Waiheke Island's highly successful biennial outdoor sculpture exhibition Sculpture on the Gulf is set to grow for 2009, with a number of new initiatives underway.

Waiheke Island's highly successful biennial outdoor sculpture exhibition Sculpture on the Gulf is set to grow for 2009, with a number of new initiatives underway. These include extending the length of the exhibition, re-branding it with a new name and logo, introducing a schools programme, increasing the focus on attracting New Zealand's leading sculptors, and inviting an international artist to exhibit.

Image: Leon van den Eijkel, A Gallant Tree (Another Look at an Urban Tree). From Sculpture on the Gulf 2007.

"When we promote the event we will also be putting more emphasis on how a visit to the exhibition can form the core of a fantastic and unique 'day out' on Waiheke Island with all it has to offer," says Director of Sculpture on the Gulf, Dilys Grant. In a move designed to reinforce the event's unique location on Waiheke Island and differentiate it from a number of other outdoor sculpture exhibitions with similar names that have sprung up around the country, it will be known as headland - Sculpture on the Gulf Waiheke Island.

The 2009 event will run for three weeks, instead of the usual two, from 23 January to 15 February 2009. These dates encompass Auckland Anniversary weekend, Waitangi Day and the start of the school year, which provides the opportunity to introduce a schools programme.

"Since it was first held in 2003, when it attracted 12,000 visitors, the event has become New Zealand's largest and most prestigious outdoor sculpture exhibition of its kind and an important event on the national arts calendar.

"The 2007 event attracted over 21,000 visitors and we are confident that we can grow this even further in 2009. headland's unique location on a magnificent coastal walkway on Waiheke Island is at the heart of the new initiatives designed to achieve this," said Ms Grant.

The call for artists' proposals is now open and further information can be found at www.sculptureonthegulf.co.nz. 3/12/07