Why visiting Sculpture By The Sea with the kids has never been easier

By Georgie Abay Published Oct 28 2016

There are some days when I look around and feel incredibly blessed to live in Sydney. Most days, I’m honestly too distracted to really appreciate it (it’s hard to gaze dreamily at a picture perfect beach when you’re trying to keep two toddlers from drowning themselves), but then there are those little magical moments when I’m with my girls and I just feel plain lucky...

Those moments when I get a quick minute to look around and soak it all up. When I do get in those thoughtful moods (the ones where I ponder life’s meaning that typically occur after my second glass of wine), I also often think about all the things I want to teach my children. I want them to be curious about the world. I want them to travel, I want them to visit art galleries, I want them to love food and wine. They’ve got it all ahead of them – what lucky ducks! We recently visited Sculpture By The Sea – the largest free to the public sculpture exhibition in the world – and it was such a beautiful way to introduce them to art. Ok, I’ll let you in on a little secret. My darling Lottie is doing her best to embrace the ‘terrible twos’ and lost it it before we even started the walk. She was taken to the playground while we started the exhibition. Perhaps two is a little young for an art tour? We’ll try again next year. My almost four-year-old daughter Arabella and I carried on. We started at Tamarama beach, which is dotted with incredible sculptures (Arabella had lots of fun running around Gillie and Marc Schattner’s Buried Rhino) and then worked our way around the coast to Bondi beach. She loved it. I loved it. What I loved most was sharing the experience with my daughter. Seeing the wonder and amazement in her eyes when she came across a sculpture she loved. Listening to her articulate what she saw. It’s moments like these I cherish. After a long walk, we were both rather exhausted. Luckily one of the great things about visiting the exhibition with children (or even if you don’t have children) is that Hyundai are offering a free shuttle service on the weekend, ferrying people back and forth between Bondi and Tamarama and they’re equipped… wait for it… with booster seats and baby capsules! Genius. So basically when your child cracks it and decides they’ve had enough, you can jump in a car rather than have to face the walk back with a tired child. This is the sixth year that Hyundai have partnered with the event and given that the brand’s design ethos is ‘fluidic sculpture’, it really is a dream partnership. From the aerodynamic exteriors to luxurious interiors, every Hyundai is created with an effortless and organic form, inspired by nature. Another plus? The air-conditioned shuttle service is also a good way to test out the Hyundai Santa Fe (which amazingly sits up to seven people) or Tucson model (if you’re in the market for a new family car, both get our tick of approval). And frankly, it’s nice not to be the one driving the kids around for once. So here’s a little glimpse inside my first art adventure with my girls. Sculpture By The Sea will run from 20 October to 6 November 2016. The Hyundai SUV Fleet, featuring the Tucson and Santa Fe, will operate on Saturdays and Sundays during the exhibition from 10am-5pm. Collection points are located at the bus stop on Tamarama Marine Drive at Tamarama Beach, and the end of Notts Avenue at Bondi Beach. Photography: Grace Alyssa Kyo | In association with Hyundai