Pandemic | Miami Corona Project

University of Miami Professor of Practice, Xavier Cortada developed the “Miami Corona Project” to assess and address the coronavirus pandemic in Miami. As part of the University of Miami COVID-19 Rapid Response effort, Cortada provided coronavirus updates to the community through videos and conversations, documenting and honoring the lives of Miami-Dade residents who succumbed to the virus.

The Miami Corona Project was based on a consistent online presence that engaged individuals through a variety of platforms. At a time when social distancing was the norm, this web-based project gave voice to individuals who feel disconnected from society. The project served as a real-time record of the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on Miami-Dade County, while also providing an outlet for cross-communal engagement between individuals. Through the chronicling of data and information related to the virus, as well as a series of participatory art projects, Cortada captured stories from individuals across South Florida as they were being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.                                                

Since the pandemic began, thousands have died alone and away from their families in Miami-Dade County. In “Saying Goodbye: An Offering of Gratitude,” Cortada invites viewers to reenact his ritualistic performance and bring closure to the passing of loved ones who died in isolation. Participants imagine what they would have said to their loved ones and what their loved ones would have said to them if they had been able to be by their bedside.

Since March 26, 2020, the day of the first coronavirus death in Miami-Dade County, Cortada has kept a daily record of those who have been pronounced dead in Miami due to COVID-19.  “Miami Pronouncement,” the work’s title, implicates both a conceptual and literal statement of death. In this consistent, daily, handwritten format, Cortada aims to bring attention to this data and to archive a real-time record of how the pandemic impacted the county.

On March 17th, 2020, there were a record number of 475 coronavirus deaths in Italy. As of that date, the country had 41,035 coronavirus cases leading to a total of 3,405 deaths. A precursor to Cortada’s “Miami Pronouncement,” this performance has the artist recite names from an Italian obituary to acknowledge the loss and to warn about the deaths the pandemic would bring to Miami.

In the “Share Your Voice” participatory art component of the Miami Corona Project, Cortada engaged community members by asking them how they had been personally impacted by the pandemic. Participants reflected on what was occurring in real-time, sharing and learning from one another through Cortada’s online platform.

As the 2020 holidays approach, family and friends will gather around the dinner table and share time, meals, and coronavirus with one another.  As these traditional gatherings threaten the public health,  I launch “Pandemic | Miami Corona Project”  at the beginning of the holiday season as a virtual exhibition at the University of Miami Wynwood Gallery. 

In the face of a crushing public health calamity the likes of which this nation hasn’t seen in over a century, we must still be grateful that we have one another for support,” said Cortada. “While we express our gratitude for all that we have, let us also remember and honor all those we have lost and have yet to lose.  

I create these performances to remind us that the virus is still here, and it is getting worse, I honored the dead by documenting their loss and I did so to warn us of the danger yet to come. During this Thanksgiving, we need to be grateful, but we also must be ever mindful of following all protocols, so the virus isn’t spread at our dinner tables.”

In keeping with the reality of our times, the solo exhibition can only be experienced online.  Desperate times call for desperate measures, perhaps our in-person holiday gatherings need to be deferred for another season.