Underwater art: an innovative gallery in Thetford Mines

Are you a diver in search of an original, out-of-the-ordinary dive? Do you enjoy art? Then you might want to go to Thetford Mines, Quebec, for a very innovative art gallery: the international Aquart festival. Every year, artists are challenged to make art for an underwater gallery, and you visit by putting on diving gear and swimming through the exhibit. All you need is a plane ticket, a travel insurance and your diving equipment, and you’re on to a new experience!


Photo: tourismeregionthetford.com

It happens every year, and only for the month of August, when hundreds of divers come in to practice not only their diving skills but also cultivate their taste in art. It is set in an old asbestos mine, which was flooded and turned into a diving lake. Some people had the idea to set works of art at the bottom, to attract divers who would otherwise be diving into sunken ships or other popular diving destinations.