One of Australia’s most loved cultural events, Sculpture by the Sea, has received the prestigious GRATIAS AGIT AWARD this week in Prague. Founding CEO and Artistic Director, David Handley, travelled to the Czech Republic as a guest of the Czech government to receive the award on behalf of Sculpture by the Sea.
The GRATIAS AGIT AWARD is presented annually by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic to a person or organisation that has promoted the “good name of the Czech Republic abroad”. The Award was presented to the not-for-profit organisation Sculpture by the Sea for its work, through the Sculpture by the Sea exhibitions in Sydney and Perth as well as the Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail, that benefits the whole of society and for the promotion of friendship among nations, as well as for spreading the good word about the Czech Republic around the world.
Czech artists have been participating in Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi since 2004, when Václav Fiala was the recipient of the exhibition’s major prize. Since then, over 20 sculptures by Czech artists have been in the Bondi and Cottesloe exhibitions and in 2019 a Showcase of eight Czech sculptors and four Slovak sculptors was held to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. In addition, Sculpture by the Sea’s connection to the Czech Republic continues in the Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail, where artworks by Milan Kuzica, Vojtěch Míča and Václav Fiala are all on permanent display. Each of these artworks has received funding from the Czech Consulate in Sydney in a gesture of international friendship to the people of the Snowy Valleys in response to the Black Summer fires. The Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail was funded by the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund grant and a subsequent Regional Tourism Activation Fund grant.
A place close to Handley’s heart, the founder of Sculpture by the Sea first visited Prague in early 1990 shortly after the revolution, before moving to the city in 1993 where he lived for two years. During this time, Handley curated and produced the art exhibition ‘The World in Praha’ in Obecní Dům, set up a film sales agency selling the early Peter Weir, Bruce Beresford and Fred Schepisi movies, such as ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’, set up a wine sales agency arranging the first sale of Australian wine into the Czech Republic on behalf of Penfolds and others, organised the Czech version of Clean Up The World run by Clean Up Australia, and worked as a consultant to a Czech law firm.
Most importantly, while living in Prague in 1994, Handley visited a sculpture exhibition in the ruins of the castle of Klenova of artists who had not been allowed to exhibit during the communist years. It was this exhibition that inspired Handley to choose sculpture as the artform for the free to the public cultural event he had thought about producing in Sydney, which would become Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi.
Handley received the award on behalf of the organisation. He commented: “From the very first years of Sculpture by the Sea one aim was to invite artists from around the world to Australia. It is a wonderful surprise to receive this award from the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prague is a place very close to my heart and over the last 21 years we have greatly enjoyed exhibiting many Czech artists in Sculpture by the Sea at Bondi and Cottesloe. More recently the three sculptures by Czech artists in the Snowy Valleys have also delighted many visitors from near and far.”
Zuzana Slováková, Czech Consul-General to Sydney said: “The Consulate General of the Czech Republic is thrilled to have the opportunity to continually support Czech artists, who have had a long tradition of exhibiting in Sculpture by the Sea. Sculpture by the Sea is truly one-of-its-kind and has long been a platform for bringing works from all over the world, including our country, to the Australian public. It has given space to many Czech artists over the years, acting as a cultural bridge between our two counties through the universal language of art and the deeply experiential nature of sculptural practice. It seems only fitting that the founder and artistic director, David Handley, accept this award on behalf of Sculpture by the Sea, given that the idea behind the festival came to be in former Czechoslovakia, where he was living in the beginning of the 90s. It is my hope that Sculpture by the Sea will continue to inspire and connect, and that Czech artists will continue to be a part of its story”.
