Sand sculptor Sudarsan Pattnaik has won the first ever Fred Darrington award for excellence in art and culture for his 10-feet high sand sculpture of Lord Ganesha, which will be showcased in Dorset, in south-west England, until Nov.

• The award was launched at SandWorld on Saturday(5 April) to mark 100 years since legendary sand sculptor Darrington first started making artistic sand sculptures on the Weymouth beach in 1925.
• Pattnaik, a Padma Shri award winner, is also the first Indian sculptor to exhibit at Sandworld, an annual international sand art festival that takes place in Weymouth, Dorset, where sand artists from across the world showcase their sculptures.
• The Lord Ganesha sculptor has the message ‘World Peace' on its plinth.
• Pattnaik was handed a gold medal containing a caricature of Darrington and a glass wave containing sand from his own sculpture. Pattnaik dedicated the award to his fans and hoped many people would come to see the Ganesha sculpture.