitted to have commercial logos or websites on their sculptures.
Work must not be a mass-produced object or reproduction.
Biosecurity is important to protect the Wollongong Botanic Garden collection. As such, we ask that artists work within the following guidelines and discuss what they hope to bring on site with the Wollongong Botanic Garden team.
- No soil of any kind, including potted plants, root / bulbous material dug from the ground, composted garden matter etc. (sealed new bags of commercial grade products can be accepted but please check with the Garden team).
- No living plant material to be bought onto site. Garden staff may be able to assist you with material from the garden or Nursery so please discuss your individual needs with them. Plant material direct sourced from a commercial / retail nursery can be considered with prior approval.
- Wollongong Botanic Garden can supply dead wood, branches, leaves etc so please advise them of your requirements so you are not bringing these materials in with you as they may contain pathogens.
- If there are specific plant products you need to bring on site, please discuss your needs with the Garden team. For example, dried, dyed, cured products for weaving may be permissible along with dried fruits not ground collected.

Available sites

Around 30 sites have been identified within the grounds of the Botanic Garden. Sites identified encompass a range of different and diverse environments.
Sculptures will be featured along pathways.
There are sites that have limited access and weight and height restrictions (see Artist Brief for site details). Artists are encouraged to visit the Wollongong Botanic Garden to review the sites and environments available before applying to exhibit.

Site selection and allocation

Artists are encouraged to propose up to three sites for their sculptures by marking sites in order of preference (see Site Map in Artist Brief).
Final site selection will be the decision of the Exhibition Installer and Curator.

Site meetings

If you are selected to exhibit, artists will be notified to arrange a site meeting with the Exhibition Installer. Successful Artists are strongly encouraged to attend site meetings during November and December 2026.
There will be three days available to discuss sites, construction and installation. Artists will be contacted to discuss a time to attend a site meeting. Interstate artists can meet the Exhibition Installer via Facetime.

Curatorial panel

Artists selected to participate in the exhibition and artists eligible for the prizes will be chosen by a panel of judges.
The Selection panel reserves the right not to assign the Acquisitive Prize of $40,000 or the Ephemeral Prize of $10,000 if they consider that none of the entrants excel in the criteria.
If a member of the curatorial panel has a commercial relationship with an Artist who has submitted an application, the submission will be considered by the other panel members.
Please be advised that the panel has absolute unfettered discretion to select sculptures for the exhibition and any decision of the selection committee is final.
Artists selected to exhibit may have the opportunity to participate in a public program. This program may include Artist talks or aligned workshops for adults during the time of the exhibition. A payment for participation will be available for Artists. Please indicate on your entry form if you wish to be considered for these talks and workshop opportunities.

Exhibition launch

All selected Artists will be invited to attend an official launch where the SITGW Acquisitional Prize and the SITGW Ephemeral Prize will be announced.

SITGW Acquisitive Award

An Acquisitive Prize of $40,000 will be awarded after the decision of the judging panel.
The winning sculpture for acquisition will become part of Council's Public Art Collection.
A maintenance instructions report for the sculpture must be provided by the Artist before funds are released.

SITGW Ephemeral Award

A prize of $10,000 will be awarded after the decision of the judging panel.

People’s Choice Award

A People’s Choice Award of $3,000 will be awarded from votes collected from the visiting public.

Exhibition catalogue

Council will produce a catalogue and selected Artists are requested to provide the following information by the due date:

A high-quality jpeg image of the sculpture being exhibited, or a photo of the artist if the sculpture is not complete, at 300 dpi print resolution with filename attributes - last name, first name, title of work
An Artist’s statement of no more than 150 words
An Artist's biography of no more than 150 words
Sale price and gallery representation if applicable
Medium, size and date of creation.

Signage and personal sponsorship

If an Artist wishes to acknowledge private sponsorship, then the name of up to two sponsors can be provided to the Exhibition Curator in sufficient time to be included in the catalogue.
No additional sponsorship signage will be installed near the sculpture or in the grounds of the Wollongong Botanic Garden during the exhibition.

Transportation to and from the site

Artists are responsible for the transportation of their sculptures to and from the exhibition site and for arranging for the removal of all packaging material from the site.
Once selected, all Artists will need to discuss further details with the Exhibition Installer.

Installation

Artists are responsible for installing and de-installing their Sculptures.
Installation will take place from 15 - 19 March 2027, before the exhibition opening on 20 March 2027.
Artists will be allocated a specific time for installation and are expected to be available for the installation of their sculptures.
To assist artists in installation, Council will provide a professional installation crew and a small crane / hi-ab and forklift.
The Exhibition Installer will discuss with the Artists:
- installation
- access to the site
- drop off points prior to installation
- de-installation times.
All Artists will be required to provide by 15 November 2026, in writing, their final Installation Plan outlining the following information:
- how you propose to install (including footings) and de-install the sculpture
- what equipment and materials you will use
- a list of vehicles, equipment and the number of assistants and their details.
Upon arrival all Artists and any assistants will need to sign on with the Exhibition Installer. Artists and their support staff are required to undertake a site-specific induction before entering the Botanic Garden and agree to follow all instructions from Botanic Garden Staff to ensure WHS requirements are complied with.
Anyone installing the artworks must have appropriate Personal Protective Equipment including footwear, safety vest, sun protection, and hard hat under instruction from crane operator.
All vehicle access must be escorted by a Botanic Garden team member.
No additional signage or fencing will be allowed on site.
Any special requirements will need to be discussed with the Exhibition Installer before installation.
Works deemed unsafe or which do not match the curatorial expectations of the Artist proposal will be excluded from the exhibition.
Artists will be responsible for any damage made to their work and the surrounding areas.
Upon completion of installation the Artist will be required to sign-off on an ‘Installation Completion Form’ with the Exhibition Installer.
All sculptures must remain on site until the close of the exhibition on 28 April 2027.
All packaging material must be removed by the Artist from the site once installation or de-installation is complete.

Power

There are a limited number of sites with access to power. If your Artwork requires power, you must make a note of this in your application.

Maintenance

Artists or a representative of the Artist will be responsible for maintaining the presentation of their sculpture throughout the exhibition. This includes any minor repairs or any damage.
Artists must ensure that their work doesn’t affect the environment or the infrastructure within the Botanic Garden.

De-installation

De-installation will commence on 29 April 2027. A schedule will be arranged for de-installation, and all sculptures are to be removed by the exhibiting artists.
Any work not removed by the artist two weeks after the de-installation date will become the property of Wollongong City Council and sold, destroyed or other.

Insurance and risk

All risk in the exhibition remains with the Artist at all times, irrespective of whether work is being handled by an exhibition staff member.
By submitting the online entry form the Artist authorises the exhibition staff to move their sculpture or remove it from the site for any reason, including but not limited to public safety, damage or potential damage to the sculpture. This applies to installation, de-installation, maintenance and removal of sculptures.
The Artist must have in place for the duration of the exhibition, a public and products liability insurance policy for claims arising out of or in connection with the sculpture and for all sums which the Artist may become legally liable to pay in respect of personal injury or death or loss of or damage to property arising out of or in connection with the sculpture for an amount not less than $20,000,000.

Copyright

The Artist retains the entire copyright of the sculpture.
Title to the sculpture that is awarded the Acquisition Prize vests in Council on payment of the prize money.
The Artist authorises Council and its permitted agents to retain the right to reproduce images of the sculpture for the purpose of marketing and promoting the SITGW Acquisitive Sculpture Prize 2027, the SITGW Ephemeral Prize, the People’s Choice Prize and exhibition, the Council and its civic and regional activities, and any other business of Council, including in the exhibition program, website, media releases or other promotions.

Warranties

The Artist warrants that the sculpture is their original work, was fabricated no earlier than March 2024, and that it is not in breach of any third-party intellectual property rights, privacy or any other rights of any third party.
The Artist agrees to indemnify the Council for any loss resulting from a breach of this warranty and release the Council from any liability for any damage or loss suffered by the Artist entering the Award or accepting any prize.

Privacy

Privacy Personal information is managed in accordance with the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW) and may be accessed by the entrant, on request to Wollongong City Council. Personal information can be used for other purposes permitted by the Local Government Act 1993 and regulations made by or under that Act, and, if necessary, may be disclosed to other public sector bodies, agents or contractors, in accordance with Council’s Privacy Management Plan Policy.
The Artist consents to the publication of their name in connection with the Prizes and their entry.

Exhibition sales

All works are for sale by an amount nominated by the Artist on the following terms:

The Artist must take full responsibility for liaising directly with any potential buyers and ensuring their work is in a condition ready for delivery to the buyer for installation. Artists must provide crating or packaging and arrange and pay for suitable transport.
All sold sculptures need to be removed within 2 weeks from the close of the exhibition and cannot be removed before the exhibition closes on 28 April 2027. Access for pick up and removal will need to be arranged with the Exhibition Installer.
Sale price must be inclusive of any GST if the Artist is registered for GST.
All sale prices must include all commissions including artist's agent fees.
All risk remains with the Artist until full possession is taken by the buyer.
Artists must administrate their own payments from sales and liaise directly with their buyers.
The recipient of the Acquisitive Prize will not be eligible to sell their work to a third party.