Grenada's Underwater Bench

The latest addition to Grenada’s Underwater Sculpture Park allows divers to literally sit back and relax while enjoying the park's other artwork. Established in 2006, the sculpture gallery at Molinere Bay has thrilled visitors from around the world and generated huge amounts of tourism revenue for Grenada.

The new installation, more than a little tongue in cheek in spirit, is quite simply an underwater bench. The bench is located 15 feet under the water’s surface in the vicinity of Jason De Caires Taylor’s iconic sculpture "Vicissitudes" (more locally referred to as the "Ring of Children"). The bench invites divers to quite literally relax while you dive. The piece presents an unusual opportunity to take a seat and some time out, breathe a few bubbles and reflect on the underwater art installation. In addition, the bench is already proving to be a popular site for a photograph. Divers are thrilled to be able to capture their visit to one of Grenada’s best known attractions.

The bench was constructed from a design generously created by Grenadian architect Bryan Bullen of the Caribbean Office of Co-operative Architecture (COCOA). This project was jointly sponsored by Mr Lawrence Lambert CBE and Phil Saye, Director of Dive Grenada who runs Grenada’s Ultimate Dive Resort and General Manager of The Flamboyant Hotel and Villas who came up with the idea.

Mr. Saye stated, “I wanted to create something that would be unusual and capture the imagination of underwater photographers, but also fit with the concept of the Underwater Sculpture Park. The images taken on the bench will be fantastic marketing for Grenada as a whole as they are posted on Facebook and other social media”.

Over the past two years, the Park’s development has been largely orchestrated by a volunteer group whose focus has been to ensure its continued ability to promote the Park as a prime tourist attraction. Through their efforts and the generosity of private sponsors, several additional new sculptures by local artists have been placed in the Park. This latest successful collaboration between members of the local business community reflects a positive initiative from the private sector in Grenada to support the ongoing development of the Underwater Sculpture Park.