Cortada commissioned to create Centennial Sculpture for Coral Gables Garden Club
Harvard commissions Cortada science-art banners
Xavier Cortada was commissioned by the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering & Applied Sciences to create a series of four banners — Air, Biota, Water, and Soil — for display in the school’s teaching laboratories. The artworks now hang in the academic spaces where future scientists and engineers train to solve complex global problems.
Blending scientific themes with environmental urgency, the banners reflect Cortada’s ongoing practice of using art to foster interdisciplinary dialogue. Designed to inspire reflection among emerging scientists, the pieces encourage a more creative, holistic approach to solving our planet’s most pressing challenges.
“Planting Pollinators” sculpture coming to Coral Gables
To celebrate its 100th anniversary, the Coral Gables Garden Club has commissioned Xavier Cortada to create Planting Pollinators, a permanent public art installation for the Butterfly Garden at the Coral Gables Library. The ceramic-tiled spherical sculpture draws inspiration from pollinators and the native flowers they help propagate.
Generously gifted to the City of Coral Gables, the piece was unanimously approved by the City Commission following a rigorous public review process. A QR code on-site will invite visitors to learn about the pollinators depicted and join the Flower Force, a participatory eco-art initiative encouraging residents to plant wildflowers and support local biodiversity.
The Ansin Foundation invests $50K in Cortada Foundation’s mission
The Cortada Foundation is honored to receive a $50,000 unrestricted donation from The Ansin Foundation “to address the cultural and environmental issues that face our community and our nation.” The Ansin Foundation is a private family foundation established in 1957 by the late Edmund Ansin, a television industry pioneer, with the mission of improving the lives of youth and families, primarily in South Florida and Boston.
This investment reflects their belief in the impact of our work at the intersection of art, community, and the environment. Their longstanding commitment to community leadership sets an example — one we hope others will follow.
Cortada featured in ARTSPEAK interview series
The online journal ARTSPEAK recently profiled Xavier Cortada in a feature highlighting his socially engaged art practice in 2025. The story includes video clips, interviews, and reflections that explore the evolution of Cortada’s work — from his participatory eco-art initiatives to his broader efforts to foster civic engagement through art.
‘The Underwater’ returns to Broward County Public Schools
In March, Broward County’s Resilient Environment Department and Cultural Division brought ‘The Underwater: Broward’ to a new set of schools, Gulfstream Academy of Hallandale Beach K–8 and Miramar High School — both sitting just 7 feet above sea level. Students at each school took part in interactive assemblies where they learned about sea level rise, discovered their home’s elevation, and created personalized Underwater yard signs to inspire awareness in their neighborhoods.
Each campus also unveiled a striking elevation mural hand-painted by artist Xavier Cortada, turning school walls into tools for climate literacy. Together, these students are helping build a more resilient South Florida — one sign, one mural, one conversation at a time.
Cortada leads national biodiversity workshop
On March 11, Xavier Cortada led a national webinar hosted by the Endangered Species Coalition, sharing how his socially engaged art practice mobilizes communities around species protection and environmental advocacy.
Publication highlights Cortada’s engaged work
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine spotlight Cortada’s collaboration with Broward County, showcasing how his participatory artwork is shaping climate resilience efforts across South Florida.
JOIN US!
LIVE@Frost Science | Xavier Cortada & Adam Roberti
In a time of rising seas, biodiversity loss, and increasing polarization, it can be easy to get lost in bad news. How can we inspire leadership, bring communities together, and create meaningful climate solutions?
Join Florida Artists Hall of Fame inductee Xavier Cortada and Cortada Foundation Executive Director Adam Roberti at the Frost Science Museum on Wednesday, April 9 at 7 P.M. for LIVE@Frost Science: Creative Solutions for a Planet in Crisis to hear an important perspective on these questions and more.
PUBLIC ART SPOTLIGHT
DIATOM FOUNTAIN
Located in Smathers Plaza in Little Havana, Diatom Fountain is a 16-foot ceramic and mosaic sculpture created by Xavier Cortada in 2017. Inspired by microscopic diatoms — organisms that generate much of the oxygen we breathe — the piece invites viewers to reflect on the unseen forces sustaining life on Earth.
THROWBACK
5 Years Ago
Miami Corona Project (2020)
On April 8, 2020, there had been 5,461 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Miami-Dade County, including 383 hospitalizations and 50 deaths. The community was just beginning to understand the scope of the crisis ahead. As fear, isolation, and uncertainty took hold, artist Xavier Cortada launched the Miami Corona Project to help the community mark time, process grief, and honor each life lost — not as statistics, but as neighbors.
Through daily handwritten posts, performances, online participation, and community dialogue, the project became a shared ritual of remembrance and resilience.
Five years later, we’re still asking hard questions about what was lost — and what remains. What we do now is the only thing that matters.
IMAGE ABOVE: Xavier Cortada, Honoring the Dead, 2020. (Video still from ritual performance on the shores of Key Biscayne.)