Museum of Underwater Art

The Museum of Underwater Art (MOUA) is a collection of art works placed underwater near Townsville, Australia. The art is only accessible to divers with scuba equipment. It is the only underwater art museum in the Southern Hemisphere. The first three sculptures were made by British sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor.  The museum opened in 2020.

 Operation 

The museum is managed by MOUA Ltd. The Chairman of the MOUA Board is Paul Victory and the Deputy Chair is Dr. Adam Smith.

Money for MOUA has been provided by the Queensland and Australian government and local businesses. MOUA has several permits for facilities and moorings. Each year they have to survey the infrastructure, marine life, social, coral propagation, and marine debris. Reef Ecologic and MOUA started a citizen science iNaturalist project of naturalists, citizen scientists, and biologists taking photos and sharing their information of biodiversity of marine species at John Brewer Reef. As of April 2024 they have made 4572 observations. This has seen 542 species, the most common being the Sixband parrotfish. A scientific paper reported significant increase in the amount and types of fish. There were no changes in the numbers or types of invertebrates. 

The MOUA held an exhibition called Ocean Sentinels above water at Museum of Tropical Queensland in 2022. This included eight sculptures of scientists, conservationists, and Indigenous people. In May 2023, the Ocean Sentinels were put underwater as a snorkel trail at John Brewer Reef.  They had planned to put it near Magnetic Island but it was relocated after protests from people concerned with it being in a marine park green zone.

 Sculptures 

The MOUA has installed three underwater sculptures:

 The Ocean Siren, on the Strand Townsville, was created by Jason deCaires Taylor and placed in December 2019. It is made from stainless steel and fiberglass It is 4m high and illuminated. The Ocean Siren was modelled on Takoda Johnson, a young indigenous girl from the Wulgurukaba tribe. It reacts to live water temperature data from the Australian Institute of Marine Science Davies Reef weather station on the Great Barrier Reef and changes color depending on the water temperature.
 The Coral Greenhouse at John Brewer Reef was created by Jason deCaires Taylor and placed in December 2019. It is made from stainless steel and concrete. It is  tall and weighs . It is the world's largest underwater art structure.
 The Ocean Sentinels is a series of eight sculptures by Jason deCaires Taylor. They are modelled on marine scientists and conservationists and are a blend of human figures and natural marine forms.

The sculptures are expected to be colonized by marine life. The Coral Greenhouse installation is suitable for Open Water Divers and above.

 Recognition 

In 2022, The Coral Greenhouse was one of the top 20 tourism destinations in Australia.

In 2022, The Coral Greenhouse was awarded silver in The Australian Street Art Awards.

 References 

Other websites 

Category:Museums in Australia
Category:2020s establishments in Australia
Category:Reefs
Category:Queensland