Renowned Sand artist and sculptor of Odisha, Sudarsan Pattnaik, has become the first Indian to win the prestigious Fred Darrington Award for Excellence in Art and Culture at the SandWorld's International Sand Art Festival in Weymouth, Dorset, England

Sudarsan won the award for his 10-meter-tall sand sculpture of Lord Ganesha.

The annual Sandworld International Sand Art Festival was held in Weymouth in the southern English county of Dorset, from 5-9 April 2025.

Award for Sudarsan Pattnaik at Weymouth

Sudarsan Pattnaik was participating in the Sandworld International Sand Art Festival for the first time.

This year was also a special occasion as Weymouth was celebrating 100 years of sand sculpting in the area.

The sand sculpting in the area was started and pioneered by Fred Darrington a century ago.

Sudarsan Pattnaik was invited on the special occasion, and he sculpted a 10-meter-tall sand sculpture of Lord Ganesha, of peace, wisdom, and luck.

The award has been instituted in the memory of Fred Darrington.

The Fred Darrington Award for Excellence in Art and Culture was presented to Sudarsan Pattnaik by Weymouth mayor Cllr Jon Orrell in the presence of Mark Andersen, grandson of Fred Darrington and Director of Sandworld.

About Sudarsan Pattnaik

Sudarsan Pattnaik was born in the beach town of Puri in the state of Odisha in 1977.

Sudarsan Pattnaik, since childhood, was attracted to sand sculpting. He uses natural sand to create beautiful sculptures that convey a social message, like climate change, plastic pollution, or a symbol of peace, like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, etc

He has won numerous national and International awards.

Awards

He was honored with India's fourth-highest civilian award, Padma Shri, in 2014.

He won the 2024 Golden Sand Master Award in Saint Petersburg, Russia, for his 12-foot sculpture of Lord Jagannath.

His achievements include a 100-foot-long Santa Claus sculpture and the world’s largest sand sculpture of Lord Ganesha.