Rising Tides and Raising Awareness: Xavier Cortada and His Public Art Initiative ‘The Underwater’

In some neighborhoods of Miami, Fla., each house is decorated with a brightly colored yard sign displaying a single ornamented number. In a talk at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute on Apr. 8, Xavier Cortada explained how these numbers, which indicate the number of feet these houses are above sea level, are redefining the power of art to fight climate change.

Having lived his whole life in Florida, Cortada was alarmed at just how much of Miami is projected to be submerged due to sea-level rise — levels will rise anywhere from 3.5 to 7 feet by 2100. In his inspirational lecture, Cortada explained his initiative, “The Underwater,” that resulted from this realization.

“The Underwater” raises awareness for the elevation of geographical spaces through community-based art — such as ocean-colored yard signs, concrete murals at road intersections, and more. Cortada said that these numbers generate discourse around climate change in a very personal way for the public.

“Coupled with the thousands of yard signs in these intersections, we made sea-level rise impossible to ignore. You couldn’t walk around without someone seeing or talking about this sign placed by the very citizens who would be discussing what had happened,” Cortada said.

On these signs, a QR code leads scanners to a website explaining “The Underwater” and how they can get involved in the environmental fight, from making signs themselves to contacting local representatives, volunteering at local organizations, or becoming more climate literate.

The talk attracted people from all over the globe looking to expand their perspectives on climate change. Juliette M. Nicolai, an immigrant from France, attended with the motivation of discovering unconventional environmental solutions.

“I’m a bit desperate about climate,” Nicolai said. “And I am very fond about all kinds of art.”

A musician herself who also attended art school, Nicolai was curious about what art could actually achieve.

The answer slowly unfolded throughout the event, during which attendees created their own yard signs and took part in “The Underwater.” They utilized the search tool on the website of “The Underwater” to find the elevations of their own homes, as strategic planner Amelia Irizarry-Voorsanger did for her home in Puerto Rico.

“I come from an island. So I experienced climate differently. And from there, people are much more aware of climate,” Irizarry-Voorsanger said.

She explained that the talk sparked a realization for her about how true change starts from the ground up.

“Made me think, you know, how can I contribute? I thought I couldn’t,” Irizarry-Voorsanger said.

David W. Oxtoby, a chemist and the former President of American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and his wife Claire B. Oxtoby, who taught at the University of Chicago’s Lab School, left the talk feeling “energized” and “uplifted.”

“I’ve worked on issues of climate change for 40 plus years, but to me, you can’t just do it with the science. You need the communication,” David W. Oxtoby said. “It’s a very inspiring presentation.”

Unlike environmental solutions built purely on science or art, David Oxtoby noted that Cortada’s project engages the community in a novel, “participatory”way.

Similarly, Irizarry-Voorsanger praised Cortada’s tactic of approaching this issue through an artistic lens.

“The artists are going to have an impact. It’s their way of seeing color, space, materials. It’s a very unique way of seeing it. And it’s that way of seeing that looks at nature differently and looks at these relationships differently. So their solutions will be different,” Irizarry-Voorsanger said.

During the concluding Q&A session, Cortada advised aspiring artists and changemakers to find balance between personal creative voice and societal urgency.

“I don’t want to lose sight of the urgency. And it’s not as if we don’t have solutions. I don’t think I need a more nuanced way to express what the problem is,” Cortada said. “What I think I need to do is create a platform for people to act.”

“The Underwater” itself — which has already reached numerous schools, parks, and more — is his personal endeavor to “build a more equitable tomorrow.”

“We need to liberate art. We need to free ourselves. And we need to use the tool that made us who we are to save us from what we’re becoming. It could not be more dire than it is now,” Cortada said.