Story Janine Hill  | Photos Marsha Fotografie 

“Great works of art are only great because they are accessible and comprehensible to everyone,” wrote Leo Tolstoy.

If the Russian author’s view on accessibility and art are anything to go by, this year’s Sculpture on the Edge event at Flaxton Gardens was great.

The 18-day festival, which wound up on 10 December, displayed about 190 works from 120 artists and drew about 5,500 visitors.

But for festival director Gretchen Keelty, making art accessible, particularly to those who do not get to experience it easily, was a measure of success.

She said the venue had been wheelchair accessible and large format catalogues were designed to be more easily read by people with vision problems.

Gretchen was pleased to see groups such as Sunshine Butterflies and Compass visit and all-abilities art studio Monte Lupo hosting workshops.

“The lovely thing was seeing these artists really enjoy seeing the reactions of people to what they had made.

“They had all worked on pieces, even some people who were vision impaired, and to see the joy in them having their art admired by the public was the highlight of the festival,” she said.

“They were really inspired and they felt so productive. 

“That for me was one of the key moments of the festival.”

She said the festival had benefited from wonderful artists who had hosted workshops to share their knowledge.

Councillor Joe Natoli donated his time to sit for portraiture masterclass.

Another well-known face to make Sculpture on the Edge was Gardening Australia personality Costa Georgiadis, who was particularly taken with extraordinarily realistic porcelain floral arrangements by Iris Syu.

Gretchen said a festival dinner with music and dancers had been a beautiful evening and people had enjoyed listening to a panel of artists about how they had become and forged their way as artists.

“They shared their stories, they shared their passions,” she said.