Around the world, sand festivals are growing in popularity. Sometimes called Sand Sculpture Festivals because of the main attraction involved, thousands of people gather to witness both the making of monumentally scaled sand artwork, and the exhibit of diverse compositions one would never see at a regular gallery. These festivals showcase the talent and flexibility of sculptors while testing their mastery. Working with sand as a medium is often difficult because of its grainy tendency to crumble down. During the Sand Sculpting Australia “Dinostory” Festival, sculptors were excited to sculpt their favorite prehistoric subjects out of raw beach sand. The Australian Festival is a yearly event that is held at Frankston, Victoria since 2008.
Sand Sculpture – Photography by John O’ Neill
Other countries that encourage this type of sculptural activity include Canada (Lau Beauchamp Park and Clam Harbor in Nova Scotia), Germany (Berlin’s Sandsation Festival) and India (Goa Sand Festival) among others. Many subjects that are sculpted in sand are drawn directly from themes given during the competition, however some artits, like Patnaik in India, prefer to sculpt artwork in support for a specific cause like the tsunami strike in Puri.
The most widespread sand sculpting festival in Portugal; the International Sand Sculpture Festival was the largest of its kind anywhere in the world. It has been held in Algarve since 2003. Russia also contributes to the worldwide phenomena of sand sculpting, with its recent 2005 sand show; “Animal World” which was held at the Moscow Zoo. To much of everybody’s surprise, the venue and inspirational surroundings gave the artists exactly what they needed to put up one heck of a show. Sand sculpting around the world has been the recent dream of many artists and even some regular beach-hoppers. It’s a fun and recreational practice that encourages creativity in today’s fast-paced society.
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