About Castaways

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

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.

Coster Mkoki, A Labour of Love 2, aluminium, found objects, cast aluminium. Castaways 2023.

a room with white pedestals and sculptures

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.

Held at the Rockingham Arts Centre, just a short stroll from Rockingham Foreshore

Installation view of Castaways Maquette and Small Sculpture Exhibition 2025.

Schools Exhibition

Primary and secondary schools are invited to create sculptures from recycled or repurposed materials for public exhibition alongside emerging and professional artists. Teachers report benefits including student collaboration, community connection, and the pursuit of knowledge and new skills.

Castaways also demonstrates how important messages can be shared through creative channels, inspiring future community leaders. The Castaways Schools Exhibition is displayed alongside the Main Exhibition at Churchill Park on the Rockingham Foreshore.

Rockingham Beach Education Support Centre, Shell Shocking News, wire baskets, metal utensils, scrap wood, plastic kitchen items, bike tubes. Castaways 2025.

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.

Main Exhibition and Maquette and Small Sculpture Exhibition

Mark Datodi

Mark Datodi is a Western Australian visual artist with more than 25 years of professional practice across printmaking, sculpture, installation and public art. His work has been exhibited in galleries and realised in public spaces throughout Western Australia. Through his practice, Mark explores the relationship between people, place and the built environment, creating works that enrich the cultural and aesthetic experience of public spaces.

Connie Petrillo

Connie Petrillo is an accomplished Western Australian artist and curator with extensive academic and professional credentials. Connie holds a PhD from Curtin University, a Master of Curatorial Studies in Fine Arts and a Postgraduate Degree in Fine Arts from the University of Western Australia. She also earned a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts, specialising in Painting and Photo Media, from Edith Cowan University, and a Diploma in Art Studies from the Perth School of Art and Design.

With over 29 years of experience in cultural and curatorial management, Connie has built a wide-reaching professional network across Australia. Currently serving as the Curator for the City of Perth Cultural Collections, she has previously held positions as National Curator and Manager Arts Program for Saint John of God Health Care and as Curator and Manager of the Edith Cowan University Art Collection. Throughout her career, she has curated and presented numerous exhibitions and developed educational and promotional programs at both local and national levels, a commitment she continues at the City of Perth.

Schools Exhibition

Claire Davenhall

Claire Davenhall is an internationally exhibiting visual artist, sculptor, Master Scuba Diver and creative educator whose practice is deeply informed by her connection to the ocean. Working across sculpture, photography, found materials and immersive installation, she explores environmental, historical and narrative themes.

Claire holds a BA (Hons) in Fine Art Sculpture from Gray’s School of Art, Scotland, with further studies in Greece and Finland, and a Master of Education from the Sheridan Institute of Higher Education. Her exhibited career spans Australia and internationally, including Sculpture by the Sea Cottesloe, Swell Sculpture Festival, Sculpture at Scenic World, and her touring solo exhibition Lost Soles at Sea, presented at multiple regional galleries and featured in the 2024 Maritime Festival in Albany, Western Australia.

Jill Ansell

Jill Ansell is a well-known West Australian painter and assemblage artist. She was a finalist in the Archibald Prize in 2023 and 2024. Jill has twice been a finalist in the Lester Portrait Prize, the Doug Moran Portrait Prize and the Portia Geach Portrait Memorial Award. Her work has won many awards including the Bank West Open Art Award, York Art Award, Victoria Park Art Award, the Town of Cambridge Art Award and the Town of Vincent Art Award. Her work is held in public and private collections, both nationally and internationally.

Jill works across a wide range of subjects from the local beach to surreal desert landscapes, but her favourite subject is the portrait. Her portraits typically engage the viewer with their humour and warm humanity. Her work in assemblage carefully weaves real objects and portraiture together into an intriguing glimpse into the intimate world of the subject.

The 2025 Castaways Sculpture Awards took place from Saturday 25 October to Sunday 2 November 2025.

Award	2025 Winner
$10,000 Major Award	Kim Perrier, De-Vine
$5,000 Innovation Award	Damien Gavillet, Orbital
$5,000 Sustainability Award	Richard Aitken, No Junk Mail
$2,500 Maquette and Small Sculpture Award	Janice O'Meara, Frag-mented
$2,000 City of Rockingham Local Resident Award	Ben Veljacich, The little penguin
$500 Primary School Award	Settlers Primary School, Prickly's Playground
$500 Secondary School Award	SMYL Community College - Tesla Campus, Bottled Up: When I Couldn't Speak, You Stayed
$1,000 Fremantle Ports People's Choice Award - Main Exhibition	Joy Francis, Big Dog
$500 Fremantle Ports People's Choice Award - Maquette and Small Sculpture Exhibition	Courtney Smith, Reflections of the Sea
$250 Fremantle Ports People's Choice Award - Schools Exhibition	Safety Bay Primary School, The 114
Highly Commended	Sherri Brown, Beacon Safety Bay Primary School, The 114 Sheoak Grove Primary School, A World All Spun Out

With thanks to our 2025 sponsor, Fremantle Ports.

The 2024 Castaways Sculpture Awards took place from Saturday 26 October to Sunday 3 November 2024.

Winners

Award	Winner
$10,000 Alcoa Major Award	Joan Johnson, Deconstructed, Reconstructed and Embellished
$5,000 Innovation Award	Kelly Robbins, Pin Cushion Protea
$5,000 Capral Aluminium Sustainability Award	Damien Gavillet, Crushed
$2,500 Maquette and Small Sculpture Award	Valerie Schönjahn, Travellers
$2,000 City of Rockingham Local Resident Award	Gary Aitken, Those Who Have Passed
$500 Alcoa Primary School Award	Rockingham Beach Education Support Centre, I’m a peliCAN, not a trash CAN
$500 Secondary School Award	Rockingham Montessori School Adolescent Program, Outer Harbour
$1,000 Fremantle Ports People's Choice Award - Main Exhibition	Paul Fontanini, Recycling Metamorphosis Kim Perrier, Aqueous
$500 Fremantle Ports People's Choice Award - Maquette and Small Sculpture Exhibition	Emily Smith, Contamination
$250 Fremantle Ports People's Choice Award - Schools Exhibition	Rockingham Beach Education Support Centre, I’m a peliCAN, not a trash CAN
Highly Commended	Ed Stafford, The Overflow Sky Edwards, Contemporary Archaeology 1 Endeavour Schools, Scavenger Seals Settlers Primary School, Where to From Here?

With thanks to our 2024 sponsors, Alcoaopens in a new window, Capral Aluminiumopens in a new window and Fremantle Portsopens in a new window.

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About Castaways

The Castaways story

Exhibitions

Main Exhibition

Maquette and Small Sculpture Exhibition

Schools Exhibition