Alive with artistry, connection, and inspiration - Bonsai Reshaped 2025 unfolded for yet another successful year. This prestigious event brought together bonsai enthusiasts, artists, and collectors from across Australia and beyond, showcasing the very best of miniature tree artistry and pottery.
For the first time, three internationally recognised female artists shared the stage: Heike van Gunst, Marcela Ferreira, and Sandra Grlica. Each brought unique expertise and vision, carrying forward the legacy of bonsai masters while reshaping the boundaries of the artform as they shared their expertise through live demonstrations and workshops.
Visitors explored the National Bonsai and Penjing Collection, which showcased a Shohin display by the Canberra Bonsai Society. Pop-up bonsai markets offered a range of beautiful handcrafted bonsai pots and plants from maples to Metasequoia!
The Art of Bonsai evening event was a highlight, as guests mingled with artists, curators, and volunteers, celebrating not only bonsai but the community that sustains it. Audience members were able to get up close and observe our internationally renowned artists at work, as they each spent the evening transforming a tree to a bonsai, explaining their creative process to the audience in detail. The evening culminated in the auctioning off of these newly formed bonsai to their delighted new owners.
Special announcements throughout the evening included the Bonsai Pot Acquisition Prize, with 1st place awarded to Rodney Verwoert for a refined stoneware pot that echoed the tree’s maturity and renewal. David Smith (2nd) and James Tranter (3rd) acknowledged for their outstanding craftsmanship. Congratulations are also extended to Sandra Corrigan, this year's winner of the Joe Mifsud Volunteer of the Year Award, presented for her outstanding contributions to the Collection.
Bonsai Reshaped 2025 was more than an exhibition; it was a celebration of artistry, community, and the enduring beauty of bonsai.
This event was once again made possible by the assistance of the Bonsai Trust Fund.