Xavier Cortada is an artist, Professor of Practice at the University of Miami Department of Art and Art History, and Artist-in-Residence at Pinecrest Gardens, where his studio, gallery, and socially engaged art practice are based. Using art’s elasticity to engage others, Cortada educates and inspires community members to work and learn together to solve our community’s problems.

Over the course of the CIES 2024 Conference – in its online and onsite forms – Xavier will engage conference participants in the conference theme: The Power of Protest. As Xavier says: “The  crux of my work finds itself rooted in a deep conceptual engagement with  participants”.

The work Cortada develops is intended to generate awareness and action towards the big issues of the day, that include global climate change and social justice. Xavier has created art installations at the North and South Poles to address environmental concerns. He has also been commissioned to create art for CERN, the White House, the World Bank, Florida Botanical Gardens, Miami City Hall, Miami-Dade County Hall, the Florida Turnpike, Miami-Dade Housing Authority, the Frost Science Museum, Museum of Florida History, and the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum.

At the CIES 2024 Conference, Xavier will open with Dialogues I  in the online space on the 7th March and discuss the link between art, education and social justice. Xavier will then present his overall programme for the onsite CIES 2024 conference  (10th-14th March), with invitations as to how to participate in a series of actions and actions that also contribute to the making of a mural. Look for Xavier working in the hotel lobby.

Throughout the conference, attendees will also have the opportunity to engage in the Artist’s participatory performances that aim to lengthen our collective care horizon, promote meaningful dialogue, and foster a sense of interconnectedness. These include HELLO, and A Longitudinal Installation.

HELLO aims to reframe the way we see one another and our collective vulnerability, notably to the risks associated with climate change and sea level rise. Rather than using a traditional name tag, participants are challenged to instead identify themselves with qualifiers such as their personal elevations, hopes, and fears.

A Longitudinal Installation presents the issues of climate change through the lens of a global community. In the original ritualistic installation at the South Pole, the Artist recited the quotes of 24 different people across 24 time zones who had been personally impacted by climate change. Participants join the global conversation by thinking about how climate change has affected their lives and communities, proceeding to contribute a 25th quote of their own.

There will be three Walking Tours –one each day around mid-afternoon – where Xavier Cortada will lead walks to three local historic sites where he will engage participants in conversations around relevant topics: ‘Miami Circle’ (indigenous archeological site) to learn about natural and human history of Biscayne Bay; the Torch of Friendship (beacon to refugees) to learn about free speech & protest, in Miami; and the Incorporation Palm (City of Miami birthplace) to learn about race, immigration and community.

Places for each Walking Tour are limited to 25 participants maximum,  for a small fee of  $15.00 per person per walk. Sign up online or at the Registration Desk for a place, and you will be given information on the meeting place in the Hotel Lobby.