Sculpture by the Sea returns to Cottesloe Beach in Boorloo / Perth on March 6, featuring Karla Hart as this year's Tourism WA Invited Aboriginal Artist.
Ms Hart, a proud Noongar woman, is a two-time NAIDOC Artist of the Year (Perth, 2009 and 2017) and a multi-award-winning artist, excelling as a filmmaker, actor, musician, performer, speaker and teacher.
She received the 2021 West Australian of the Year Aboriginal Award for her contributions to arts and culture, renowned for empowering her community through performance, dance, music and media. Ms Hart's work is deeply influenced by her connection to Country and culture, as well as her commitment to sharing First Nations stories.
2026 will be Ms Hart's first time exhibiting at Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, leading a performance artwork titled Wardarn Dreaming with Noongar women's dance group, Kawrbah Djookian (Beautiful Sisters) which she manages and performs with.
Wardarn Dreaming will be an immersive live performance celebrating the Noongar people's connection to the ocean. It will be an engaging cultural experience on Cottesloe Beach for visitors, using the evocative ocean soundscape in conjunction with language. The performances on Sunday 8 March and Sunday 22 March will feature powerful dance, song and skilled didgeridoo playing.
"We come from many lands, carrying different stories, languages and journeys, yet what connects so many of us is our deep relationship to Country," Ms Hart said.
"As Noongar people, the ocean is more than a place — it is a living spirit. It provides, it teaches, it heals, and it holds the memory of those who walked before us.
"Through dance, song and story we honour that spirit and invite others to feel the power and care that flows between people and the sea."
Sculpture by the Sea founding CEO and Artistic Director, David Handley, said the response of the people of Boorloo / Perth to previous performance artworks at Cottesloe led to the partnership with Tourism WA inviting Ms Hart to create a new artwork "to be enjoyed as the sun goes down by visitors to Cottesloe beach".
"Karla has a significant national reputation and we are delighted to welcome her and to showcase her creativity to visitors at Cottesloe beach," he said.
Ms Hart is the second Tourism WA Invited Aboriginal Artist, joining Sharyn Egan who was invited in 2024.
Sculptures by the Sea has also announced Dr Subodh Kerkar, founding director of the Museum of Goa, as the Tourism WA Invited International Artist.
Dr Kerkar will exhibit a performance installation titled Oceans and Civilizations. The live performance will be filmed and shown to audiences around the world.
Dr Kerkar has exhibited object-based sculptures at Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe three times since 2013, and Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi four times since 2012. In more recent years Dr Kerkar has created performance artworks in Korea and elsewhere across India.
Oceans and Civilizations will be his first performance artwork in Australia and will celebrate the inseparability of coastal life and the ocean's role in the development of civilizations. The performance installation will involve 100 volunteer members of the community on Cottesloe Beach.
Mr Handley said "it is wonderful to invite Subodh Kerkar to create the first of his performance artworks in Australia that will be filmed and shown at its best online and via social media to audiences around the world".
"The artwork is an opportunity for members of the public to participate as one of 100 performers to join Cottesloe beach and Subodh Kerkar in creating something very special," he said.
The performances of Oceans and Civilizations can be experienced by visitors to the 21st exhibition of Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe in Perth on 6,7 and 9 March.
The WA government, through Tourism WA, has supported the Invited International Artist program since 2016, facilitating acclaimed international artists to exhibit major works on the shores of Cottesloe Beach.
Dr Kerkar joins a list of prominent sculptors invited to exhibit in previous years as part of the program, including Sean Henry, Sir Tony Cragg and Zadok Ben-David (England), Li Wei and Zhan Wang (China), Chris Booth and Phil Price (New Zealand) and Haruyuki Uchida and Takeshi Tanabe (Japan).
To celebrate Sculpture by the Sea's return to Cottesloe beach 70 artists from eight countries have been selected and invited to exhibit by Sculpture by the Sea's National Artistic Advisory Committee. Respected sculptors from across Australia will be joined by renowned international artists, with 11 Japanese artists exhibiting alongside artists from Canada, Denmark, India, Italy, New Zealand and the USA representing excellence in sculpture from around the globe.
Since the exhibition began in 2005 on the iconic white sands of Cottesloe Beach, 611 artists from 44 countries have exhibited 1,368 sculptures in 21 years.
