Our vision

First we have to take a step back to where this festival found its inspiration. The annual Spirit of the Land Festival in Lockhart, NSW, Australia was our stepping stone. Their festival grew out of a need to raise community morale after a long and hard drought. Art was their solution and they have generously shared their experiences and given us their blessings to forge out our own festival.

Because we too have challenges and we want to do something positive for our communities by creating a great day of coming together, sharing creativity and being part of something bigger than just our individualised day-to-day slog. 

So come and build with us, an epic sculpture, some community spirit and a place to reflect on this beautiful land we call home. 

Promote, encourage and facilitate the nationwide creation of sculpture activities based on rural themes by providing a New Zealand Rural Sculpture Award.

  • Provide incentives for farmers and others to improve their health and well being by getting creative.

  • Strengthen the local Oroua community, through art and sculpture activities and by building camaraderie as we create a vibrant, exciting festival event.

  • Provide a festival of appeal to both urban and rural people and an opportunity to bring these communities together for one day.

  • Promote a unique rural experience to attract increased visitors to the northern Manawatu region.

Objectives and Goals

Our History                     

It’s not a long one yet, but it’s one we hope to build on. 2018 was the debut festival and it was pretty exciting to see Kimbolton buzzing. There is nothing quite like small town hospitality and the whole village did themselves proud. The creativity on display and the positive atmosphere was validation enough….. This needed to be repeated.

So, our motley team of people with their mixed bundle of skills marched into 2019 and like all things nurtured, the festival grew and continues to evolve. 

Our next festival, the eagerly awaited 2021 festival opened to a beautiful day with record number attending.

With a refreshed program and high quality sculpture entries, the 2023 festival was again a great success. It just gets better every year.

Come along on our journey and be a part of history.

Wellbeing

One of the backbones of the Kimbolton Sculpture Festival is our belief that the act of being creative is good for our mental health. One in five New Zealanders have a serious mood disorder and in the last five years suicide rates have risen to all time highs. We are particularly aware of these figures, having  had thirty years of rural communities over represented in the statistics. We believe that as a supportive rural community we can help each other. By putting on a festival that is positive and encouraging, we hope to do just that. The act of making art can switch our focus, even for a time, away from negativity and stress towards something engaging and explorative. By doing we can build a space in which we can become absorbed by the simple art of making. 

Our mental health advocate Rick Wallace says that art has helped him tap deeply into his creative spirit and in turn it has nurtured his well being. Rick has  bipolar and his journey to understanding his condition has been long, and at times extremely hard. He says he has gained a lot more empathy for others as a result

“Today I see my bipolar as a rare gift.” 

“I did make some sacrifices, but I am a better person who is more caring and empathetic toward others as a result. I feel fortunate and thankful.” 

Rick makes sculptures now and will be displaying some at a stall at this year’s festival. Seek him out, talk to him about his incredible journey of hardship and joy and marvel at his creativity. 

“My primary focus for helping people on their journey to improved wellbeing, is encouraging them toward creative, artistic endeavours. I believe ‘making’ has so many benefits that anyone looking for more fulfillment and happiness in their life should look at getting involved in some creative project.” 

Reach out, make and be a part of something creative. 

Take a look at the Creative Wellbeing video

Check out Rick’s website: rickwallace.nz
And click here for Rick’s blog on our festival.

Other avenues for information and support are listed here: farmstrong.co.nz