Goa Sand Art Festival 2011

This December Goa is going to be the most visited. And it is not going to be on December 25th for Christmas. No, Goa is going to be the most popular destination even before Christmas and that is for the Goa

Sand Art Festival 2011 to be held on December 16. Isn’t that wonderful? The tourism department of Goa announced this sometime back and so from December 16 to December 19, the Miramar beach in Goa is going to be buzzing with activity and visitors.

The Sand Cult is a sand sculpting company that is in collaboration with the tourism department of Goa. This is a festival that is held every year and is an attempt to create awareness about any social cause. This is a pedestal for all those who want to show their talents. Professional as well as amateur artists come here, meet and exhibit their creativity.  The Goa Sand Art Festival 2011 this year will have the world famous sand sculptor, Simon Smith, featuring his work. This artist from the United Kingdom was enamored by this kind of artistic exposure and expressed his willingness to share his talents this year.

So Goa, the most preferred spot for many tourists is going to be abuzz with excitement, fun and enthusiastic participation in the sand art festival here. The sun bathed beaches, the warmth of the locals, and the attractive places around already have made Goa the favourite amongst tourists. Added to it, festivals such as these, and the crowd is only going to increase.

This year the theme for the Goa Sand Art Festival 2011 is “Marine Life – Unseen Treasures under Water.” So those who are in the land of Goa during the three day festival can see the most mind boggling sand art creativity depicting this theme in the best ways possible. Also this year with Simon smith taking part, the creative level has reached a zenith. He said that when he came to Goa last year, he came to know about this wonderful festival. He expressed his desire to join the festival to Jerry Jose from the Sand Cult company. Jose was more than happy to agree. Thus Simon Smith has landed for the 2011 festival. Simon plans to create a 15 feet high sculpture which would depict life underneath the ocean. The variety of marine species and some fantasy structures would also be added. The world holds with bated breath to see the great and famous workmanship of this wonderful artist in the Goa Sand Art Festival, 2011. So get ready to be swept off your feet in this beautiful kaleidoscope of creativity and talent.

The main feature of the festival would be to show the different forms of sand. They could be sand drawings, sand dances or sand sculptures. There are free workshops in case you want to do something a la Simon Smith. These workshops introduce you to the concept of making something with sand also ensure that you understand the beautiful art well and are able to experiment with it successfully. So all the visitors can get ready to learn how to draw on sand, or draw with sand, how to create messages on sand. There is a practice pit where you can try your imagination. The idea is not to have a competition but to indulge in the love of this form of art.

A very eco friendly venture, this festival is open to all and there are no entry charges. This is the third edition of the festival which began in the year 2009. Besides Simon smith, the other artists who would be performing are Bheemaraya Yamanappa and Narayan Sahu from Mumbai, Amaresh and Mahesh Pattar from Bangalore, Rajesh Muliya from Gujarat, Subodh Kerkar from Goa, Tarani Prasad Misro from Andhra Pradesh and Subala Maharana from the city of Bhubaneswar in Orissa.

In the year 2010, the Goa Sand Art Festival had “wildlife conservation” as its theme. The students and artists from across Goa, Pune and Mumbai, started working on their models and created a great theme park. There were endangered species showcased all made out of sand. The Sandwizard Simon Smith graced the function and he was all praises for the organizational efforts shown. Some days before the festival there was a preview held in malls in Mumbai, and the awareness drive was good for the crowd and the public came to known more in detail about what it was going to be. This preview was something new and unique to the fast paced Mumbaites.

The Goa Sand Art Festival made its debut in the year 2009 with the theme of “global warming’. There were around 6 sand sculptures which showcased this theme. The main attraction was the sculpture of Mother Earth which had an 18 feet long pregnant woman shown lying on the beach. She was depicted holding her stomach with both her hands. The belly represented the planet and it showed how Mother Earth needed care. It was an instant hit amongst visitors and paved the way for the Goa Sand Art Festival to be eagerly awaited for each year.