Forty-nine artists selected from 724 local and international entries will bring works shaped by landscape, childhood memories, family knowledge and material experimentation to Double Bay for the 25th Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize.
Their works will be exhibited at Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf, 548 New South Head Road, from 2 October to 29 November, with finalists drawn from across Australia and overseas, including the United States and Ireland.
The winning sculpture will be announced on 1 October. It will receive the $25,000 acquisitive Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize and enter Woollahra Council’s public art collection.
Personal Stories Reach Double Bay
Several of the finalist works draw directly on places, memories and experiences far beyond the gallery walls.
Thirroul artist BJ Kim’s do Geese see God? was inspired by seabirds soaring along the NSW north coast and explores freedom, joy and transcendence. Its palindrome title corresponds with the sculpture’s dual orientation while carrying references to birds and spirituality.
Another Thirroul finalist, Lynda Draper, draws on fragmented impressions of her surroundings and an interest in historical artefacts for JET. The work developed through material experimentation and intuitive form-making, with clay defining form and glass adding another dimension through its interaction with light.
Bryant Chitsey, from Choctaw in the United States, turns to memories of an Oklahoma childhood in Thunderstorm. The haybale at the centre of the work is treated as an icon of the Great Plains and a source of nostalgia, constructed through repeated toothpicks and concentric circles. The sculpture considers how upbringing can shape a person’s relationship with place.
Photo Credit: Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf
Melanie Cobham’s Unfolded Trees traces the growth patterns of Scribbly Gum Moth larvae. Bronze moulded from the bark of an Australian Scribbly Gum is set into raw sandstone, revealing markings created as the insects burrow through the tree. Their paths resemble topographical drawings and provide the visual structure of the work.
Tricia Singer’s Peacock stems from a family memory of encountering a peacock at Mataranka. The sculpture uses wire and rusty metal collected around Iwantja, with its colours and forms drawing on wildflowers on the artist’s Country. Basket-weaving techniques taught by Singer’s mother and senior Tjanpi artist Maringka Burton were used to transform the flower forms into the finished peacock.
Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize Reaches 25 Years
Established in 2001, the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize was Australia’s first acquisitive award devoted to sculptures measuring no more than 80 centimetres in any dimension.
Across its exhibitions, the prize has featured a wide range of materials and approaches rather than being defined by a single style. This year’s finalist works include bronze, paper, glass and ceramics, as well as assemblage incorporating found and recycled materials, 3D-printed sculptures and kinetic works.
The 2026 judging panel comprises arts leader and philanthropist Beau Neilson, artist and 2018 prize winner Tim Silver, and Emily Sullivan, Assistant Curator of Contemporary International Art at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
The total prize pool is $29,000. Alongside the $25,000 main award are a $2,000 Special Commendation Award, a $1,000 Mayor’s Award and a $1,000 Viewers’ Choice Award.
Photo Credit: Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf
Young Artists Added To Anniversary Program
The 25th anniversary will also include the inaugural Woollahra Super Small Sculpture Prize for primary school-aged children.
The free competition has categories for children aged five to eight and nine to 12, with each sculpture limited to 15 centimetres in any dimension. Online entries open on 21 September and close on 13 October.
Photo Credit: Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf
Finalists will be exhibited online and alongside the main sculpture exhibition from 4 to 29 November. Each age category has a $200 prize pool, while a separate $100 Viewers’ Choice Award will also be presented.
School holiday sculpture workshops for children aged five to 12 are also scheduled at Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf. One session will be held on 3 October, with five further dates listed as part of the program.
The 49 main finalists will remain on display in Double Bay until 29 November.
Published 21-August-2026
