Sculptures will be unveiled and visitors will have the opportunity to feast with farmers in the Snowy Valleys as part of the upcoming Four Day Sculpture, Food and Wine Long Weekend. Photo: Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail.
Next weekend the hills of the Snowy Valleys will be alive to the sound of celebration as visitors flock to the region for a festival unlike any other.
Here, now, autumn turns the landscape’s palette from green to yellow, red and orange, sunny days offer a flicker of freshness and smoke from warm hearths hangs in the air – the sort of scene you want to breathe in deeply and sigh.
With the backdrop of the western Snowy Mountains as its canvas, the Four Day Sculpture, Food and Wine Long Weekend from 27-30 April toasts the best the region has to offer along a 100-kilometre trail studded with some of the best artwork in the country.
If you haven’t yet heard of the Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail, this would be the weekend to meet it.
Created by the team behind Sculpture by the Sea at Bondi and Cottesloe, the new trail, funded by a $4 million grant from the NSW Government’s Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund, seeks to encourage cultural tourism and assist the region’s recovery from the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires.
Destined to become a world-class sculpture collection trail, this vast permanent exhibition of international works is connected by the historic towns of Adelong, Batlow, Talbingo and Tumbarumba, the hamlet of Tooma and the cool-climate vineyards of Courabyra Wines, Johansen Wines and Obsession Wines.
After a month underground, Peter Lundberg’s sculpture Unearthed was extracted by crane along the Adelong Creek Walk on 4 April. Photo: Sculpture by the Sea.
The first sculptures were unveiled in December 2021 and this month’s event marks the third and final phase of installations, taking the total number of sculptures to 35.
Each of the eight locations in the Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail has its own story to tell of the devastating bushfires and a collection tailored to the town or vineyards and winery with cellar doors:
Adelong – A one-kilometre sculpture walk along Adelong Creek.
Batlow – Reedy Creek Park and in the town centre, including two Shop Art Installations.
Tumbarumba – Goldfields Park and in the town centre, including two Shop Art Installations.
Tooma – in front of the historic Brigham House and the Tooma Inn.
Courabyra Wines – 805 Courabyra Road, Tumbarumba.
Johansen Wines, 90 Black Range Road, Tumbarumba.
Obsession Wines, 110 Allawah Road, Maragle.
Talbingo – Miles Franklin Drive, Talbingo, opposite the Ampol service station.
Highlights of the Four Day Long Weekend with free and ticketed events include the unveiling of new sculptures along the trail on Friday, 28 April, including Perth artist April Pine’s work Tidal Body on Miles Franklin Drive at Talbingo.
Then it’s over to Batlow, where a white-marble Jina Lee sculpture And Spring Again will be unveiled at the corner of Pioneer Street and Batlow Road.
This will be followed directly after by the unveiling of Sasha Reid’s four-cubic-metre wooden sculpture Composition 17 at Toc H Park in Pioneer Street.
On Saturday, events move to Adelong, where a Kaoru Matsumoto sculpture unveiling will be held in the grounds of the Adelong Services & Citizens Club at 54 Tumut Street and, later, an exhibition of paintings by Marija Zrno will open at 64 Tumut Street, Adelong.
The weekend also offers the opportunity for visitors to see Peter Lundberg’s Unearthed, which was recently extracted in Adelong after a month underground. The 12-tonne sculpture was extracted by crane and lifted into place along the Adelong Creek Walk on 4 April.
An appearance by The Riverina Light Horse Troop, sculpture tours in wineries plus feasting with farmers and paddock-to-plate dining events showcasing superb local produce will feature among the ongoing weekend program.
For the full long-weekend program and to book ticketed events, visit the Sculpture By The Sea website.
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