9/11 memorial 10th Anniversary Photography Exhibition: here is new york: Revisited” at SVA until September 17
Ten years ago, just two weeks after September 11, 2001 a storefront on Prince Street was transformed almost on-the-fly into a remarkable photography exhibition, taken and donated by amateurs and professionals alike, of the attacks of that terrifying morning on 9/11, and in those strange, horrible days that followed. You could buy prints of any picture on display at “here is new york”, as the exhibition came to be called, inspired by E.B. White’s superb, slim booklet of the same name. The money went directly to September 11 charities. But the “here is new york” space in Soho also served as something more than a fundraiser…it was also a place to gather and commune with your New York neighbors, even if all you did was stand there in silence, with tears in your eyes.
We stopped by “here is new york” many times in 2001, and it was an important part of our coming to grips with the things we saw and felt on 9/11. Now, in observance of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the School of Visual Arts Westside Gallery offers a sampling of the original “here is new york” show, including some 300 September 11 pictures from the more than 5,000 collected in 2001 – a small but extremely potent collection titled simply “here is new york: Revisited”. The SVA NYC connection is no accident: many students of the art school were among the first volunteers to work at the Soho exhibition, and the photography department chair at the school of visul arts NYC was one of this exhibition’s core organizers.
The Westside Gallery space is modest, just one room, but the exhibition is hung in the same way as the original. Photos are clipped onto rope, in an almost floor-to-ceiling grid, with rows of September 11 memorial images draped across the ceiling. So even though 300 out 5,000 maybe doesn’t sound like much, and many of images here have become familiar over the past decade, “here is new york: Revisited” still packs a wallop. We went last Saturday the 10th, and even though, as expected, it was a harrowing, heartbreaking viewing experience, it also reminded us once again of the incredible courage, resilience, and even hope that the survivors, first responders and New Yorkers as a whole displayed that September in 2001. If you can get to the exhibition before it closes this Saturday, September 17, 2011, we highly recommend a visit.
Visit “here is new york: Revisited” at School of Visual Arts, NYC Westside Gallery
“here is new york: Revisited” is on display through Saturday September 17 at the School of Visual Arts Westside Gallery, on West 21st Street, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. SVA’s Westside Gallery is open Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, please see the SVA website. And for lots more on the whole “here is new york” project, including information on how to purchase the book that was inspired by the original show, see “here is new york: a democracy of photographs.”
Posted in NYC Events | Tagged 911 memorial • here is new york • photography exhibition • school of visual arts • school of visual arts new york • school of visual arts nyc • september 11 • september 11 2001 • september 11 memorial • september 11 pictures • sva nyc
