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Sculpture springing up in the Snowy Valleys

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William YeomanThe West Australian
Marcus Tatton, ‘Habitat’, Friendship Society of Denmark, Australia and New Zealand Sculpture Collection within the Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail, Tumbarumba.
Camera IconMarcus Tatton, ‘Habitat’, Friendship Society of Denmark, Australia and New Zealand Sculpture Collection within the Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail, Tumbarumba. Credit: John Riddell

Sometimes regrowth and transplanting come in surprising forms. Take the now-thriving Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail, launched in May this year as a response to the Black Summer Fires of 2019-2020 and funded by the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund.

Created by the same team which each year brings us Sculpture by the Sea in Cottesloe and Bondi, and in consultation with members of the Snowy Valleys community, the sculpture trail takes in 100km of the Snowy Valleys Way, which stretches from Sydney and Canberra to Melbourne.

Haruyuki Uchida, Thinking Red.
Camera IconHaruyuki Uchida, Thinking Red. Credit: Grant Hardwick

So, sculpture trail map and guide in hand, or using the app (see link below), you can visit historic towns such as Adelong, Batlow and Tumbarumba, as well as the hamlet of Tooma. There are the Tumbarumba vineyards and for combining food and wine Nest (Tumbarumba), Courabyra Wines, Nimbo Fork Lodge and Tumut River Brewery, to name but a few.

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There is also the Tumbarumba to Rosewood Rail Trail for bikes, as well as mountain bike trails, hiking tracks, bush walks, the Batlow cideries, fly fishing in the Tumut River and a drive over the Snowy Mountains to Thredbo and Jindabyne.

It is however the extraordinary sculptures, made by artists from across Australia and the world, that tie all this together. There are significant sculptures by Haruyuki Uchida, Keizo Ushio and Takeshi Tanabe from Japan; Keld Moseholm from Denmark; Milan Kuzica from Czech Republic; Jennifer Cochrane, Norton Flavel and Ron Gomboc from Western Australia; and from New South Wales Michael Le Grand, Philip Spelman, Harrie Fasher, Stephen King and Elyssa Sykes-Smith.

Keizo Ushio’s sculpture, Oushi Zokei.
Camera IconKeizo Ushio’s sculpture, Oushi Zokei. Credit: John Riddell

The permanent collection will grow with additional sculptures set to be added in late 2022 and the first half of 2023, including works by Sui Jian Guo, one of the most highly regarded sculptors in China, and Ukrainian artist Egor Zigura. The latter will donate the funds he received for his sculpture to support Ukrainian refugees.

David Handley, Founding CEO and artistic director of Sculpture by the Sea and the Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail, says:

“The Snowy Valleys is one of the most stunning places in Australia and yet it is relatively undiscovered. Together with the people of the Snowy Valleys who have worked hand in glove with us to create the sculpture trail, we invite people from across Australia to visit; you’ll love it here and you’ll help the region recover from the fires.”

Michael Le Grand’s piece, Schism.
Camera IconMichael Le Grand’s piece, Schism. Credit: Supplied

fact file

Each of the seven locations in the Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail has its own collection tailored to the town or vineyards and winery with cellar doors:

  • The Adelong Creek Walk with a 1km sculpture trail along the creek that links to the Adelong Falls Gold Mill Ruins (watch out for the resident platypus).
  • Pioneer Street in Batlow from the artist studio and gallery at b: Atelier down to Batlow Library, including the Shop Art Projects.
  • Courabyra Wines, 805 Courabyra Road, Tumbarumba.
  • Johansen Wines, 90 Black Range Road, Tumbarumba.
  • Tumbarumba Creekscape at Goldfields Park on Hammonds Lane and the Shop Art Project at 11 The Parade, Tumbarumba.
  • Obsession Wines, 110 Allawah Road, Maragle between Tumbarumba and Tooma.
  • Tooma in front of the historic Brigham House and the Tooma Inn.
  • Sculptures at the northern entrances to Batlow and Tumbarumba.

Find out more, download a map and guide, or get the app, here: sculpturebythesea.com/snowyvalleys/overview

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