INNOVATIVE WAY OF DIVING INT O AR T

TOURISTS and locals will be able to snorkel, scuba dive and even walk through a huge sculpture on the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Townsville by the end of next year.

The first stage of the Museum of Underwater Art – a 12m by 4m sculpture by renowned artist Jason deCaires Taylor – will be constructed on the John Brewer Reef in 2019.

Mr deCaires Taylor was in Townsville yesterday, where it was announced the contracts had officially been signed.

“The first one for the reef here is going to be quite architectural … and it will kind of be like a terrestrial setting transposed to an underwater environment,” he said.

“We’re looking to make it as accessible as possible, so there’ll be a variety of means – obviously you can scuba dive it, it will be fairly shallow to allow snorkellers to see it, but we’re also looking at other ways, we can maybe do some kind of walk through it.”

Mr deCaires Taylor is also creating a sculpture that is due to be positioned on The Strand in July 2019.

“I’ve spent the last year working on a number of designs for many different sites – for Palm Island, the reef, Magnetic Island – so we’ve sort of been going through all the different options and the aesthetics of it,” he said.

The project has received a $ 2 million State Government grant on top of $ 800,000 raised through corporate partnerships.

The museum’s board is seeking an additional $ 5 million for future stages.