Tottori Sand Museum | |
Native Name: | 砂の美術館 |
Cost: | ¥ 580 million |
Address: | 2083-17, Yuyama, Fukube-chō |
Location Town: | Tottori, Tottori Prefecture |
Location Country: | Japan |
Coordinates: | 35.5397°N 134.2381°W |
Opened Date: | 14 April 2012 |
The was opened on November 18, 2006, in Tottori, Japan, by the Tottori Sand Dunes, displaying sand sculptures in temporary facilities. On April 14, 2012, it reopened as the world's first permanent indoor exhibition space dedicated to sand art, exhibiting works by fifteen international sculptors.[1] [2]
The local tourism officer of the Tottori Sand Dunes, Shinji Tsutsui, was passionate about the Italian Renaissance, and invited the sand sculptor Katsuhiko Chaen to create a sand exhibit on that theme in 2006.[3]
The first exhibit took place in November 2006. The first exhibits took place in a tent. In 2012, a permanent 21,000-square building became the home of the exhibit.[4]
The museum won the 2021 Trip Advisors choice award for places to visit.[5]
Each yearly exhibit starts in April and lasts until January of the following year. The sand sculptures are then deliberately destroyed and a new exhibit is prepared from January to April. The sand sculptor Katsuhiko Chaen is the chief sculptor. Despite the museum's proximity to the sand dunes, that sand cannot be used because the sand dunes are part of a protected national park. The sand came from a road building project. Only sand and water is used to create the sculptures.
2006 | Italian Renaissance | |||
2012 | United Kingdom | Olympics- and London-themed sand sculpture to celebrate the 2012 Summer Olympics. | ||
2020 | Czech Republic and Slovakia | 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Czechoslovakia. 3,000 tons of sand were used by 17 sculptors. | [6] |