LMCC Commemorates 9/11 Ten-Year Anniversary
WITH INSITE: Art + Commemoration

Featuring Free Arts Events, A Virtual Arts Exhibition And More

Leading voice for arts and culture Downtown founded after building of the World Trade Center, launches major initiative that reflects on 9/11 and the future of Lower Manhattan
http://InSite.LMCC.net

To commemorate the ten-year anniversary of 9/11, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC), an arts organization formerly housed in the World Trade Center today announced the launch of InSite: Art + Commemoration, a series of free public arts events and a special multimedia website that reflect on a decade of recovery, visioning and change in Downtown New York.
Founded shortly after the World Trade Center’s opening in 1972, LMCC has brought art and culture to Downtown New York for nearly 40 years. On September 11, 2001 when the towers were destroyed, LMCC lost one of its artists-in-residence, Michael Richards, along with its offices, residency spaces, and cultural archives. Since then, LMCC has spearheaded efforts to rebuild the neighborhood through ambitious arts projects, including a $5 million Downtown Cultural Grants initiative, the River To River® Festival, now in its tenth season, and the transformation of more than 300,000 square feet of vacant real estate into artist studios and exhibition spaces.

“LMCC shares an unforgettable history with the World Trade Center and Downtown,” said Sam Miller, President of LMCC. “With InSite: Art + Commemoration, LMCC continues a dialogue it’s been having with the neighborhood for the last decade about the way art and culture can be used to reflect on the past, interpret the present and imagine a shared future.”

The programs presented as part of InSite include:

• FREE PUBLIC EVENTS: LMCC and its partners will present a range of artist-led projects and events that explore the ways in which the arts can engage communities in memory, response, and change. Among InSite’s free public programs are the US premiere of Xu Bing’s powerful installation made from dust left by 9/11 (Sept 8 – Oct 9, Venue TBA), an interactive exhibition where hundreds of large inflated balloons will be imprinted with lines of original poetry in both English and one of the 25 most spoken languages in New York City (Building 110/Governors Island, Aug. 26 - Sept. 25), and an exhibition by artists who worked in residency at the World Trade Center (Opens Sept 9, New York State Museum). A complete schedule of events can be found below and at http://insite.lmcc.net/projects-home/.

• VIRTUAL EXHIBITION: Ten artists who have worked with LMCC over the last decade participate in a virtual exhibition that includes photos, audio/video projects, and artwork that examines Lower Manhattan’s past, present, and future. The virtual exhibition will premiere online at http://insite.lmcc.net/ideas-home on September 1.

• COMMISSIONED ESSAY: Nineteen Rooms for September 11 is an original work created for the ten-year anniversary of 9/11 by poet, visual artist and former LMCC writer-in-residence, Jill Magi. The essay uses words and images to reveal Magi’s experience working in Lower Manhattan after 9/11, and is an exploration of meaning and memorialization. Nineteen Rooms for September 11 is now available online at http://insite.lmcc.net/sample-page/.

• ONLINE RESOURCES: The InSite website will also connect visitors to information, institutions and events that expand dialogue and thinking about 9/11 and the intervening decade, including a history of LMCC’s past programming. InSite Resources can be found at http://insite.lmcc.net/resources/.