Xavier Cortada is a socially engaged artist who uses art’s elasticity to work across disciplines to engage communities in creative problem-solving. Over the last three decades, he has created more than 150 public artworks, installations, and collaborative murals across six continents and is the only artist to create work at both of the Earth’s poles. Pioneering eco-art in Miami, his community-driven practice has catalyzed over 25 acres of ecological restoration in Florida, yielded participatory projects in every Miami-Dade County public school and library, and sparked regional campaigns to address sea level rise. Through his foundation, the Cuban-American artist engages people in hands-on initiatives that generate awareness and inspire action around the climate crisis and other social justice issues. Cortada served as Miami-Dade County’s inaugural artist-in-residence, was inducted into the State of Florida Artists Hall of Fame, and won a 2023 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Excellence in Science Communications Award. He earned bachelor’s, master’s, and law degrees from the University of Miami.