The Bahamas Reef Environment Education Foundation (BREEF) announced this week it has commenced the design of artwork for their Sir Nicholas Nuttall Coral Reef Sculpture Garden that will be installed in the near-shore waters of western New Providence.
BREEF’s Sir Nicholas Nuttall Coral Reef Sculpture Garden, the brainchild of Bahamian award winning artist, Wilicey Tynes will feature the work of the creator of the world’s first underwater sculpture park and world renowned sculptor – Jason deCaires Taylor, Bahamian artist Andret John and Tynes with the assistance of the international environmental non-profit – Reef Ball Foundation.
“The coral reef sculpture garden can become a new environmental friendly tourist and local attraction for the Bahamas once completed,” said BREEF executive director Casuarina McKinney-Lambert. “The Coral Reef Sculpture Garden is the perfect fusion of art, education and marine conservation located in the world’s most beautiful waters. By installing the eco-friendly artwork, beach-goers and snorkelers can now be redirected from natural reefs which will allow time for regeneration.”
“The seabed west of Clifton Heritage Park has been ear-marked for protection and management and was the optimal choice to install the Coral Reef Sculpture Garden as we wanted to pay homage to the role this area has played in the history and development of Bahamian culture and eceonomy,” noted BREEF co-chair Lady Eugenie Nuttall.
“BREEF’s Sir Nicholas Nuttall Coral Reef Sculpture Garden, the first of its kind in The Bahamas is a continuation of BREEF’s commitment to using proactive, solutions-based approaches to address marine conservation and similar projects around the world have sparked the interest of eco-tourists,” added McKinney- Lambert. She continued, “As climate change, pollution, overfishing and coastal development threaten coral reef regeneration, we felt it was imperative that our sculpture garden was brought to fruition.”
BREEF was founded in 1993 by the late Sir Nicholas Nuttall to focus on the education of Bahamian teachers about the environment and to address growing concerns on the state of the Bahamas’ marine environment.
BREEF keeps the public updated on their educational outreach programs, environmental conservation steps and local and international partnerships at https://www.facebook.com/breef
Captions: (top) Meeting of the minds: (L-R) Bahamian artists Andret John and Wilicey Tynes, BREEF co-chair Lady Eugenie Nuttall, BREEF executive director Casuarina McKinney-Lambert, internationally renowned artist Jason deCaires Taylor and Luis Guerra Bagaria at a recent Coral Reef Garden Sculpture meeting held in Nassau, Bahamas. (Photo by Marcia Musgrove).
Atlas – A rendition of Atlas the proposed 18ft high and over 60 ton coral reef sculpture to be featured in BREEF’s Sir Nicholas Nuttall Coral Reef Sculpture Garden of the western coast of New Providence, Bahamas.
