Miami’s Underwater Art Park The Reefline Aims to Save Coral

by Sean Murphy

In Miami Beach, environmental activist Ximena Caminos launched The Reefline, an underwater art installation designed to restore coral reefs, after years of using art to advocate for ecological change.

Environmental activist Ximena Caminos talks about her underwater art installation, The Reefline, designed to restore coral reefs off Miami Beach.

Miami Beach is famous for its energy, diversity, and postcard-worthy coastline. But beneath the surface, a quiet transformation is underway.

For curator and environmental activist Ximena Caminos, art has never been just something to display — it has always been her way of pushing for progress.

“Art is my tool. I use this tool to create positive change,” she said.

Caminos spent years shaping exhibitions around issues she cared about, but eventually felt called to something bigger than the traditional art world. The next chapter of her work sits 700 feet off South Beach, where the ocean itself has become her gallery space.

“I decided that art wasn’t enough,” she said. “I wanted to use the arts as advocacy for the environmental crisis.”

That shift in purpose led to the creation of The Reefline, an underwater installation designed not only as public art, but as a living structure to aid coral recovery along the Florida coast.

The effort comes as Florida’s reefs face rapid decline. Roughly 70 percent of reef sites lose habitat annually, weakening one of the planet’s most essential ecosystems. Caminos joined forces with scientists to design a project that blends imagination with environmental repair.

“Basically, we merged art and ecology in an underwater sculpture park here in Miami Beach,” she said.

A major phase launched in October, when teams placed 22 car sculptures on the seafloor, giving damaged reefs new surfaces to grow on.

Researchers quickly began using the installation. Marine biologist Colin Ford, who works alongside Caminos, says the sculptures are built to hold coral fragments so they can flourish over time.

“We’re using these coral locks to attach the corals to the sculptures,” Ford said. “And every car has about 20 of these.”

What started as one curator’s vision has expanded into a city-backed initiative. More than 60 percent of Miami Beach voters supported funding through local taxes, pushing the project from concept to reality.

“This is the fulfillment of a dream that I’ve had for a long time,” she said. “To work with native corals, they have a very special place in my heart.”

Caminos hopes The Reefline becomes a spark for environmental awareness, showing how creative ideas can uplift natural ecosystems.

“What inspired me is to give back to nature what I think nature has given us so generously,” she said. “You need a spark to light a fire.”