Snorkel or dive your way around the Southern Hemisphere’s first underwater art museum.
While “normal” is still a long way off, there’s no harm in dreaming about what we’ll be doing in a post-COVID world. From music festivals to overseas travel, there’s plenty of stuff to add to our bucket life. And if you’re looking for some post-Corona travel inspiration, you’ve come to the right place.
Located offshore in Queensland’s Townsville is the Museum of Underwater Art (MOUA), the first underwater gallery of its kind to open in the Southern Hemisphere. The site is much more than just a unique gallery space, offering a platform to highlight the need for reef conservation, restoration and education at a global scale.
At MOUA, expect to see art that celebrates the stories of the reef and the culture of its First Nations people. These underwater sculptures have been designed and created by world-famous underwater artist Jason deCaires Taylor, with two installations already in place: Ocean Siren (located 30 metres offshore at The Strand Jetty) and Coral Greenhouse.
And in exciting news for Australians, MOUA has just opened to the public with underwater tours now available for recreational divers and snorkelers. From August 1st, the Coral Greenhouse exhibition can be explored with tours run by Adrenalin Dive Townsville and Pro Dive Magnetic Island. Get ready to dip below the surface with guided underwater tours to help you spot and admire these submerged artworks.
The Coral Greenhouse exhibition boasts over 20 sculptures, created using a combination of stainless steel neutral marine-grade cement and zinc anodes. This inspiring exhibition has been crafted to resemble an underwater greenhouse. Plus with two more sculpture sites set to be created in Palm Island and Magnetic Island, there’s set to be lots of reasons to check out MOUA once borders and interstate travel reopens in Australia.
The Museum of Underwater Art is now open in Townsville, Queensland. To find out more click here and to book a tour visit Adrenalin Dive’s website here and Pro Dive Magnetic’s website here.
By Lucinda Starr (Eat Drink and.Play)