The Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County (CAA) and South Walton Artificial Reef Association (SWARA) will reveal seven new sculpture designs chosen by jury for permanent exhibition in the fifth installation of the Underwater Museum of Art (UMA).
The 2023 installation will include Quantum Reef by Chris Chubb (Tallahassee), Space Nest by Frank Henderson (Evanston, Ill.), Welcome Home by Zachery Long (Oklahoma City), Madam Nature by Andrew Luy (Huntsville, Ala.), Cetacean Remains by Pat Mclain (Stone Mountain, Ga.), One Tree by Ann Moeller Steverson (Huntsville, Ala.) and Opus by Allison Wickey (Santa Rosa Beach).
Named in 2018 by TIME Magazine as one of 100 “World’s Greatest Places,” the UMA is presented as part of CAA’s Art In Public Spaces Program and augments SWARA’s mission of creating marine habitat and expanding fishery populations while providing enhanced creative, cultural, economic and educational opportunities for the benefit, education and enjoyment of residents, students and visitors in Walton County.
UMA sculptures are deployed with SWARA’s existing USACOA and FDEP permitted artificial reef projects that includes nine nearshore reefs located within one nautical mile of the shore in approximately 58 feet of water. The 2023 installation will join the 34 sculptures previously deployed on a one-acre permit patch of seabed off Grayton Beach State Park, further expanding the nation’s first permanent underwater museum.
Deployment of the 2023 UMA installation is slated for summer. Visit UMAFL.org for more information on the timeline and events surrounding UMA’s launch. Project and sculpture sponsorships are available. Please contact Gabby Callaway at gabby@culturalartsalliance.com for sponsorship details.
