Xavier Cortada has exhibited his works in museums, galleries, and cultural venues around the world and has pioneered the use of the Internet in collaborative art-making. He has been commissioned to create art for: The White House The World Bank Nike HBO Global Health Council and Miami Art Museum

The Miami-based Cuban-American artist, attorney, and activist has worked collaboratively with diverse groups across the United States, Latin America, Europe and Africa to create pro-social community murals and participant-driven art projects. His web site (www.cortada.com) displays some of his artwork and contains information on the various projects in which he is involved.

Cortada has been the recipient of numerous awards including, the prestigious "Millennium International Volunteer Award" from the U.S. Department of State & USA Today, and the "Florida International Volunteer Corps 1999 Outstanding Achievement Award". In February 2000, invited by the Holy See, Cortada traveled to the Vatican to participate in the Jubilee Day for Artists and meet Pope John Paul II.

Cortada's paintings have been shown in solo exhibits at Miami's Latin American Art Museum, the Florida Department of State/Division of Cultural Affairs Capitol Exhibit Complex in Tallahassee, FL, the St. Thomas University Art Atrium Gallery in Miami, Miami Beach's ArtCenter /South Florida , the Museum of Contemporary Art in Cuzco, Peru, and the Museo Tambo Quirquincho in La Paz, Bolivia.

Juried group shows include the Taller Puertorriqueño in Philadelphia, the Longwood Arts Center in New York, and the Berkeley Arts Center in California. In November 1998, his work won the Grand Prize Best of Show in the "Arte + Arte" group exhibit at the Florida Museum of Hispanic and Latin American Art in Coral Gables, Florida.

Cortada has also painted murals with community groups and lectured on the use of art as an agent of social change in places as diverse as Northern Ireland, Bolivia, Panama, Pennsylvania and South Africa. In July 1998, he was commissioned to paint a mural for the 12th International AIDS Conference in Geneva. Among the topics he has explored through his work are community development, racism, violence, poverty, political freedom, AIDS, and Cuba.

Locally, Cortada has served as Artistic Director of various efforts sponsored by Miami-Dade Art in Public Places, including Master Peace (a school-based art project in Miami-Dade County Public Schools) and PATH (Public Art Transforming Housing in Miami-Dade Housing Agency). In January 1999, Cortada unveiled two 24-foot tall glass mosaic murals on the new Niketown building at Shops at Sunset Place in South Miami.

For more information visit Xavier's website: www.Cortada.com