Welcome to the third Riverworks Environmental Sculpture Competition!

This is a free event where we invite you to come along and create an environmental sculpture in picturesque Gough Whitlam Park The theme for your environmental sculpture is the Cooks River and surrounds, which will be flowing gently past you while you get creative.

This year we are running Riverworks over two days instead of one, so that we can invite more people along to enjoy our community art event beside the Cooks River.

Also a new category for professional artists has been added to our competition. Specific artists will be invited to make artworks a month prior to Riverworks, and then they will be displayed for us all to enjoy over the two days. To find out more, download the Baker’s Dozen - Professional Artist’s Category guidelines.

NEW Addition

On Saturday the 29th between 8-9pm we will be having a Lantern and Boat Flotilla, which coincidentally is at the same time as Earth Hour (www.earthhour.org) On Saturday during the day there will be a lantern making tent, so that you can bring along your own lantern that can be given to a volunteer to be installed safely. We encourage you to consider this your votive gift or dedication to the Cooks River.

Boats, canoes and kyak owners that would like to participate need to register in advance. You can find out more on our Calling all local boaties page.

Riverworks offers us all a chance to get together and make artwork about the Cooks River.

Through art, we can communicate many things about our river. We can celebrate its beauty and we can consider the sorts of things that need to be done to aid its restoration

So on the weekend of the 29th and 30th March, let’s use our creativity to find new ways to talk about how we treat the natural environment. Most of all, let’s find new ways to enjoy our river, and aid it’s return to health.

A note from the Co-ordinator
To help you to understand and to celebrate the Cooks River, join us at Riverworks, and find your own way to connect with the river and all those community groups and individuals working on improving its condition. Take a moment to read "A note from the Co-ordinator" for an insight into the thoughts and positive motivations of one of the rivers biggest fans.

What is environmental art?

Not everyone knows what environmental art is. So follow this link if you want to know more. Your work will be judged on the day with environmental art in mind, and more particularly with the Cooks River as our theme. This means that the more you think about the Cooks River and surrounds before you attend Riverworks, the more chance that you will create a meaningful environmental artwork. Of course, this also increases your chance to win a prize as well.

Environmental artists are inspired by all sorts of information about the natural environment, and our relationship to it.  Follow this link to discover some information and links that may inspire your environmental artwork.

Remember though, that winning isn’t the most important thing about the day. What is important, is getting together with other people who care about the Cooks River and expressing your feelings about your waterway through art.

The Riverworks project is joint funded by the NSW Department of Planning through the Cooks River Foreshore Improvement Program and supported by Canterbury City Council.