Remembering 9/11
Looking Back | Moving Forward
August 17 - October 22, 2011
Kenny Wang, 8 years old
Selections from
"The Day Our World Changed:
Children's Art of 9/11"
Of all of the artwork prompted by 9/11, some of the most visceral comes from children, who were perhaps the most impressionable witnesses to the shocking events. In the months following the attacks, the NYU Child Study Center collected 800 artworks by children in the NYC metropolitan area, 83 of which were exhibited in 2002 at the Museum of the City of New York in "The Day Our World Changed: Children's Art of 9/11." Harold S. Koplewicz, M.D., director and founder of the center, states, "The idea for this project evolved from seeing the immediate outpouring of art created by children affected by the tragedy. The work sprang up spontaneously, adorning building façades, storefronts, fire and police stations, and the walls of emergency assistance facilities throughout the city."
The works selected for this exhibition, courtesy of the National September 11 Memorial Museum, come from fourteen artists who were between 8 and 13 years old, the same ages that today's St. Lawrence students were in 2001. Through drawing, painting and collage, these young artists demonstrate a remarkable ability to convey powerful and vacillating emotions: anger and confusion, grief and mourning, healing and hope.
—Jane Becker Nelson, curator
Jane Becker Nelson holds a BA in Studio Art and Art History from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. She is currently pursuing her MA in Art History at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.
Media coverage
"Observe 9-11 in Ceremonies at Universities," Gabrielle Hendon, Daily Courier Observer, Potsdam and Massena, NY, September 2, 2011
"Exhibit Shows Aftermath of World Trade Center Attack," WWNY-TV, Watertown, NY, September 7, 2011
"St. Lawrence University Exhibit Revisits 9/11 with a Diversity of Art and Artists," Watertown Daily Times, Watertown, NY, September 12, 2011
"The Day Our World Changed: Children's Art of 9/11 Exhibit," blog for The Laurentian Magazine, Canton, NY, October 23, 2011