Sculpture at Barangaroo began last year, and was a welcome addition to the schedule of family friendly annual arts offerings around Sydney. I’ve been a big fan of the new harbourside park since it opened. I think it’s such a beautiful use of the space, celebrating natural elements and the city’s history. So, adding art to the mix ticks all of my boxes!
The girls and I spent about two hours wandering from one end of the sprawling park to the other, taking our time to inspect each of the 14 art pieces. None of the sculptures are specifically interactive, aside from Cave Urban, the straw “chair” visitors can sit in for a photo, but the 4 year old mini artsplorer found a number of the pieces quite interesting.
She did a lot of running in and out of Mental Convolution, or “the house,” as most of the kids were calling it.
Untitled (Shoe) held the most surprise delight for little ones, though one kid inspecting it as the same time as we were told everyone how disappointed he was that it wasn’t a jumping castle!
We were all intrigued by the “tunnel” Faces of Darug, which I thought was one of the most visually effective pieces.
And, I was surprised how interested she was in having me read the signs on each one of the plants on the multi-part Terra Omnia natural sculpture.
You can pick up a map of the sculptures from blue-shirted volunteers all around the park, and they’re also happy to answer questions.
My suggestion is to pack a picnic, blanket, and scooters, and make a day of it, taking time to enjoy the park and each sculpture. The collection is diverse enough that everyone in the family is going to find something that they love.
Sculpture at Barangaroo runs through 20 August.