About Castaways

The City’s iconic Castaways Sculpture Awards returns this spring to the Rockingham Foreshore from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November 2026.

Castaways is an annual outdoor sculptural exhibition showcasing artworks created from repurposed materials at the Rockingham Foreshore.

Castaways started in 2008 as a community arts project to raise awareness around the discarded items or ‘castaways’ washing up on local beaches and has continued to expand and evolve. Today, Castaways provides an important opportunity for emerging and professional Western Australian artists, schools and local businesses to be a part of a regionally-recognised arts program that continues to promote sustainable values.

Castaways Sculpture Awards consists of three exhibitions, with a prize pool of $27,250 (non-acquisitive):

the Main Exhibition displayed at the Rockingham Foreshore.
the Maquette and Small Sculpture Exhibition at the Rockingham Arts Centre.
the Schools Exhibition displayed in Churchill Park.

Main Exhibition

The Main Exhibition showcases outdoor sculptures set against the backdrop of the Rockingham Foreshore.

Western Australian artists are invited to enter their sculpture for selection.

Sculptures must use recycled and repurposed materials, and must include a 30% visible aluminium component to be eligible for the Major Award.

Kim Perrier, De-Vine, (detail) aluminium. Image courtesy the artist.

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Maquette and Small Sculpture Exhibition

The Maquette and Small Sculpture Exhibition celebrates the intricacy of small-scale three-dimensional artworks.

Emerging and professional artists are invited to create indoor sculptures using recycled and repurposed materials.

The exhibition is held at the Rockingham Arts Centre, just a short stroll from Rockingham Foreshore.

Liliana Stafford, Home, recycled windowpane glass and enamel. Image courtesy the artist.

Schools Exhibition

Primary and secondary schools are invited to design and create a sculpture from recycled or repurposed materials for public exhibition alongside emerging and professional artists. A number of benefits have been reported by teachers, including student collaboration, belonging to a community event, and the pursuit of knowledge and new skills.

Castaways aims to introduce to young people how values and important messages can be effectively promoted through engaging channels – important for future community leaders. The Castaways Schools Exhibition is displayed on the Rockingham Foreshore in Churchill Park, alongside the Main Exhibition.

Rockingham Beach Primary School, Peggy the Seabird, wire, carpet, fake grass, cans, bottle caps, milk crate, papier-mâché. Image courtesy the artist.

Sean Adamas, Richard Aitken, Alan Brinck and Loren Brinck, Sheryl Chant, Joy Francis, Claire Garcia-Webb, Francesa Geromino, Chamonix Higginson, Ariel Katzir, Rene Lehner, Todd Marshall, Tia Monument, Andrew Mullet, Marite Norris, Kim Perrier, Courtney Smith, Anita Staaden, Ed Stafford, Liliana Stafford, Ben Veljacich, Mike Walmsley, Andrew Wilmott, Georgia Zoric.

Gary Aitken, Tracie Anderson, Margaret Beechey Rothery, Sherri Brown, Carol Clitheroe, Marilyn Davis-Moore, Angela Delury, Tich Dixon, Doodles in Transit, Sky Edwards, Francesca Geromino, Joan Johnson, Margie Kristofich, Gail McCahon, Carolyn McIntosh, Janice O’Meara, Tony Pankiw, Garry Robson, Pip Rundle, Linda Smith, Anita Staaden, Liliana Stafford, Pam Tuckett, Pene Turner.

Alta-1 Rockingham, Charthouse Primary School, Cooloongup Primary School, Rockingham Beach Education Support Centre, Rockingham Beach Primary School, Safety Bay Primary School, Safety Bay Senior High School, Settlers Primary School, SMYL Community College, South Coast Baptist College.

Lyn Di Ciero

The 2026 Castaways Curator, Lyn Di Ciero, is a visual arts writer, curator and filmmaker who established the Artist’s Chronicle in 1991, the longest-running independent visual arts magazine in Western Australia’s history. Di Ciero is also a former Visual Arts Feature Writer for The West Australian newspaper (2010-2016). She was the Australian manager for the School of Colour in the 1990s, which included operating distance education across Australia, and has documented several art collections, including the City of Belmont, the City of Rockingham Town of Mosman Park and Perth Airport.

She has curated the City of Rockingham Castaways Sculpture Awards since its inception, and the annual Soroptimist International of Fremantle Help the Homeless Act Auction, which raises funds for critical services for the homeless and at-risk homeless in the community. From 2020 to 2022, she was the curator of the Mandorla Art Award, Australia’s most significant thematic Christian art prize.

Since 2013, she has explored filmmaking as another form of storytelling in the visual arts, with her filmography including commissions from the Art Gallery of Western Australia, the City of Rockingham and St John of God Health Care.

Schools are provided guidance with their sculptures from the 2026 Castaways Schools Facilitators.

Jacq Chorlton (Funkydory)

Jacq creates award-winning wearable art, recycled materials sculpture, painting, ceramics, community art and more. She has been a participant in Castaways on nine occasions, winning three awards.

Rachael Lemon

Rachael is an award-winning artist who has been selected for Castaways and the Rockingham Art Prize. Her community art projects include art classes and workshops for all ages and assisting the Baldivis Brumby Girl Guides, students from St Munchin’s Primary School and Ridge View Secondary College’s art club. In 2023, she led school guided tours at Castaways.

This year's independent selection panellists met to select the 2026 finalists from the submitted artworks.

Angela McHarrie

Angela McHarrie is a Western Australian artist with a multidisciplinary practice. She graduated from Curtin University with a Bachelor of Art in 2007 and was made a member of the Vice Chancellor's List in recognition of academic excellence.

Angela maintains a strong commitment to exhibiting and she is represented by Stala Contemporary. She has completed a significant number of public artworks over the past fifteen years and her work is held in public, corporate and private collections.

Arif Satar

Arif Satar is a visual artist living and working in Walyalup (Fremantle). Working individually and in collaboration, his practice traverses themes of displacement, home, ecology, identity, history and politics. Arif’s artworks are characterised by a sensitive interrogation of materials and an exploration of methods of expression.

Across sculpture, printmaking, sound and the moving image, Arif draws from ancestral stories, rituals and crafting techniques, to create a rich dialogue between the past and the present.

Arif Satar has exhibited, undertaken socially engaged community art projects and created work for public spaces, both in Australia and overseas. His recent projects include the presentation of Time Space Disruption: The Bird Is Not Mine at the 23rd Venice Architecture Biennale, What The Eyes Cannot See for the Indian Ocean Craft Triennial (IOTA24) in Esperance WA. In 2025 Arif Satar presented two significant public art projects, The Gardens for the Thornlie Train Station, and Performing The City for the Common Ground East Perth Public Housing Complex.

Once the finalists' sculptures have been installed for the exhibition, the independent judges will select the winning artworks for each award category.

The judges for 2026 are to be confirmed. Please check back for more details.

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