To commemorate the 10th Anniversary of 9/11/01, New York University’s Art Therapy Program has organized an exhibition of approximately 50 works created by some 20 artists, including first responders and others who were directly affected by the terrorist attacks of that day.

NYU’s Art Therapy Program Commemorates 9/11 with An Exhibition of Works by First Responders and Others
Midsummer Night • Acrylic, oil pastel, pencil,metal and wood on canvas • 40 x 30 inches • © Leslie Shaw Zadoian 2009

“9/11Arts: A Decade Later” on view Sept. 11 - 18

To commemorate the 10th Anniversary of 9/11/01, New York University’s Art Therapy Program has organized an exhibition of approximately 50 works created by some 20 artists, including first responders and others who were directly affected by the terrorist attacks of that day.  The works span a range of media, including painting, collage, and multimedia installations.  The exhibition will also include an interactive component for visitors to the gallery as well as a meditative space with a reconstruction of the twin towers.

Entitled 9/11 Arts: A Decade Later, the exhibition will be open Sept. 11- 18, 2011 at 34 Stuyvesant Street, Barney Building, 1st floor Commons Gallery.  The exhibition is free and open to the public.  Gallery hours are: Sept 11, noon to 9 p.m.; Sept. 12-17, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sept. 18, noon to 5 p.m.  For more information, visit http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/art/therapy/911project.

The exhibition is in collaboration with the FealGood Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to spread awareness and educate the public about the catastrophic health effects on 9/11 first responders, as well as to provide assistance with financial burdens.

The artists include Ground Zero personnel with serious medical conditions (some solo works and some collaborative works produced in group art therapy sessions); a few works from returning soldiers; works by trained professional artists; and some folk / outsider artist works.

Coordinators for 9/11 Arts: A Decade Later are Ikuko Acosta, director of the Graduate Art Therapy Program at NYU, and Tom Ettinger, forensic psychologist and a member of the 911 Arts Project.  “The art is highly emotional but definitely uplifting in its playful and poignant expressions of human resiliency in the face of trauma,” said Ettinger.

Art therapy student volunteers will be available with art materials for visitors who want to ‘respond’ to the show with their own art, or more generally express their feelings about the 10th anniversary of 9/11.  In addition, visitors are encouraged to bring a symbolic offering, imbued with personal feelings, such as a special 9/11 photograph to leave in the meditative space.  

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