The Underwater Homeowners Association is a participatory art effort created by Xavier Cortada to turn neighbors into climate-change advocates. Residents can join by painting partially submerged numbers on repurposed yard signs that announce how many feet above sea level their properties are, and planting them in their front yards. Community members convene every month to discuss the impending impacts of climate change and to work together to plan for an equitable transition into the future.
In his Comparative and International Education Society (vCIES) 2020 Conference keynote address, Xavier Cortada draws connections between the coronavirus pandemic and our future vulnerabilities due to the climate crisis.
In Public Housing: Xavier Cortada, Diatom Fountain, 2017. Cortada’s public art work addresses our relationship to place, to each other and the natural world. His practice engages audiences to explore our ability to better coexist with and care for nature.
CERN: Cortada’s five giant banners hang at the CMS experiment facility where the the Higgs boson was discovered. Replicas of works about the 5 search strategies scientists used to help confirm the Standard Model of Physics on tour at Kansas City’s Museum at Prariefire.
Addressing Sea Level Rise: Astrid is in Whatcom Museum’s permanent collection. 20 works from the Global Coastlines series will be shown at the UNTITLED, ART Fair’s “Futurescape Miami: Skyline to Shoreline” presented by the Facebook Art Department on Miami Beach from December 3rd – 8th.