Oxo Gallery to Host Free Five Day Sand Mandala Installation to Spotlight Buddhist Film Festival

Oxo Gallery to Host Live 5-Day Sand Mandala Installation to Spotlight Buddhist Film Festival

London, UK – The Buddhist Film Festival will present a live five-day sand mandala installation in the Oxo Gallery at the Oxo Tower in London from Wednesday 17^th June. Presented as a collaboration between the Pure Land Foundation and Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Tibetan monks will construct an intricate work of sacred geometry over five days, before ritually destroying it in a ceremonial dissolution on Sunday 21^st June.

The free-to-access installation hopes to spotlight the Buddhist Film Festival through a powerful live expression of the contemplative ideas that are explored across the festival programme.

The Buddhist Film Festival is a curated programme of short and feature-length works engaging with themes drawn from Buddhist philosophy. The festival’s main programme brings together established filmmakers and distinctive cinematic voices from around the world, whilst its online fringe festival provides a platform for emerging and up-and-coming filmmakers whose work explores Buddhist thought, contemplative practice and cross-cultural dialogue in new ways.

Sand mandalas are traditionally constructed as acts of focused meditation, with their intricate geometry emerging through sustained attention and care. Visitors to the Oxo Gallery can witness the centuries-old tradition as the monks work with finely coloured sand to build the sand mandala gradually by hand. The final ritual destruction of the mandala is integral, embodying the Buddhist teaching of impermanence and the transient nature of all things.

The Buddhist Film Festival occupies a distinctive space within the global film landscape, prioritising philosophical depth, accessibility and cross-cultural exchange. The festival is a platform for cultural dialogue between disciplines, geographies and perspectives, while supporting filmmakers working at the intersection of cinema and contemplative thought.

Buddhist Film Festival screenings will be available online over a two-week period from 16th June, in the most expansive and internationally accessible edition of the festival to date. Visitors to the Oxo Gallery can also access an exclusive code to watch all of the film festival films for free.

Bruno Wang, Co-Curator of the Buddhist Film Festival and founder of the Pure Land Foundation, said:

“The sand mandala is a beautiful reminder that value does not come from permanence. For five days, visitors will watch something extraordinary emerge through patience, attention and care, only for it to disappear again. In a world increasingly dominated by speed and distraction, there is something profoundly important about creating space for reflection. The Buddhist Film Festival exists for much the same reason. Through film, conversation and shared experience, it invites us to pause, look more deeply at ourselves and one another, and reflect on the qualities that ultimately shape our lives and communities.”

Further information is available at: https://www.instagram.com/thepurelandfoundation/

Readers can learn more about sand mandalas in this video: https://youtu.be/Iaf-spav3k0?si=vd_zL_5BryqirXHM

About the Pure Land Foundation

Pure Land Foundation supports initiatives that promote social, spiritual and emotional wellness.Founded by philanthropist Bruno Wang, the foundation champions projects that inspire compassion, foster cultural exchange and cultivate deeper awareness of humanity’s shared values.

About Tricycle: The Buddhist Review

Founded in 1991, Tricycle: The Buddhist Review is a leading independent Buddhist publication and foundation dedicated to making Buddhist teachings and practices broadly available. Through its quarterly magazine, online platform and events, Tricycle fosters dialogue across Buddhist traditions and engages contemporary issues through a Buddhist lens.

About Oxo Gallery

Oxo Gallery sits within Oxo Tower Wharf, a landmark destination on London’s South Bank known for its independent spirit and creative energy. Set along the riverside, it brings together designer-makers, galleries, shops and cafés in one of London’s most visited cultural neighbourhoods.

The building is owned and managed by Coin Street Community Builders, a social enterprise that has transformed this stretch of the South Bank into a thriving, inclusive place to live, work and connect. Coin Street Community Builders has spent over 40 years transforming the South Bank into a place where community, culture and creativity thrive side by side.

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