Partnership Between the City and Alcoa Enhances Castaways
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The City of Rockingham’s Castaways Sculpture Awards will return to the Rockingham Foreshore and Rockingham Arts Centre in October 2023, and the event is set to be boosted with long-time sponsor Alcoa coming on board to support the event for the 15th consecutive year.
Castaways is an annual sculptural exhibition showcasing artworks created from repurposed materials, and will be held from Saturday 21 October – Sunday 29 October this year.
It began in 2008 as a community arts project raising awareness of the discarded items or ‘castaways’ washing up on local beaches. Aluminium has been a key part of these sculptures, with Alcoa playing a leading role supporting the event since the very beginning.
Over the past 15 years Alcoa has provided more than $215,000 in funding for the event by sponsoring both the competition’s Major Award category and the Castaways Schools Program.
Mayor Deb Hamblin thanked Alcoa for its ongoing support of this popular community event.
“For 15 years Castaways has given experienced and emerging artists a platform to showcase their artistic talents, and aluminium is one of the materials that has been at the forefront of several stunning sculptures,” Mayor Hamblin said.
Castaways is one of the biggest events on the City’s calendar and its growth would not have been possible without the support provided by long time sponsor Alcoa.“Their support has helped the event thrive and this has been crucial to spreading important messages about sustainability and environmental awareness. We look forward to seeing some of the outstanding work artists create as they compete for the $10,000 Alcoa Major Award.”
Alcoa’s Kwinana Refinery Manager David Feast said the company loved supporting this event each year and seeing their end product, aluminium, in the sculptures.
“Aluminium is already vital to our everyday life and will play an even bigger role in going forward as the world tackles climate change. It’s essential for things like electric vehicles, new energy generation and energy storage.
“Good luck to all the artists and thanks to the team who bring this fantastic community event together,” David Feast said.
For more information visit Castaways.
Image one: The stunning Giant Boutonniere by Aaron Fry was last year's $10,000 Alcoa Major Award winner.
Image two: In 2021 Whale by Mark Thompson took home the Alcoa Major Award. Both sculptures pictured above were made using aluminium. Pictures: City of Rockingham.