In 2004, Miami artist Xavier Cortada worked with Hands on Miami volunteers to metaphorically reforest the I-95 underpasses in downtown Miami, Little Havana and Allapattah neighborhoods.
Cortada’s images of mangrove seedlings were used by volunteers to paint dozens of columns beneath I-95 and create the Miami Mangrove Forest.
The drawings were initially exhibited at Miami Art Fairs: OMNIART I in December 2004 (right top) and OMNIART II in January 2005 (right).