Sculpture by the Sea has today announced its popular annual Cottesloe art exhibition will be cancelled in 2025, due to a lack of vital support from the federal government.

In a post on their website, the company expressed their dismay at the lack of funding from the federal arts agency Creative Australia.

“Following the end of the Catalyst Fund and the RISE Fund in 2023, Sculpture by the Sea Cottesloe has received no federal government arts funding to stage the large-scale exhibition that transforms Cottesloe beach for 230,000 visitors over 18 days in March each year,” the post reads.

“One of Perth’s largest, longest running and most beloved public events, it was founded on the idea of providing a major free exhibition to transform Cottesloe beach into a temporary world-class sculpture park for everyone to enjoy.

“However, organisers see no other choice but to cancel the 2025 edition due to the significant costs of mounting a free exhibition of this scale.”

Many WA artists have signed a letter to the federal arts minister or written their own, asking for funding to resume.

Denise Pepper, a Perth-based artist who has exhibited at the Cottesloe event 10 times since 2009, said it had been a “game-changer” in her career.

WA artist Dr Jon Tarry said the lack of funding “felt like a funeral.”

“We can’t believe it’s happening and how anyone responsible for the public arts in Australia could let this happen. Sculpture by the Sea is what every city in the world would love to have,” he said.

This is not the first time the organisers of Sculpture by the Sea Cottesloe have been forced to consider pausing the exhibition but, unlike in previous years, no solution has been found.