"Share Your Voice" Through Cortada's Miami Corona Project
As part of the University of Miami’s COVID-19 Rapid Response effort, Xavier Cortada created the Miami Corona Project – an online socially engaged art platform serving to inspire, educate, and engage the public while providing a real-time record of the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on Miami-Dade County.
Participate: “Share Your Voice” here.
Image above: “Miami Pronouncements (March 26 – June 15, 2020): 826 Deaths in Miami-Dade,” by Xavier Cortada, 2020.
Artist captures the voices of the pandemic in real time
“It’s my way as a performative and gestural piece to pause and reflect for a moment about how many of our neighbors have died,” said Cortada. “And it’s also a way to inspire people to reframe the way they think. So, they take more accountability for their everyday actions, through wearing their masks, washing hands, and practicing social distancing. I’m asking you to please sacrifice a little today so that the pain that we’re going to endure as a society is lessened.”
Read full News@TheU article here.
Happy 124th Birthday, Miami!
Incorporation Palm
In 1896, three hundred and sixty eight men incorporated the City of Miami, elected its first leaders, and selected the Royal Palm as the symbol at the center of the city seal. In conceptualizing an art piece that marks the birthplace of the city, Cortada thought to bring the seal to life. In 2008, he designed “Incorporation Palm” as a living monument that honors not only those who brought the city to life, but those who work today to keep it growing.
Image above: “Incorporation Palm,” by Xavier Cortada, 2008.
Miami City Hall Murals
Fifteen years ago, during Miami’s 109th birthday celebration, the Mayor and City Commissioners unveiled two murals at the entrance of City Hall. Cortada stated that he created “First Encounter (1566)” and “The Incorporators (1896)” because he wanted “to educate residents about their city’s history and its multicultural origins. By learning about our past we can build a future filled with mutual respect and understanding.”
Images above: “First Encounter (1566),” left, and “The Incorporators (1896),” right, by Xavier Cortada, 2005.
Underwater HOA Meeting
Please join us for our upcoming virtual Underwater Homeowner’s Association meeting on August 5th at 7:00 pm where members will further discuss the Army Corps of Engineers Back Bay study.
Landolf Rhode-Barbarigos, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at UM’s College of Engineering, will serve as guest speaker.
Underwater HOA aims to generate awareness on rising sea levels, and engage Floridians to take action against climate change by providing a space where homeowners can address its impending impacts.
Register for the meeting to receive the access link.
Statewide Teacher Science Art Training
To advance Cortada’s science art practice, Cortada Projects partnered with the Florida Museum of Natural History‘s Thompson Earth Systems Institute Scientist in Every Florida School (SEFS) program.
Working to expand Cortada’s Plan(T) project to schools statewide, SEFS tapped Cortada Projects as one of eight science laboratories to train dozens of science teachers through an intensive week-long professional development workshop in mid-July.
On July 23rd, as part of the Everglades Foundation‘s 2020 Virtual Everglades Teacher Symposium, SEFS and Cortada Projects Director Adam Roberti showcased how to grow Cortada’s participatory eco-art projects beyond Miami-Dade County.
Xavier Cortada and all of us at Cortada Projects are committed to using the power of art to engage the community in learning about and addressing important ecological concerns including climate change, sea level rise, and biodiversity loss. Thank you for reading our July 2020 newsletter.
