Artist Xavier Cortada launches his newest socially engaged art project, “HELLO,” ahead of the 26th Annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. Thousands of name tags to be distributed during the conference ask participants to define themselves not by their first names, but by their fears, hopes, purposes, futures, and elevations above sea level to spark conversations about the climate crisis’ impact on vulnerable communities around the world.

Despite the over four thousand mile distance between Miami and Glasgow, the University of Miami Department of Art and Art History Professor of Practice wants residents to get involved in the international conference. With Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava as the first participant during the launch of her Climate Action Strategy, “HELLO” will serve as a platform to elevate local voices and connect those on-site with the global community online. Through this process, Cortada urges world leaders to realize the weight of the decisions they will make during the conference and hopes we can reframe the way we see one another and our collective vulnerability, specifically to the risks associated with sea-level rise.