Sculpture in the Gardens postponed until 2024

Indoor sculpture exhibition will go ahead in summer 23/24

Auckland Botanic Gardens has taken the difficult decision to postpone the next Sculpture in the Gardens exhibition.

A highlight on Auckland’s art calendar, Sculpture in the Gardens has run every second year since 2007. The next exhibition was due to open in November 2023 but has been deferred until the summer of 2024/25.

Auckland Botanic Gardens made the decision to avoid overlapping with Auckland’s two other preeminent outdoor sculpture exhibitions - Sculpture on the Gulf and Sculpture on Shore.

In previous years this overlap was avoided but postponements due to the covid pandemic have seen all three events scheduled to arrive at once.

“This was not an easy decision to make but we know from a public and artist’s perspective it is undesirable to have all three exhibitions so close together,” says Botanic Gardens manager Jack Hobbs.

The image shows a sculptural work of a large, graceful heron made from copper and steel. It stands in the water, its head raised slightly. It looks as it if it is about to take a step and search for food in the Auckland Botanic Garden lake. The work is by artist Glen Colechin and appeared in the summer 2021/22 Sculpture in the Gardens exhibition.

Heron by Glen Colechin, from the 2021/22 exhibition

The good news is that visitors will still get to see sculptural works this coming summer. A stand-alone indoor sculpture exhibition will be held in the Huakaiwaka Visitor Centre over the 2023/24 summer. This exhibition normally accompanies the larger outdoor works and features stunning pieces from a wide range of artists.

Indoor Gallery SITG

The indoor exhibition from 2021/22.

Sculpture in the Gardens is a collaboration between the Friends of Auckland Botanic Gardens, Auckland Council, and Auckland Botanic Gardens.

More than 320,000 people visited the 2021/22 exhibition.