New to Khancoban is Swiss sculptor Urs-P. Twellmann’s Passages, crafted from a New England manna gum trunk, sawn into parts, then untwisted and mirrored to create gates and passages. Photo: Sculpture by the Sea.
A fireside feast in Tumbarumba, sculpture walks through alpine forests and wine tastings with international artists are all part of a packed three-day program in the Snowy Valleys this week.
From Friday to Sunday (13-15 June), the region will host a weekend of food, wine and contemporary sculpture events linked to the growing Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail, which now stretches across 13 locations from Adelong to Khancoban.
The trail features more than 60 large-scale works by artists from 17 countries and was created as part of a bushfire recovery project to bring visitors back to the region.
Sculptures are in vineyards, along riverbanks, in pine and alpine ash forests and across historic town centres.
The 2025 Three Day Art, Food and Wine Weekend opens with a long-table “Feast with the Farmer” fireside dinner at Nest in Tumbarumba.
Diners will enjoy a three-course roving feast of exceptional local produce while hearing from local winemakers, Adrian Brayne of Obsession Wines and Tom Southwell of Johansen Wines, who will share stories about growing, making and sharing fine Tumbarumba wines.
Added to that will be several artists who have contributed to the Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail, who will also mingle with guests, sharing their insights into their world-class art.
Saturday’s focus shifts to the Sculpture Forest at Pilot Hill Arboretum in Bago State Forest, where David Handley, founding director of Sculpture by the Sea and the Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail, will lead a guided morning tour through the towering alpine ash.
One of the newest works on display is Phantoms of Corporality – Urban Islands by Czech sculptor Vojtěch Míča, a monumental bronze installation added to the trail in April.
Among the trail’s most talked-about recent additions is Shiver House V4 by UK-based studio NEON. The kinetic sculpture reshapes itself in the wind, blurring the lines between shelter, structure and performance.
It’s one of several works that encourage visitors to spend time in the landscape, rather than simply pass through it.
The tour is followed by a “Meet the Artists” event at Courabyra Wines, where several of the exhibiting artists will speak in detail about their work.
The winery is home to Japanese artist Haruyuki Uchida’s Thinking Red, a large circular sculpture that frames the vineyard beyond.
At nearby Johansen Wines is another standout piece, Norton Flavel’s And Another, an oversized wine bottle that’s both playful and striking against the rural landscape and can be fully enjoyed at an afternoon wine-tasting, part of the program of events.
Sunday offers the chance to explore more of the trail, with free guided sculpture tours in the historic gold town of Adelong and the alpine village of Khancoban.
Forget the copper Charging Bull in Wall Street, or the Bull Statue of Kadikoy, it’s Adelong to which one must point their compass to see the bull created by South Korea’s Min-Sub Park.
The installation To Endure, representative of the small town’s tenacity and strength, was unveiled in May and will form part of a broader tour of the many sculptures in Adelong hosted by Davina Corti of Sculpture by the Sea from 11 am on Sunday.
Khancoban was officially added to the sculpture trail in April, with two new permanent works unveiled on the shores of Khancoban Pondage.
The uniquely soaring Horizon Figure by South Australian artist Greg Johns, and Passages by Swiss sculptor Urs-P. Twellmann – which is crafted from a New England manna gum trunk, sawn into parts, then untwisted and mirrored to create gates and passages – marks the continuing expansion of the trail deeper into the High Country and will be part of an alternative 11 am Sunday tour, led by David Handley.
The Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail was launched in 2022 as a creative recovery response to the Black Summer bushfires, supported by the NSW Government through its Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund.
It has since grown into one of the country’s most ambitious regional public art projects.
Unlike a gallery or festival that comes and goes, the sculpture trail is permanent, with new works being added regularly.
Local schools, community groups and volunteers are also involved in the installation and upkeep, ensuring the project is embedded in the region’s fabric.
What sets the Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail apart is how it links art, landscape and community.
Locals and visitors will see a monumental steel sculpture in the main street of Tumut, then follow the trail into forests and farmland, past cellar doors and over rivers, discovering new works along the way.
The Three Day Art, Food and Wine Weekend is designed to give visitors a taste of all of it – from paddock-to-plate meals and cool-climate wines to international sculpture and mountain air.
Bookings are recommended for ticketed events, and a full program is available by clicking here.
Whether you’re there for the art, the food or the views, this is a weekend that offers something a little different – and leaves plenty of reasons to come back.
The Three Day Art, Food and Wine Weekend runs from 13 to 15 June across Tumbarumba. Check out the full schedule of events or find out more via the Sculpture By the Sea website.
