The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is excited to bring the Sands Arts Festival back to Tybee Island beach on Friday, May 6.
The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is excited to bring the Sands Arts Festival back to Tybee Island beach on Friday, May 6.
Hundreds of students representing a variety of majors – from industrial design to architecture – will be creating over 100 sand sculptures on South Beach near the Tybee Pier. The festival attracts thousands of visitors to the island to view sand masterpieces created by SCAD students, alumni, prospective students, faculty, and staff.
Due to the two-year covid hiatus, there is a huge buzz this year about the festival that will include new categories and prize money being awarded. The categories include our traditional Sandcastle, Sand Sculpture, Sand Relief, Air, Sand Jam Drawing and SCAD Spirit Awards, as well as three new categories of Peace, Love, and Homage Awards with big prize money attached.
SCAD’s talented students spend days, even weeks, planning for this event. To help students prepare, SCAD hosts workshops to show the students basic techniques. Most of the work is preparing ideas and designs with a team and taking the techniques they learn in the classroom and applying them on the beach.
Participants will begin creating their sand sculptures at 10 a.m. Judging will begin at 2 p.m. and the winners will be announced at 3:30 p.m. The traditional “sundown stomp” will begin between 4 and 5 p.m. Participants and spectators help reset South Beach by leveling sculptures and restoring the beach to its pristine, pre-festival condition for the wildlife and beach visitors.
SCAD foundation studies professor Lisa Rundstrom is the organizer for this year’s festival. “The Sand Arts Festival has value for our students and our community,” she said. “It gives the students a chance to not just enjoy Tybee, the natural resources of the beach, and one another, but to also become a part of the community by sharing their talents and gifts. This unique event provides an opportunity for the community to meet our students, see the vibrant charisma they share with us every day, and witness creativity at its finest.”
CATEGORIES:
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SCAD Spirit Award – $3,000 – Sand sculptures that recognize artwork that exemplifies the strength of the Hive by featuring our mascot, Art the Bee. Artwork must be created by a currently enrolled student or an alum.
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SCAD Peace Award – $3,000 – Sand sculptures that incorporate well-known or universal symbols, imagery, and/or iconography of peace.
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SCAD Love Award – $3,000- Sand sculptures that incorporate well-known or universal symbols, imagery, and/or iconography of love.
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SCAD Homage Award – $3,000 – Sand sculptures that replicate a sculpture by a renowned artist using only materials approved for Sand Arts Festival entries.
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Best of Show – $1,200 – Chosen by SCAD fibers professor/guest artist Ben Copperwheat.
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SCAD Student Group – $1,000 – Open only to groups of foundation studies students for designs in all categories.
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Class Project: Open to designs in all categories in which an entire class participates.
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Best Sandcastle – $1,000 – Large-scale works resembling castle architecture. The castle must contain only sand and natural objects found on the beach, such as shells, driftwood, and seaweed.
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Sand Relief Award – $1,000 – Hybrid between drawing and sculpture. These 3-D works are shorter than sand sculptures — less than three feet tall. Relief entries may be carved into the beach, modeled on top or both.
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Best Sand Sculpture: – $1,000 – These large-scale works must be at least three feet tall. Works should be sculpted fully in the round. Works may be representational, abstract, or nonrepresentational.
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Best Air Entry – $1,000 – May include kites, whirligigs, windsocks, and kinetic, wind-powered objects. Entries must be self-sufficient and sturdy and cannot require the use of generators or electronics for assistance. Human-powered projects that interact with the wind are acceptable.
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Sand Jam Award – $500 -On the beach, drawing the events of the SCAD Sand Arts Festival 2022 in real time. Judges look for expression of mark making, sense of mass, technical handling of media and movement.