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CLIMA by Xavier Cortada Considered a “Must See” Art Basel Event
Solo art exhibit features prominent scientists and community leaders discussing sea level rise and climate change effects
(Hialeah, Florida, December 4, 2015) – CLIMA – a solo art exhibit by Xavier Cortada addressing sea level rise and global climate change, has enjoyed rave reviews by visitors and the media. The exhibit kicked off on Monday, November 30th with an opening reception and a panel discussion by prominent scientists on an often overlooked topic: sea level rise will also dramatically affect areas not by the coast, such as Hialeah. The panel discussion of practitioners on day two, led by Harvey Ruvin, discussed the concrete action and planning steps being taken by local governments now to protect property values and tax base as sea levels rise. The third panel, led by a World Health Organization doctor, tackled the implications of global climate change on human health. The Miami-Dade County Superintendent and the Chief Science Officer for the Patricia and Phillip Frost Science Museum participated on the fourth panel with an FIU Dean and innovators to discuss how schools, universities, and cultural institutions are educating our future generation on innovative technology.
So far, CLIMA has created a great deal of buzz. The exhibit has been covered or featured by Telemundo, NBC 6, AmericaTeve, The New Tropic, Travel + Leisure, Miami New Times, The Miami Herald and the Huffington Post as a “not to be missed” Art Basel event.
The CLIMA art exhibit started on November 30, 2015 and runs through January 29, 2016 at the Milander Center for Arts and Entertainment, located at 4800 Palm Avenue, Hialeah, FL 33012. All CLIMA events are free and open to the public. For a complete list of events, please visit https://www.cortada.org/events/2015/CLIMA. The 12 days of programmed panels, performance art and special events coincide with the 12 days of COP21 Paris Talks.
All events may be watched live, or at a later time, at http://livestream.com/cityofhialeah/CLIMA/videos or from a link to this site on CORTADA.COM/CLIMA. You are also invited to join us this Friday for the event (Tirandonos) pa’l Solar.
On Friday, December 4th CLIMA presents “(Tirandonos) pa’l Solar,“ a party encouraging solar choices and celebrating Art Basel week. The event will feature Cortada’s SOLAR, a triptych on three solar panels in support of a ballot initiative proposed by Floridians for Solar Choice, and engage attendees with Brighter Painting and other performance and participatory art projects. Event takes place at 7pm at the Milander Center.
The exhibit continues with daily panels until December 11th. Topics and panelists are as follows:
What: CLIMA Panel “Waning Wilderness”
When: December 5, 2015, 10:00am
Where: Milander Center for Arts and Entertainment
Panelists: Elizabeth Wheaton, Asst. Building Director, City of Miami Beach, Moderator
Ligia Collado-Vides, PhD, Senior Lecturer-Researcher, Dept. of Biology
Colin Foord, Co-Founder, Coral Morphologic
Kristie S. Wendelberger, PhD Candidate, Department of Biological Sciences, FIU
Nicole Sebesta, Graduate Student, Department of Biological Sciences, FIU
What: CLIMA Panel “Moral Nature: Faith in the face of a Global Climate Crisis”
When: December 6, 2015, 4:00pm
Where: Milander Center for Arts and Entertainment
Moderator: Father David Collins, Chief for Environmental Affairs, Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida
Panelists: Kenneth Goodman, Director/Founder, UM Miller School of Medicine’s Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy
Houston Cypress, Otter Clan, Miccosukee Tribe and Love the Everglades Movement
Rabbi Moshe Thomas Heyn, Temple Israel of Greater Miami
Wayne Shah, Member of the Broward Interfaith Council
Mary Lou Pfeiffer, PhD, Faculty Fellow, The Honors College, FIU
What: CLIMA Panel “Louder than Action Alone”
When: December 7, 2015, 10:00am
Where: Milander Center for Arts and Entertainment
Moderator: Michael Patrick Gillespie, Prof of English and Director, Center for the Humanities in an Urban Environment, FIU
Panelists: Nathaniel Cadle, Associate Professor, Department of English, FIU
Daniella Levine Cava, Commisioner District 8, Miami-Dade County
Martha Schoolman, Associate Professor, Department of English, FIU
Gabby Benavente, Student Coalition Executive Committee, Dept. of English, FIU
What: CLIMA Panel “The Chemicals Between Us”
When: December 8, 2015, 10:00am
Where: Milander Center for Arts and Entertainment
Panelists: Christopher Boykin, Executive Director, Pelican Harbor
Xavier Cortada, Artist-in-residence, College of Arts & Sciences Schools of Environment, Schools of Environment College of Architecture + The Arts, FIU
What: CLIMA Panel “BeeWare”
When: December 9, 2015, 10:00am
Where: Milander Center for Arts and Entertainment
Moderator: Kalyani Robbins, JD, Associate Professor of Law, FIU College of Law
Panelists: Stephany Alvarez-Ventura, Agroecology Program Coordinator, Dept. of Earth and Environment, FIU
Eric Bishop Von Wettberg, PhD, Asst. Professor of Populations Genetics, Department of Biological Sciences, FIU
Kenneth James Feeley, Asst. Professor of Biology, Sept. OF Biological Sciences, FIU
April Merleaux, PhD, Asst. Professor of History, FIU
What: CLIMA Panel “fresH2O”
When: December 10, 2015, 10:00am
Where: Milander Center for Arts and Entertainment
Panelists: Steve Davis, Wetland Ecologist, Everglades Foundation
Virginia Walsh, PhD, PG, Senior Professional Geologist, Chief Hydrogeology Section, Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department
What: CLIMA Panel “Paris Talks – Local Action”
When: December 11, 2015, 10:00am
Where: Milander Center for Arts and Entertainment
Moderator: Marilys Nepomechie, Associate Dean of Strategic Initiatives, IDP Coordinator and Professor, FIU College of Architecture + The Arts
Panelists: Juliet Pinto, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, FIU
Susy Torriente, Assistant City Manager, Chief Resiliency Officer, City of Miami Beach
Rebeca Sosa, District 6 Commissioner, Miami-Dade County Commission
Each panel is followed by a participatory art performance by Xavier Cortada.
About the City of Hialeah
The City of Hialeah, incorporated in 1925, is the fifth largest municipality in Florida, serving over 233,000 residents living in approximately 20-square miles. Hialeah, located in NW Miami-Dade County, has a Hispanic population of over 94%. A working class community, Hialeah is viewed as an industrial city that continues to grow. “The City of Progress” as known to many, is home to many Cuban exiles. The City of Hialeah is a full service city offering quality and affordable services to residents of all ages and abilities. Hialeah is a vibrant, family oriented community marked by cultural heritage and traditions known for its myriad of mom and pop stores which productively compete against national retail and restaurant chains and franchises. The City of Hialeah is on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
About CLIMA
The CLIMA exhibit is presented by the City of Hialeah in partnership with Florida International University Sea Level Solutions Center (SLSC), Florida International University College of Arts & Sciences School of Environment, Society and the Arts (SEAS), the Florida International University College of Architecture + The Arts (CARTA), and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy –with special acknowledgement of the support from the Rauschenberg Residency/Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.
About the artist
Xavier Cortada serves as Artist-in-Residence for Florida International University’s College of Arts & Sciences School of Environment, Society and the Arts (SEAS) and FIU’s College of Architecture + The Arts (CARTA).
Cortada often collaborates with scientists in his art-making: Cortada used samples (and inspiration) provided by researchers in Antarctica to create his National Science Foundation-sponsored works there. He has also worked with a population geneticist on a project exploring our ancestral journeys out of Africa 60,000 years ago, with a molecular biologist to synthesize an actual DNA strand made from a sequence randomly generated by participants visiting his museum exhibit, and with botanists in eco-art projects to reforest mangroves, native trees and wildflowers. At CERN, Cortada worked with a physicist to develop a site-specific art installation and performance piece capturing the five search strategies which the CMS experiment has used to discover a new Higgs-like particle.
The Miami artist has worked with groups globally to produce numerous collaborative art projects, including peace murals in Cyprus and Northern Ireland, child welfare murals in Bolivia and Panama, AIDS murals in Switzerland and South Africa, and eco-art projects in Taiwan, Hawaii, Holland and Latvia. Learn more at https://www.cortada.org