Xavier Cortada (born 1964 in Albany, New York) is a Cuban-American painter residing in Miami, Florida. His work has been exhibited in museums, galleries and cultural venues across the Americas, Europe, and Africa.
Cortada has created art installations in the Earth's poles to generate awareness about global climate change: In 2007, the artist used the moving ice sheet beneath the South Pole as an instrument to mark time; the art piece will be completed in 150,000 years. In 2008, he planted a green flag at North Pole to reclaim it for nature and in so doing launch a global reforestation eco-art effort.
Cortada has also developed participatory art projects to engage communities in local action at points in between. In Florida, he has worked with scientists, arborists and environmental managers to develop eco-art projects that engage community residents in bioremediation: coastal reforestation initiatives in Miami (Miami Science Museum, 2007), an urban reforestation campaign in St. Petersburg (Florida Botanical Gardens, 2009), and coral reef preservation efforts in Hawaii (Bishop Museum, 2010).
Cortada has also worked with groups internationally to produce numerous art projects and installations, including environmental works in Holland (2009), Quebec (2009) and Latvia (2008), peace murals in Cyprus (2000) and Northern Ireland (2000), child welfare murals in Bolivia (1997) and Panama (1999), and the official International AIDS Conference murals in Geneva (1998) and South Africa (2000).
The Miami artist has also been commissioned to create art for the White House (2002), the World Bank (2003), the Florida Supreme Court, and the Museum of Florida History (2003), the Miami Art Museum (2001),the Miami Children’s Museum (2004], the Miami Science Museum (2007) and the Frost Art Museum (2008). In Miami, Cortada’s work hangs in City Hall (2005), Miami-Dade County Hall (2004), inside the Drug Court and on the facade of the Juvenile Courthouse (1999).
Cortada holds three degrees from the University of Miami—a Bachelor of Arts, Master of Public Administration and Juris Doctor. The artist's work and writings are preserved in the Xavier Cortada Collection of the University of Miami Libraries Cuban Heritage Collection. He has been honored in the Congressional Record and with "Xavier Cortada Day" proclamations by the City of Miami, Miami Beach, and Miami-Dade County. Corporations such as General Mills, Nike, Heineken and Hershey's have commissioned Cortada’s art. Publishers like McDougal and Random House have featured it in school textbooks and publications. His work has also been featured in National Geographic TV and the Discovery Channel.
Cortada has received awards for his volunteer work, including the "Millennium International Volunteer Award" from the United States Department of State/USA Today (for his work in Spain, Portugal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Mauritius, Kenya Tanzania, Colombia, Bolivia, Honduras and Guatemala) and the Florida International Volunteer Corps 1999 "Outstanding Achievement Award" (for his work in Costa Rica and Panama).
In February 2000, Cortada was invited by the Holy See to participate in the Vatican’s "Jubilee Day for Artists" and met Pope John Paul II. In 2004, Mr. Cortada, a former altar boy, announced that he would no longer attend Mass until the Catholic Church changed its position on homosexuality, since he felt he could no longer attend a church that discriminated against him.[1]
Cortada has worked with groups across the world to produce numerous large-scale murals and community art projects. In 2006, he received the "National Champion for Children Award" from the Child Welfare League of America.
In 2007, as a recipient of the National Science Foundation Antarctic Artists and Writers Program, he created site-specific installations at the South Pole.[2]