Sand art exhibition opens at Brevard Zoo

American+Alligators+sunbathing+in+the+Wild+Florida+section+of+Brevard+Zoo.+

Nick Orletsky

American Alligators sunbathing in the Wild Florida section of Brevard Zoo.

The Brevard Zoo is coming back with a sand art exhibition of sea life after eight years since the last display. 

The exhibition, titled “Life Beneath Our Sea,” opened Wednesday, and will continue to be displayed until April 30. It is located on the trail in the Wild Florida section of the zoo, and access is included with zoo admission. 

“The last time we did an art exhibition was with the Brevard Cultural Alliance, called Art of Sand, in 2013,” Marketing and Communications Director Andrea Hill said. “So our focus is the sea life in our backyard, which would be our oceans, the Indian River Lagoon and St. Johns River.”

The new exhibition incorporates artists from throughout the United States, and from countries such as the Netherlands and Canada.

“We had seven artists, some international, that came in to put [the sculptures] together,” Hill said. “It’s 12 installations, some of them ranging in size from 4 by 6 feet upwards to 12 by 18 feet. These are amazing, beautiful and intricate sand sculptures.” 

Viewer will not be required to follow specific COVID-19 safety measures. 

“The exhibition is all outdoors, so we do not require people to wear masks when visiting, since we are an outdoor space,” Hill said. “However, we do recommend that if you’re not fully vaccinated that you have a mask with you.” 

Senior Violet Chace said she plans to volunteer at the event during the weekend.

“I haven’t heard of this being done before, so I’m really excited to see something new,” Chace said. “I’m actually excited to go in blind and see what’s going on. I’m hoping that they’re going to be grander than something you would see at a smaller art gallery because there is a lot of space. Hopefully, there will be an alligator or some of the other wildlife that should be here, that way it’s representative of our community.” 

By Abigail Wang