Sculpture on the Gulf 2017 artists announced

Today the artists are announced for the foremost outdoor sculpture exhibition in New Zealand, Waiheke Island’s headland Sculpture on the Gulf.
 
Familiar names return to the 2017 line-up including Virginia King, Phil Price and Gregor Kregar while noted artists , Maureen Lander, Tiffany Singh and Dane Mitchell will make their headland Sculpture on the Gulf debut.
 
The 34 selected concepts made it through a rigorous selection process, including two phases of in-depth concept development from almost 250 initial proposals to ensure the proposed work represented a unique contribution and reflection of the cultural life of Aotearoa New Zealand. The number of submissions doubled from the 2015 exhibition.
 
Artists for the 2017 headland Sculpture on the Gulf:
 

• Alex Monteith and Michelle Lee
• Brett Graham
• Chris Booth
• Chris Bailey
• Dane Mitchell
• David McCracken
• Denis O’Connor
• Dion Hitchens
• Gregor Kregar
• Ioane Ioane
• Jae Kang
• Jeff Thompson
• Jeremy Leatinu’u
• Jim Speers
• Jon Hall
• Kazu Nakagawa
• Leon van den Eijkel
• Martin Awa Clarke Langdon
• Matt Ellwood
• Maureen Lander
• Michel Tuffery
• Natalie Guy
• Paroa Toi-Te-Rangiuaia
• Paul Cullen
• Paul Hartigan
• Phil Price
• Richard Maloy
• Robert Jahnke
• Semisi Fetokai Potauaine
• Shannon Novak
• Sriwhana Spong
• Tiffany Singh
• Veronica Herber
• Virginia King 

headland Sculpture on the Gulf director of Cultural Programmes, Zara Stanhope says the successful proposals came from a broad spectrum of exceptional artists, and encompass a variety of creative and thoughtful approaches to sculpture.
 
“A number of artists are aiming for some of the most ambitious works to be seen in headland Sculpture on the Gulf. Artists have been adventurous and ambitious in their proposals. Their aspirations include engaging with the context, often addressing the natural world from specific cultural perspectives. Others are planning to recycle materials or objects in the process of creating unique works that speak about life in Aotearoa and beyond today.
 
“Many have thought about the site on Waiheke and proposed works that deal with the history of a place of arrivals and habitation,” Zara says. “In a new turn for headland, there is also a proportion of works that involve artists engaging directly with the public in ways that are collaborative, participatory and involve people as the medium or material of the work. Overall the works proposed by these artists will offer a platform for a deeper understanding of what sculpture and art is today.”
 
The 2017 headland Sculpture on the Gulf artists were selected by a group of experts from a wide range of backgrounds who form the Cultural Programme Committee. The committee includes Linda Chalmers, director of the Waiheke Community Art Gallery; Dr. Blair French, director of curatorial and digital for the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney; Zara Stanhope, principal curator for Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Bruce Phillips, senior curator of Te Tuhi, Auckland and Kelly Carmichael, manager of the headland Sculpture on the Gulf Cultural Programme.
 
“We will now work with these artists on finalising the requirements for works and the optimal placement and presentation on the Waiheke headland,” says Zara. “The board is very keen that headland Sculpture on the Gulf is an event for everyone. We are fully confident our artists will more than fulfil the brief of the event as New Zealand’s foremost outdoor sculpture exhibition.”