Dive Into Art: Coral Creations Featured Exhibit opens Wednesday, January 17th at the History of Diving Museum, followed by Immerse Yourself Presentation – Mission: Iconic Reefs

The History of Diving Museum, in collaboration with the Art Guild of the Purple Isles and Monroe County School District, hosts a new limited-time Featured Exhibit Dive Into Art: Coral Creations. This year’s theme is inspired by the Jerry Garcia Foundation and will be open through April 17th.
 
For the sixth annual Dive Into Art installation, students from Key Largo to Key West are participating, along with skilled members of the Art Guild. All are united with a theme of inspiring coral conservation. Educational interpretive from local coral restoration practitioners will inform visitors about the reefs of the Florida Keys, programs to rebuild and protect them, and ways everyone can help and participate.
 
Jerry Garcia was the iconic lead guitarist of the band Grateful Dead; however, his creative talents began long before that. He was an artist from childhood who was painting in oils by the age of seventeen and thought of himself as “an artist who played music.” He also stated, “A line on paper is like a note in the air, and once a mark is made, it can no more be erased than a note, once sounded, can be taken back.”

Jerry also had a love of the ocean. In the late 1980s, Jerry became a certified diver and logged over 300 dives with Jack’s Diving Locker in Hawaii. He was so impressed with the Kona diving that he testified at the 1986 Hawaii state hearing in support of a mooring buoy project to protect the reef system. Hawaii approved the project, and to this day Jack’s Diving Locker monitors over 90 buoys along the Kona coast. Pulling these two passions together, the Jerry Garcia Foundation has graciously helped support Dive Into Art through donations of limited edition museum quality giclee prints of Jerry’s art. Each piece is signed by his wife and daughter, Manasha and Keelin, and available for purchase at the History of Diving Museum. All proceeds support the featured exhibit and educational outreach.
Dive Into Art: Coral Creations will launch on Wednesday, January 17th with a preview reception starting at 5:30pm, followed by the 7:00pm Immerse Yourself presentation Empowering Divers and Snorkelers to Support Coral Restoration with Madeline Cholnoky and JD Reinbott, NOAA Mission Iconic Reefs Stewardship Manager and Coordinator.

If you are interested in attending the preview or Immerse Yourself lecture in-person, reserve your space today by calling the Museum at (305) 664-9737 or emailing the Community Outreach team at [email protected]. For those unable to attend the Immerse Yourself in-person, visit our website for a virtual Zoom link at DivingMuseum.org. This session will also be recorded and posted to the HDM YouTube channel.   
 
The History of Diving Museum would like to thank the Art Guild of the Purple Isles artists and volunteers for dedicating over 300 hours to develop the project and assist teachers in addition to helping HDM with installation of the exhibit. Dive Into Art: Coral Creations was made possible and sponsored in part by the State of Florida through the Division of Arts and Culture and the National Endowment for the Arts, Monroe County Tourist Development Council, Florida Keys Council of the Arts, Jerry Garcia Foundation, Ocean Reef Conservation Association, Wildlife & Land Preservation, and generous donors on Giving Tuesday. 
 
The History of Diving Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit located in Islamorada (MM83). Divers and non-divers alike are amazed by over 4,000 years of “the quest to explore under the sea.” The Museum is open daily from 10AM-5PM and hosts over 14 core exhibits plus two limited-time Featured Exhibits, as well as a Museum Store with unique gifts. Check out DivingMuseum.org for more details, to become a member or shop online.