Competitive sculpting teams will create live art from towering blocks of ice and invite the public to try and imitate them at London's inaugural Ice Sculpting Festival this weekend (January 9 2009).

Taking the theme of Wildlife in the City in a timed competition, five award-winning international ice-carving squads will compete to mould sculptures from three-metre chunks of ice weighing more than two tonnes each at the National History Museum.

"When I first saw artists sculpting snow in the Swiss ski resort of Grindelwald, the imaginativeness and beauty of their work left me bursting with enthusiasm about bringing a similar event to London," explains founder Carol Cordrey, an art critic who has persuaded ice art specialists Ice Box, who have transported the raw materials from Belgium, to support her plan.

Ice Box are bringing their expertise to the festival

"London is the epicentre of the art world but, until now, it has not even been on the map of competitive ice sculpting. The Ice Box's expertise resolved the technical and large-scale ice block issues associated with our climate, and when the Natural History Museum gave the Festival their immediate support I knew we had all the right ingredients."

Professional sculpting teams will compete in an urban wildlife-themed competition.

Cordrey promises a "thrilling, magical art event", where visitors can use hand tools on small blocks of ice under the guidance of experts across the weekend. The winning team from the competition will be presented with a specially-commissioned, glass-blown trophy at the museum's ice rink on Sunday.

BACK TO NEWS MENU