FIU College of Architecture + The Arts Artist-in-Residence Xavier Cortada will deliver a presentation to students enrolled in FIU’s Artistic Expression course. The 225 students will be invited to participate in FLOR500 and plant a garden dedicated to one of 500 people who helped shape Florida’s future.

FIU College of Architecture + The Arts Artist-in-Residence Xavier Cortada will deliver a presentation to students enrolled in FIU’s Artistic Expression course.  The students will be invited to participate in FLOR500 and plant a garden dedicated to one of 500 people who helped shape Florida’s future.

After planting their garden, participants will upload the following to the www.FLOR500.com:  a 250-word essay, a portrait of the person they have been assigned, pictures documenting the planting of the garden, a picture of the art object or sign describing the dedication.

OVERVIEW:

For this project you will be part of statewide participatory art project that will involve researching information and images of an “important Floridian,” planting a public garden dedicated to that person, and then posting to a Blog about that person and the garden you have created.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PARTICIPATING STUDENTS:

PROJECT STEP 1 – RESEARCH:

To begin the project, find the “Important Floridian” that you have been assigned in the FLOR500 Assignment Folder on Blackboard. Click the link by your name to your assigned page on the FLOR500 website to find the person you have been assigned and a small amount of information about the person.

• Research this person to find out more about her or him.
• Either find or make an image of the person that can be uploaded to the FLOR500 website. The image must have an accompanying credit line with any copyright information.

PROJECT STEP 2 – PLANT A GARDEN:

Based on your research, decide on a location to plant a public garden in honor of the person, then using the seeds provided in class, plant the garden! The garden should be in a location that is publicly accessible—but make sure you get permission to plant it!

Guidelines for planting the seeds:

• Have permission!
• Bring at least 1 or 2 people to help plant and document the planting.
• Write a 250-­‐word essay explaining why you are dedicating the garden to this “Important Floridian” in this place. Share this essay with the people who help you plant so they know about the person the garden is dedicated to!
• Post a sign, art object, link to web page you create, or use some other method to help people who see the garden know more about the person it is dedicated to, and the reason for the dedication as you describe it in your essay.

PROJECT STEP 3 – POST TO THE FLOR500 BLOG (On APRIL 22^ND  or before)

You will upload the following to the FLOR500 BLOG:

• Your essay – use a 12 point Helvetica font so the blog stays consistent
• A portrait of the person you have been assigned (with creditline)
• Pictures documenting the planting of the garden
• A picture of the art object or sign describing the dedication
• Make sure all your images are correctly oriented and not sideways before you upload them
• Your email address – this will not be posted but helps us contact you if something goes wrong