Sydney’s most iconic annual seaside art event, Sculpture by the Sea, has partnered with Atomic 212° to kickoff the creative media relationship with a fundraising campaign, in a bid to generate support for the artists who bring the event to life. The agency will also oversee media buying and creative services across the national events.

Most people think that Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi is government funded. While the state and federal governments generously contribute 16% of the current funding, the rest is sourced from private sponsors and the artists themselves. The artists who create the famous installations contribute funds from their own pockets to create and transport their work.

In fact, over 100 artists have freighted their artworks over 353,248 miles to share their incredible artworks.

In light of this, Atomic 212° and Sculpture by the Sea have created the ‘Buy A Mile’ campaign, inviting the public to donate just $1 per person for every mile that the artists have to transport their pieces.

Sculpture by the Sea Founding Director David Handley said: “The event is going from strength to strength every year, but we still haven’t grown enough to fund the artists to the extent we would like. This is despite the immense benefits that Sculpture by the Sea brings the economy.”

Sculpture by the Sea is the highlight of Sydney’s October calendar. In 2009, research conducted by Oxford Economics and Booz & Co found that the event directly contributed $23.9 million to the NSW economy, and indirectly contributed $59.6 million.

“The ‘Buy a Mile’ campaign is the next stage in this growth, which will see us significantly increase our digital and social presence. In partnership with Atomic, we will ramp up our creative and media activity, and this will form a foundation for our activity next year and beyond.”

Atomic 212° Head of Content Kellie Holt said: “Each year, close to 500,000 people visit Sculpture by the Sea. Onsite donations equate to only $12,727. That averages out as only $0.026 per person! Combine this fact with the traditional philanthropy base is ageing substantially, and we saw an opportunity to change the narrative around fundraising to engage a new generation in today’s giving landscape.

“We discovered artists were personally paying out of their own pockets to create and transport their work to the event. This got us thinking … wouldn’t we pay just $1 to support the artists and keep this show on the road? And so ‘Buy A Mile’ was born.”

David Handley said of Atomic 212°’s appointment: “What a great bunch of people. I’ve been very touched by how much the staff at Atomic have thrown their support behind the cause.

I’ve been very impressed with their ideas, their drive and their professionalism. I look forward to developing this relationship further.”