One of the best things about working in stone is stepping away from the studio to see what other people are making. Sculpture festivals and biennales offer something that gallery shows cannot: the chance to see large-scale work in context, outdoors, responding to landscape and light the way it was meant to. Here are the events I think are most worth your time over the next twelve months.

Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi (October 2025)

The big one for Australian sculptors. Sculpture by the Sea has been running along the Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk since 1997, and it remains one of the largest free outdoor sculpture exhibitions in the world. Over a hundred works line the sandstone cliffs and grassy headlands, with the Pacific as a backdrop.

For stone carvers, the logistics of exhibiting here are formidable. Getting a two-tonne marble piece onto a cliff path requires serious planning. But the artists who manage it produce some of the exhibition’s most memorable work. The contrast between raw carved stone and the weathered sandstone coastline is extraordinary.

The exhibition runs for about three weeks from mid-October. Get there early in the morning to avoid the crowds. The light at 7am on the coastal walk is worth the early start.

Sculpture at Scenic World, Blue Mountains (November 2025)

Set in the World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains, this exhibition places contemporary sculpture among ancient rainforest and sandstone formations. The setting forces you to think about stone in geological time, which is no bad thing for a sculptor.

The curation here tends to be thoughtful, with work selected to respond to the environment rather than compete with it. Smaller than Bondi, but often more rewarding for artists interested in the relationship between carved and natural stone.

Swell Sculpture Festival, Gold Coast (September 2025)

Running along Currumbin Beach on the Gold Coast, Swell has built a strong reputation for showcasing emerging Australian sculptors. The festival includes artist talks, workshops, and an open studio programme that is genuinely useful for practitioners.

If you are earlier in your career and thinking about exhibiting publicly for the first time, Swell is an approachable starting point. The organisers are supportive, and the scale is manageable.

Venice Biennale (April - November 2025)

The 60th International Art Exhibition runs through November 2025. While not exclusively a sculpture event, the biennale always includes significant three-dimensional work, and the national pavilions often commission ambitious sculptural installations.

Venice is also an education in stone itself. The city is built on Istrian limestone, and walking through it you see centuries of carved stone in every doorway, bridge, and campo. Budget at least a week. The main exhibition across the Arsenale and Giardini takes two full days minimum.

Hidden Sculpture Garden, Mount Macedon (Ongoing)

Closer to home for Victorians, William Ricketts Sanctuary near Mount Dandenong and the Herring Island Environmental Sculpture Park in the Yarra River are worth visiting any time. But for something less well known, several private sculpture gardens in the Mount Macedon area open periodically through autumn and spring.

These smaller gardens often feature stone work by local and regional sculptors working in basalt, granite, and the local bluestone. The intimate scale allows you to examine carving technique up close in a way that large festivals do not always permit.

International: Carrara Marble Weeks (July-August 2026)

If you work in marble, a pilgrimage to Carrara should be on your list. The Marble Weeks festival celebrates the town’s extraordinary quarrying heritage with exhibitions, symposia, and studio visits. More importantly, you can visit the quarries themselves, watch blocks being extracted, and talk to the cavatori who have been working these mountains for generations.

Seeing marble at the quarry face changes your relationship with the material. You understand the scale of the geological event that created it, and you appreciate the labour involved in getting a block from mountainside to studio.

Sculpture Symposia

Beyond festivals, international sculpture symposia offer working residencies where carvers work alongside each other on-site over one to three weeks. Events run regularly in Japan, India, China, and across Europe. These are collaborative rather than competitive, and the cross-cultural exchange is invaluable.

In Australia, several regional councils have run stone carving symposia, particularly in areas with active quarries. These are worth seeking out. The chance to work in a new stone, in a new landscape, alongside sculptors from different traditions, is one of the best forms of professional development available.

Making the Most of It

When attending any sculpture exhibition, bring a sketchbook and a camera. Photograph details, not just the whole work. Look at how other sculptors handle transitions between carved and natural surfaces, how they mount heavy work, and how pieces respond to changing light through the day.

Talk to the artists when you can. Most sculptors at these events are happy to discuss technique, materials, and the practical challenges of working at scale. The sculpture community in Australia is generous with knowledge, and these festivals are where those connections are made.

Plan your season around two or three events rather than trying to see everything. Depth of engagement matters more than breadth. Spend a full day at one exhibition rather than rushing through three.