The Underwater Museum of Art is the first permanent underwater sculpture garden in the U.S. Located in the Gulf of Mexico, off of Walton County, Florida. The museum lies at a depth of 58-feet and 1 mile from the shore of Grayton Beach State Park. Each year, a juried selection of sculptural works from artists throughout the world is installed. The sculptures quickly attract a wide variety of marine life and, over time, metamorphize into a living reef. This eco-tourism attraction entices art lovers and divers from around the country and provides a habitat for local marine life and fisheries as well as providing scientists with an opportunity to study marine life and measure the impact of artificial reef systems on the Gulf ecosystem.
Divers who wish to visit the site can take a dive boat off the coast of Grayton Beach State Park. The coordinates for the center sculpture (SWARA Skull) are Latitude N30 18 45.262 Longitude W086 09 33.722.
In addition to providing a site for SCUBA diving that will be unique to the world, the sculptures are designed and selected with their suitability as marine habitat in mind, so even in the absence of SCUBA divers, the Underwater Museum of Art is certain to have many visitors, including schools of baitfish, grouper, sea turtles and dolphins!
Annually variety of works are selected from both local, regional and national artists for deployment. Those who explore the museum will find sculptures ranging from an 8-foot tall deer and a giant pineapple to a massive skull and an octopus.