Posts: 4

1. Reclamation Project Video

   11.Jul.07, 12:39 EDT
   
   Share It | Spread It | Comments: 0

   Click the link below to view the nine-minute educational video about the Reclamation Project from the Miaimi-DadeTV On-Demand website.
   
   www.miamidade.gov/ondemand/library/Environment/reclamation_hi.asp

2. Bass Museum of Art

   12.Apr.07, 21:40 EDT
   
   Share It | Spread It | Comments: 0

   The Reclamation Project was launched at the opening of an installation by the same name exhibited at the Bass Museum of Art from April 22nd, Earth Day, until May 17th, 2006. To see images of Xavier Cortada's installation, click here. The Reclamation Project exhibit included an installation of 252 red mangrove seedlings (in clear, water-filled cups) lined up on a glass wall in the western portion of the museum and two continuous-loop videos: "18-mile" and "Reclamation." Miami artist Xavier Cortada's aim was to remind us of what our community was like before all the concrete was poured.

3. Artist's Statement

   12.Apr.07, 21:38 EDT
   
   Share It | Spread It | Comments: 0

   Artist's Statement The Reclamation Project aims to remind us of what our community was like before all the concrete was poured. Through this installation, mangrove seedlings will conceptually reclaim an island where they thrived a few decades ago. Their reforestation will create a mangrove colony on Biscayne Bay, eventually rebuilding natural ecosystems above and below the water line. Through this process I explore our ability to coexist with the natural world. About the Artist Xavier Cortada was born in Albany, New York and was raised and lives in Miami. The Cuban-American artist holds three degrees from the University of Miami. His work has been shown across four continents and is in the permanent collection of The World Bank. Major collaborative art projects include International AIDS murals in Switzerland and South Africa, peace murals in Northern Ireland and Cyprus and child welfare murals in Bolivia and Panama. Through his art, he attempts to reclaim Florida's fertile past. The concrete columns that hold up I-95 through downtown Miami now bear Cortada's mark: in 2004, he led volunteers in painting colorful mangrove seedlings on columns across four neighborhoods, a metaphoric re-foresting of Miami. He has elaborated on the mangrove metaphor in murals he created for Miami City Hall, the Miami-Dade County Commission Chambers, the Florida Capitol, and the Museum of Florida History. For more information, please visit www.cortada.com.

4. About the Reclamation Project

   12.Apr.07, 21:37 EDT
   
   Share It | Spread It | Comments: 0

   About the Reclamation Project Thousands of red mangrove seedlings (in clear, water-filled cups) will be displayed in retail and commercial spaces along the business corridors of South Beach, reclaiming an island where they thrived just a few decades ago. The eco-art intervention was launched by Miami artist Xavier Cortada on Earth Day 2006, during the opening of a month-long installation at the Bass Museum of Art. During October 2006, about 2500 mangrove seedlings will be collected by volunteers under the guidance of Miami -Dade Department of Environmental and Resources Management (DERM) from Miami Dade County locations where they would otherwise perish. Between October 28 - December 3, 2006, volunteers will distribute these 2500 seedlings to retail and commercial spaces in South Beach. The seedlings will be displayed through January 19, 2007. Seedling exhibitors will be asked to return the seedlings on Jan 20, 2007 so that they can be planted at the end of January along Biscayne Bay* (as part of the reforestation effort). For more information see calendar. An invitation-only reception for the project volunteers is scheduled for February 3, 2007, at Bill Baggs State Park in Key Biscayne, featuring Full Moon tours of the Cape Florida Lighthouse.