headland Sculpture on the Gulf returns Friday 27 Jan and the exhibition runs until Sunday 19 Feb on Waiheke Island. Sculpture on the Gulf is New Zealand’s foremost outdoor sculpture exhibition, and aims to make a unique contribution to the cultural life of New Zealand Aotearoa by creating opportunities for people to experience the power and beauty of contemporary sculpture in the landscape.

Focusing on the very best of New Zealand art practice, 35 new artistic concepts created specifically for the event will be shown along the stunning coastal headland route and nearby surrounds. Guided by terrain and place, both highly respected senior and more recently established New Zealand artists will transform a two kilometre section of headland from Church Bay towards Te Atawhai Whenua Reserve and Matiatia with ambitious and striking art works.

Alongside works by some of New Zealand’s most well known traditional sculptors, the 2017 headland Sculpture on the Gulf will include works that incorporate public participation or ‘social sculpture’. This curatorial stance reflects the changes and different approaches to three-dimensional art practice in public space over recent decades,

A major art event in the public realm for Auckland, headland Sculpture on the Gulf is supported by an education programme for schools, and a public programme of talks, workshops and events.