Xavier Cortada’s Reclamation Project opens at the Bass Museum of Art with a reception on Earth Day, April 22nd, 2006 from 3 to 5 pm.
Cortada’s exhibit will include an installation of 252 red mangrove seedlings (in clear, water-filled cups) lined up on a glass wall in the western portion of the museum and two continuous-loop videos: “18-mile” and “Reclamation.” To see images of the installation, please click here.
The exhibit runs through May 17th, 2006. At the conclusion of the exhibit, the artist will plant the 252 seedlings in the Bear Cut Preserve on Key Biscayne. These seedlings had previously been used by the artist in installations for OMNIART during Art Basel 2004, Art Miami 2005, and Art Basel 2005.
The installation by Xavier Cortada at the Bass Museum of Art during April – May 2006 served to launch a public environmental art projects the artist is organizing for during November 2006 – January 2007.
A pre-Art Basel reception for the project volunteers is scheduled for December 5th, 2006 from 8p to midnight at Bill Baggs State Park in Key Biscayne, featuring Full Moon tours of the Cape Florida Lighthouse.
Installation on South Beach:
Thousands of red mangrove seedlings (in clear, water-filled cups) will be hung in retail and commercial spaces along the business corridors of South Beach (Miami Beach), Florida.
During October 2006, about 2500 mangrove seedlings will be collected by Miami -Dade Department of Environmental and Resources Management (DERM) from Miami Dade County locations where they would otherwise perish.
During October 28- December 3, 2006, these 2500 seedlings will be distributed to retail and commercial spaces in South Beach, asking owners to exhibit the mangrove seedling (inside clear water-filled cups) in a prominent location inside their locale through January 15, 2006.
Seedling exhibitors will be asked to return the seedlings on Jan 16, 2006 so that they can be planted at the end of January on Biscayne Bay (as part of the Reforestation Project– see below).
Alternatively, seedling holders will have the option to plant the seedling in their own home (or in a specified mangrove forest), or return the seedling to a designated environmental group (e.g., Citizens for a Better South Florida) for later planting.
The Reforestation on Biscayne Bay:
Working under the guidance of DERM reforestation experts, hundreds of volunteers will plant thousands of red mangrove seedlings in southern Biscayne Bay areas where mangrove forests once thrived. The tentative date for the reforestation in sometime at the end of January 2007. A smaller scale planting effort is set for December 17, 2006 at 10 am on Key Biscayne.
(Due to man-made barriers, there are no suitable Miami Beach locations for red mangrove reforestation in 2006. The Reclamation team is working with the City of Miami Beach to prepare the shore of Pine Tree Park so that the project’s reforestation in January 2008 occurs there).
The Reclamation Project is sponsored by Citizens for a Better South Florida, the Department of Environmental Resources Management (DERM), the City of Miami Beach, the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve/State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Miami-Dade County Environmental Coalition of Miami Beach (ECOMB) and Friends of Cape Florida.