inaugural year 2006

 

The Reclamation Project explores our
ability to coexist with the natural world.
It reminds us of what our community
looked like before all the concrete was
poured.

For a few months, mangrove seedlings
will "reclaim” the island where they thrived
just a few decades ago.
Afterwards, the seedlings will be planted
along Biscayne Bay.

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.

Mangroves to "reclaim" South Beach during
Art Basel 2006

Miami artist Xavier Cortada is working with volunteers and environmental organizations to create a major collaborative eco-art project on Miami Beach. The artist will dramatize the destruction of the native mangrove forest with an installation consisting of over 2,500 mangrove seedlings in clear cups to be displayed in the windows of South Beach business from November 2006 through January 2007. At the end of the project, the seedlings will be collected and used to reforest a portion of Biscayne Bay.

2006 Calendar

April 27- May 17, 2006
The Reclamation Project launched with installation at Bass Museum of Art

September 14 - October 22, 2006
Collection of Mangrove Seedlings

October 28-December 2, 2006:
Volunteers distribute seedlings to South Beach sites
Organized group canvassing to meet on Saturdays at 10 am at Books & Books, 933 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, FL

October 28, 10am
November 4, 10am
November 11, 10am
November 18,10am
November 25, 10am
December 2, 10am

January 20, 2007-- 10 am to noon
Seedlings returned to Books & Books (933 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach) for use in reforestation of Biscayne Bay

January 27, 9am ** Reforestation**
Planting of Mangrove Seedlings along Biscayne Bay. Meet on Key Biscayne at the Bear Cut Nature Preserve at 9am.

February 3, 2007
Full Moon Reception at the Cape Florida Lighthouse, Invitation Only

Adopt-a-Seedling

South Beach businesses and hotels are asked to prominently display a Reclamation Project mangrove seedling (in a clear, water-filled cup) inside their commercial locations during October 2006 - January 20, 2007. In so doing, businesses and hotels help generate environmental awareness and foster civic engagement.

Seedling exhibitors also have the option of making a small stack of project palm cards available to interested parties.

To adopt a seedling, kindly contact Citizens for a Better South Florida at 305-648-0000 or the project coordinator, Jackie Kellogg at . Project volunteers will deliver the seedlings directly to you.

Seedling exhibitors will be asked to return the seedlings on January 20, 2007, from 10am to 12pm, to Books and Books on Lincoln Road. These seedlings will be planted at the end of January along Biscayne Bay (as part of the project's reforestation).

Alternatively, seedling holders will have the option to plant the seedling in their own home (or in a specified mangrove forest), or return the seedling to our designated environmental group Citizens for a Better South Florida for later planting.

the installation
 at the

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.

Deinstallation

On May 17, 2006, Xavier Cortada de-installed the reclamation project at the Bass Museum of Art in order to use the installation's 252 mangrove seedlings in a reforesting effort. The museum installation served as a precursor to a launch a larger effort across all of South Beach during ArtBasel Miami Beach 2006.

Reforestation

The artist used the seedlings of the reclamation project installation at the Bass Museum of Art to reforest Bear Cut Nature Preserve in Key Biscayne, Florida on May 23, 2006.  These seedlings had previously been used by the artist in installations for OMNIART during Art Basel 2004, Art Miami 2005, and Art Basel 2005.

The Reclamation Project in the news:

Seeds of Change. By Rashida Bartley. Published on October 29, 2006
in The Miami Herald - Neighbors (cover story), Miami, FL.

Hunt for Mangrove Seedlings. Published on October 19, 2006 in The Miami Herald - 3B Metro & State, Miami, FL.

Planting for Life: CultureSurge - Artburst. Written by Anne Tschida.
Published by category305.com on Thursday, November 9, 2006.

Pretty as a Picture: Artist Xavier Cortada is bringing back the mangroves. By Vanessa Garcia. Published by The New Times on December 7th, 2006 in Miami, FL.

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The Reclamation Project:
Mangroves to "reclaim” South Beach during Art Basel 2006

 

Miami Beach, FL ---October 2006--- Miami artist Xavier Cortada is working with volunteers to on Miami Beach to raise environmental awareness through the creation of a major public art project called The Reclamation Project.

The artist will dramatize the destruction of the native mangrove forest with an installation consisting of over 2,500 mangrove seedlings in clear cups to be displayed in the windows of South Beach business from November through January. At the end of the project, the seedlings will be collected and used to reforest a portion of Biscayne Bay.
To learn more about the project including volunteer opportunities and event dates and locations, see www.reclamationproject.net.

In a 1915 photo, Miami Beach founder Carl Fisher poses with Rosie the elephant as they help clear the "swamps” to make way for Lincoln Road. We now know that these mangrove forests are vital to establishing a healthy habitat for marine life, birds and other animals. Through the project, Cortada hopes "to remind us we must learn to coexist with nature in our urban settings, instead of relegating it to nature preserves.”