Ready your shades and shovels at SCAD Sand Arts Festival 2022

Contest rules

Competitions are open to SCAD students and alumni who may compete individually or in teams of up to four members. Work in all categories is judged on creativity of design, quality of craft, and excellence of detail.

Contestants may begin work at 10 a.m., Friday, May 6.  Sculpting in the wrong area before that time may result in participants being asked to start over in the correct area. Contestants should also work above the tide line. Look for the high tide signs.

Participants are responsible for all materials brought to the beach. No glass is permitted, and all garbage and materials should be collected, stored, discarded, or removed from the beach by the end of the day. Contestants may not walk in the sand dunes or disturb the beach grass.

The festival is a family event. Any artwork that contains nudity, profanity, or other content deemed inappropriate by festival officials will be removed.

Judges or festival officials can disqualify artists for failure to adhere to any of the above guidelines.

Competition categories

Sand categories

Entries in the sandcastle, sculpture, and sand relief competitions must only contain sand. The use of color or binding agents other than water is prohibited, and use of natural objects (e.g., shells, driftwood, seaweed, etc.) is not permitted.

Sandcastles 

• Sculpt large-scale works resembling castle architecture

Sand relief

Relief is a hybrid between drawing and sculptures and these are physically shorter than sand sculptures.

• Must be less than three feet tall
• May be carved into the beach, modeled on top, or both
• May be representational, abstract, or nonrepresentational

Sand sculpture

• Must be at least three feet tall
• Should be sculpted fully in the round
• May be representational, abstract, or nonrepresentational.

Be sure to bring your shovel, buckets, carving tools (e.g., putty knife, trowel, spoon, etc.), and a cheap paint brush.

Air category

Contestants in this category may arrive with their work any time between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., Friday, May 6.

• May include kites, inflatable or flying sculptural forms, and kinetic, wind-powered objects
• Must be self-sufficient and sturdy (must not require the use of a generator or electronics for assistance)
• Human-powered projects that interact with the wind are acceptable

Sand Jam category

During the "Gesture Jam" on the beach, contestants will draw the events of the SCAD Sand Arts Festival in real-time. Judges are keeping their eyes out for expression of mark-making, sense of mass, and technical handling of media and movement.

• Bring drawing media (e.g., brush pens, markers, felt-tip pens, etc.) and a personal sketchbook for warmups.
• Pick up materials for your final piece at the check-in tent.
• Submit your best sketch and return clipboards to the Sand Jam tent by 2 p.m.

Subject matter and color palette are open. An exhibition of select entries will be held after the festival. For more information, contact Lisa Rundstrom at [email protected].

What to bring

• Picnic lunch and drinking water
• Sunscreen and a hat
• Bug spray
• Shovel
• Bucket
• Carving tools (i.e., putty knife, trowel, spoon, etc.)
• Cheap paint brush
• Pencil and a sketchbook (for Sand Jam)
• Phone to document work

Awards and prizes

Each registered individual or group is eligible to win no more than one award or prize. Only students and alumni who have registered to compete will be eligible to receive prize money. Participants must be present to collect the awarded prize and are required to fill out appropriate paperwork for the disbursement of prize money to individuals or teams.

Participants vie for the following overall awards:

• SCAD Spirit Award - $3,000
  Spring has spring, and this year's SCAD Spirit Award recognizes 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.
• SCAD Peace Award - $3,000
  Delight judges and spectators alike with a vision of harmony and joy. Artwork must incorporate well-known or universal symbols, imagery, and/or iconography of peace. Examples: doves, peace signs, an olive branch, paper cranes, etc.
• SCAD Love Award - $3,000
  Love always wins! Artwork must incorporate well-known or universal symbols, imagery, and/or iconography of love. Examples: hearts, Cupid, roses, swans, etc.
• SCAD Homage Award - $3,000
  Channel the ingenuity of the world's most bee-loved artists for a chance to win this award. Artwork must replicate a sculpture by a renowned artist (e.g., Michelangelo, Bernini, Picasso, etc.) using only materials approved for Sand Arts Festival entries.
• Best in Show Award: $1,200
  Participants vie for Best in Show, chosen by a special SCAD alum guest.
• SCAD Student Group: $1,000 
  Foundation studies students team up for a chance to win big. This award excludes Sand Jam designs.
• Class Project: $1,000
  All categories unite in the Class Project Award, where SCAD Bees (outside of foundation studies students) team up to compete for a cash prize. Eligible classes are chosen by the Sand Arts committee in advance. This award excludes Sand Jam designs.

Participants also compete for the following category-specific prizes. Winners of overall awards are not eligible to win these prizes.

Sandcastle

• Winner: $1,000
• Runner-up: $800

Sandrelief

• Winner: $1,000
• Runner-up: $800

Sand sculpture

• Winner: $1,000
• Runner-up: $800

Air

• Winner: $1,000
• Runner-up: $800

Sand jam

• Winner: $500
• Runner-up: $300

View a full list of contest rules and eligibility. For more information, contact Lisa Rundstrom at [email protected].

SCAD student participant check-in

Check-in for all student participants is at The Hive, 8–10 a.m. Transportation to Tybee Island is offered for all registered participants from The Hive until 10:30 a.m., or participants may drive themselves to the beach once they have checked in.

All registrants are required to bring their signed liability form to check-in where they will receive an entry wristband, make their team selections, and be assigned an area on the beach in their selected category.

Return transportation is available all day, with several buses arriving at 4 p.m. and the final bus leaving Tybee Island at 6 p.m.

For more information regarding check-in at The Hive, email [email protected].

Driving directions

• Follow U.S. Highway 80 East (Victory Boulevard) to Tybee Island.
• Drive approximately 17 miles from East Victory Boulevard and Abercorn Street to the turn at Butler Avenue on Tybee Island and continue south.
• Parking lots are located at the east end of 14th, 15th, and 16th Streets.
• Overflow parking is available at the metered spaces located on Highway 80 (Butler Avenue) and on the adjoining side streets.
• Once parked, head for the 15th Street ramp to the beach. The competition area is located between 14th Street and Atlantic Avenue, north of the pier.

Parking

For contestants

Students are strongly encouraged to use free SCAD buses or carpool due to limited parking on Tybee Island. You are required to pay for parking. Improper parking may result in your car being ticketed or towed.

For visitors

Visitors may use inexpensive metered parking on Highway 80 (Butler Avenue). Side street parking is allowed only in metered areas. Participants and spectators at the SCAD Sand Arts Festival should be always respectful of Tybee residents and their homes.

For more information, contact Lisa Rundstrom at [email protected].

Sand Arts Festival started as a foundation studies field trip in the early '90s. It soon became an annual signature SCAD event showcasing the sculpting talents of SCAD students, alumni, and staff. Take a look at these amazing creations from previous years.

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