Last October, at the closing ceremony for the fourth Rosemary Beach Sculpture Exhibition, donor Bret Azzarelli talked to WJHG about an earlier cycle. "I remember in the second cycle there was a piece displayed on a boardwalk right in front of my house," he said. "It was exciting to see it there, and when it went away, I sort of missed it."
That night, one piece got the opposite ending. Exhibition officials said Greg Johnson's Nucleus had been bought and donated to Rosemary Beach, so it stayed while the rest came down. The town has run that way for close to a decade. Every two years a new group of sculptures moves onto the greens and pocket parks. At the end of the run, the new pieces go up for sale, and now and then one becomes part of the town for good. The fifth exhibition opens Saturday, October 17, 2026, and it starts that cycle over.
How Seven Pieces Became Permanent
The current catalogue calls this show eleven new works plus seven permanent-collection sculptures, all placed around Rosemary Beach. Most of those seven came from earlier exhibitions on these same greens.
| Permanent work | Artist | How it stayed |
|---|---|---|
| Votive | Gregory Johnson | First place in 2017–18; the Rosemary Beach Property Owners Association bought it |
| Colors of My Mind | George Rodrigue | Gift from Wendy Rodrigue, the artist's widow |
| Empress | Nathan Pierce | Best in show, 2019–20 exhibition |
| Holds Water: Kneeling Rock for Standing Rock | Kimmerjae Macarus | Award work, 2021–22 exhibition |
| Extinction Blues | Charles Pilkey | Award work, 2021–22 exhibition |
| Bradbury | Kirsten Kainz | Bought from the 2021–22 exhibition and donated in memory of someone |
| Nucleus | Gregory Johnson | Bought and donated after the 2024–25 exhibition |
Two of the seven are by Gregory Johnson, and he got there by two different routes. The POA bought Votive after the first exhibition. Nucleus came in seven years later because someone bought it and gave it to the town. Empress, Holds Water and Extinction Blues won awards when they were shown. The sources found for this post confirm they are permanent now but don't say how each one was acquired.
The collection grows slowly. In 2024–25 the exhibition showed nine new works next to six permanent pieces, fifteen sculptures in all. This cycle has eleven new works and seven permanent ones, so eighteen sculptures will be on view across town. That's three more than last time, and the largest show yet.
The Eleven Coming In
The committee chose these works from submissions by 54 artists around the country. The catalogue lists each piece with a number that matches a numbered site map:
- The Spirit of Hope by Kat Warwick
- Crab 1939 by Justin Gaffrey
- Big Dreamer by Earl Dismuke
- Bridge Beyond Time by Corrina Sephora
- Core Deep Red by Adam Walls
- Drop by John Bannon
- Natural Wonders by Michele Moushey Dale
- Mobalisk by Kyle Ocean
- Wings of Serenity by Eric Lynn
- Mind's Eye by Morgan Lugo
- Wind in the Waves by Chris Plaisted
Two of the entries show how wide the range is. Kat Warwick, from Dallas, carved The Spirit of Hope from white Darby marble. It stands 66 inches tall on a 20-by-20-inch footprint, and the catalogue lists it at $14,500. Justin Gaffrey's Crab 1939 is quarter-inch Corten steel plate, 160 inches by 94 by 92, welded together and listed at $42,500. Gaffrey is based in Santa Rosa Beach, and he says the piece draws on Alexander Calder's stabiles, especially Calder's 1939 work Spiny.
The crab is nearly three times the price of the marble, and it's more than 13 feet long. Both are for sale once the show closes. Whether one of them ends up like Votive or Bradbury depends on what happens over the next twelve months.
Opening Week, in Order
The program on the exhibition's site runs over three days:
- Thursday, October 15. The Patrons Celebration Party, an invitation-only evening for artists, donors, volunteers and patrons.
- Friday, October 16. The opening reception at Curate30A, 72 Main Street, which the committee calls the official start of the exhibition.
- Saturday, October 17. The exhibition opens to the public. It runs into October 2027.
The exhibition page doesn't say anything about tickets or admission for the Friday reception. The committee posts event updates on its Facebook page, so check there before you go. The printed catalogue gives the run as October 15, 2026 through October 16, 2027, a slightly different window from the website. The exhibition website lists Saturday, October 17 as the opening date.
A week after the opening, the Rosemary Beach Merchants Association holds its Halloween event on Saturday, October 24. Merchants hand out treats from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and a Kids Halloween Bash runs on the East Long Green from 2 to 5 p.m. That brings a lot of people through town, many on foot, during the first full week the new sculptures are up.
Walking the Route
The sculptures sit in the town center and in the residential areas, on pocket parks, gardens and the larger greens. Some of them won't be on the paths you usually take. The catalogue's numbered map is how you find them. Copies are available at several merchants around town, and the PDF is linked from the exhibition page.
The audio tour is better than the printed one. Download the free Otocast app, search "Rosemary Beach, FL," and you'll get photos, written notes and the artists themselves talking about their pieces. The catalogue says it works anywhere you have cell service, including right in front of a sculpture. The catalogue text also includes an artist statement from Kimmerjae Macarus, whose Holds Water is one of the permanent works:
"The stone and I create and the viewer completes the work with their unique thoughts and future actions."
If you'd like a guide, committee member Johnny Mutina leads docent tours at different times through the year, and you can book a spot online. Larger groups can set up their own tour by emailing [email protected].
The exhibition runs entirely on volunteers. Project Director Alisa Ghazvini leads a committee of Burt Beusch, Michelle Brooks, Ceil Chapman, Gary Handler, Molly Johnson, Mary Lostak, Johnny Mutina, Stacy Parks, Trevor Price and Sherrye Röell. The Rosemary Beach POA and its staff back the committee, and other volunteers help install the work. Private donations and in-kind sponsors cover the costs.
The Heart Icon and the Closing Date
There's one more way to take part. The exhibition's 2026–27 Artists & Sculptures page holds a People's Choice Award vote that covers all eleven new works. On a computer, hover over a sculpture's photo and click the heart. On a phone, tap the photo first so the heart appears, then tap the heart.
The same page explains what happens in October 2027. Every new sculpture will be for sale when the exhibition closes, and the prices are already listed. The seven permanent pieces are not for sale.
The organizers haven't said whether the People's Choice result affects any purchase. Four of the permanent pieces have a documented route into the collection. The POA bought Votive, donors bought Bradbury and Nucleus and gave them to the town, and Colors of My Mind stayed as a gift. Bradbury and Nucleus each went through a closing like the one planned for next October, when someone decided to keep the piece. If you want to buy a new work, the committee takes inquiries at [email protected]. Its Donate page lists the sponsorship levels for anyone who wants to support the exhibition itself.
The eleven new works go up across Rosemary Beach on October 17, and they stay on view through October 2027.
If you're walking the new route this fall and want to talk through which greens and pocket parks it passes, or which piece you'd vote for, I'm glad to compare notes. Chip McCraney is always happy to talk about Rosemary Beach's public spaces. Let's Connect.
