Antalya, Turkey will host Sandland 2011

The 5th International Antalya Sand Festival "Sandland 2011," in the Mediterranean province of Antalya, Turkey, will be inaugurated on May 1, 2011, counting with the participation of nearly 25 professional sculptors from around the world who already started working on their sculptures since this April.

This year's edition is dedicated to Hollywood and will show 30 famous reproductions, including ‘Back to The Future,’ ‘Braveheart,’ ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Jurassic Park,’ ‘E.T,’ ‘Spiderman,’ ‘Jaws,’ ‘King Kong,’ ‘The Godfather,’ ‘The Matrix,’ ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’ ‘Harry Potter,’ ‘Transformers,’ ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ ‘James Bond’ and ‘Lord of the Rings.’

Visitors will see immortal Hollywood actors such as Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin in the fantasy world of sand, as well as a 25-meter-tall dinosaur sand sculpture that will add to the atmosphere of ‘Jurassic Park.’
Special lighting and sound effects will add colour to the sand sculptures at night, enhancing the experience.

Artists from United States, Canada, Brazil, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Spain, Portugal and Turkey will use near 10,000 tones of sand to create the 30 Hollywood scenes.

Last year the festival was visited by near 160,000 and more than 200,000 are expected this year, making it a reference in it's kind and a contribution to the tourism in Turkey and more specifically Antalya.

The Sandland 2011 - 5th International Antalya Sand Festival, can be visited until November 14, 2011.

The Art Inquirer could not find an official website of the event, but you may probably get more information, should you wish to visit the festival, at the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

FIESA 2011 - 9th International Sand Sculpture Festival (Pêra, Algarve)

Now in its 9th edition, the International Sand Sculpture Festival (FIESA) brings to Pêra in Algarve, some of the best sand sculptors in the world, showing their artistic skills and creativity through the creation of amazing works of art made with sand.

In this year's edition, until June 15th, visitors will have the chance to observe the creative process of some of the sculptures, something that will certainly add to enhance the public's experience.

In similarity with previous editions, FIESA 2011 offers a space where children and grownups may try their creative skills on this form of artistic expression.

During the night , the festival will also include shows and performances and video projections.

Since it's start in 2003, FIESA (Festival Internacional de Escultura em Areia) presents a different theme every year. This year's theme is "Animal Kingdom", a freely translation of "Animalândia" where artists were invited to represent animal in a humouristic manner and personified through human behaviours, at the same time paying tribute to characters from children and adults fiction.

Scenes with endangerous species in their natural habitat show the concern of the aritsts and of the organization toward the environment and the preservation of species.

Organized by ProSandArt, FIESA is considered the world's largest sand sculpture festival due to its occupational area (near 15,000 sqm) and for the size of the sculptures created from 35,000 tones of sand.

FIESA 2011 was inaugurated today and can be visited everyday from 10h00 to 20h00 between April 15 and June 15 and between September 15 and October 15.
From 10h00 to 24h00 between June 16 and September 14.

Admission is free for children up to 5 years old and there are special prices for groups, schools and kindergartens (call to reserve: Mobile: (00351) 969 459 259 / Fax: (00351) 282 317 084)

The Andy Monument by Rob Pruitt

Commissioned by Public Art Fund, NY, a nearly ten-foot-tall chrome finished sculpture of Andy Warhol created by Rob Pruitt, will be unveiled tomorow in the Union Square, Pedestrian Mall at 17th Street and Broadway, just outside the building that housed Warhol’s Factory for more than ten years in the 70s and early 80s, tomorow Wednesday March 30 at 11:00am.

Inspired by Warhol’s art and life and a tribute to the late artist, The Andy Monument will stand on the street corner, just as Warhol did when he signed and gave away copies of Interview magazine which he founded in 1969.

Based on a combination of digital scanning of a live model and hand sculpting, Rob's creation aims to represent Warhol as a ghostly, silver presence: a potent cultural force as both artist and self-created myth. The chrome figure wears his signature fright wig and carries a Polaroid camera around his neck. In his right hand he carries a medium brown bag, which Rob imagines to be filled with copies of Interview magazine.

In the likeness of what is becoming common these days, interaction through the use of technological devices and social media will be made possible.

The sculpture created by Rob Pruitt will stand in the Union Square, NY, until October 2, 2011.

Photo by James Ewing