{"id":233034,"date":"2026-04-15T18:05:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T18:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/233034\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T18:05:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T18:05:08","slug":"triple-cane-works-to-raise-awareness-about-sea-level-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/233034\/","title":{"rendered":"Triple Cane works to raise awareness about sea level rise"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>“Underwater Vote” installation at the University of Miami’s “U” statue. Courtesy of Xavier Cortada Studio.<\/p>\n

Water laps at Miami\u2019s edges as sea levels continue to swell, and UM alum and eco-artist Xavier Cortada is determined to raise awareness.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Miami\u2019s population is the fourth most vulnerable to sea level rise in the world, according to the World Resources Institute<\/a>. Predictions from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration<\/a> indicate that with \u201chigh greenhouse gas emissions and rapid ice sheet collapse,\u201d sea levels for the U.S. will rise more than seven feet by 2100.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For areas like Miami Beach, which has an average elevation of 4.4 feet<\/a> above sea level, this data is staggering.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cortada was born in New York and moved to Miami at the age of three. After spending the majority of his life in South Florida, he graduated from UM with three degrees: a Bachelor of Arts in 1986, a Master\u2019s in\u00a0 public administration in 1991 and a Juris Doctor from the School of Law in 1991.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He launched \u201cThe Underwater<\/a>,\u201d a series of interactive public art installations, in 2018 to spark community interest and conversations about sea level rise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy time at the University of Miami was foundational. That interdisciplinary training shaped how I approach problems \u2014 connecting knowledge across fields and applying it in the real world,\u201d Cortada said. \u201cJust as important, being embedded in Miami made the climate crisis tangible.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2020, Cortada collaborated with UM\u2019s ECO Agency<\/a> and Climate Reality Project<\/a> on the \u201cUnderwater Vote<\/a>\u201d installation. Signs reading \u201cvote\u201d and others featuring the number of feet an area was above sea level were placed in three locations across UM\u2019s campus: Lakeside Village, the \u201cU\u201d statue and the Foote Green.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cortada designed this project to \u201cengage students directly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe installed yard signs across campus marking elevation above sea level to make climate risk visible in a place students experience every day,\u201d he said. \u201cThe project encouraged civic participation, asking [students] to consider thinking long-term about the future they are inheriting and shaping when casting their votes in elections.\u201d<\/p>\n

The majority of the yard signs were placed at elevations ranging from seven to ten feet. If NOAA\u2019s predictions are accurate, these elevation levels mean that parts of UM\u2019s campus will be underwater by 2100.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Underwater\u201d is made up of three more installations: \u201cUnderwater HOA<\/a>,\u201d \u201cUnderwater Florida<\/a>\u201d and \u201cUnderwater Gulf<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnderwater HOA,\u201d based in the Village of Pinecrest, was created in 2018 and was a precursor to the larger project. The installation similarly uses painted intersections and yard signs to mark the area\u2019s elevation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, Cortada is collaborating with the UM\u2019s College of Engineering\u2019s Structures and Materials Lab to implement sustainable concrete underwater elevation sculptures \u2014 part of \u201cThe Underwater\u201d installation \u2014 across 261 Miami-Dade County parks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis collaboration builds on work I began as a faculty member at UM and as Miami-Dade County\u2019s Artist-in-Residence,\u201d said Cortada. \u201cIt was launched as part of the socially engaged art classes I taught when I was a full-time faculty at [UM]. Our students helped deploy and document the early iterations of the project.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a sculpture has been installed, the Xavier Cortada Foundation<\/a> hosts a dedication ceremony at the site. Participants pour water from Biscayne Bay onto the sculpture and promise to work to prevent saltwater from ever touching it again.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cUM students remain central to the work. Many of our interns are current students or recent graduates, and all members of our team \u2014 including leadership \u2014 began as interns,\u201d Cortada said. \u201cThey help implement projects, conduct outreach, and lead educational programming in schools.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Xavier Cortada (right) and student team members working on an art piece. Courtesy of Xavier Cortada Studio. <\/p>\n

Adam Roberti, executive director of the Cortada Foundation and UM alum, feels that his education at UM shaped how he chooses to communicate about these climate-related issues.<\/p>\n

He originally started as a marine biology major, but \u201cdecided to shift into ecosystem science and policy and pursue [his] masters, which had a very strong focus on climate communications\u201d after realizing that the biggest threat to the climate was a \u201clack of political will\u201d to implement available solutions.<\/p>\n

Since working at the Cortada Foundation, Roberti and Cortada have made it their mission to keep UM students involved in the cause \u2014 including by bringing on students as interns.<\/p>\n

For students who want to raise awareness of environmental issues, The Cortada Foundation hosts events to get involved. This semester, interns with the Cortada Foundation are also working to launch the Cortada Climate Collective club at UM.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough it, students will be self-directed in organizing art-based projects to engage students and residents in developing creative solutions to our environmental crisis and expanding the reach of Foundation initiatives like \u2018The Underwater,\u2019\u201d said Cortada.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To join, Roberti recommends that students email Kiki Lopez Nowotny, the club\u2019s president, and Theresa Pinto, the advisor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While UM\u2019s course work options are helpful for preparing students for the real world, partnerships like these are also extremely beneficial for students who want to continue being a part of the positive work that the University has done through its alumni.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cUM gave me the academic tools, but it was engaging with the community that made the work urgent and actionable,\u201d said Cortada.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"“Underwater Vote” installation at the University of Miami’s “U” statue. Courtesy of Xavier Cortada Studio. Water laps at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":233035,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-233034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/233035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}