NYU
Child Study Center & Museum of the City of New York Sponsor
Joint Art Exhibit
The
Day Our World Changed: Children’s Art of 9/11
On View From September 11, 2002-January 19, 2003
An
exhibition marking the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks
on the World Trade Center presents the art of New York area children
made in the days and months immediately following the tragedy.
The exhibition pays homage to the role of children as witnesses
to this cataclysmic moment in the history of New York City. By
examining how young people express in pictures what the attack
meant to them, the exhibition can help adults understand how deeply
children were affected. Their drawings do more than document the
wound suffered by New York and New Yorkers; they can help us all
move forward.
The exhibition includes 83 paintings, drawings, and works of collage–ranging
in scale from 12 foot murals to six by eight inch sketches–that
tell the story of 9/11 through the eyes of children. Divided into
five sections, the story begins with drawings of the brutal attack
itself, scenes full of crashing airplanes and towers engulfed
in flames. The feelings of sadness, fear and anger brought on
by the attacks are chronicled next, followed by a sensitive portrayal
of gratitude for all the heroes and helpers, from the police and
firefighters to the brave rescue dogs. Painted memories of the
way the city looked before 9/11 and tributes to what was lost
lead up to the final section. The exhibition concludes with optimistic
images of renewal and rebuilding, reflecting our youngest citizens’
hopes for the future.
The exhibition and accompanying publication are the result of
a collaboration between the Museum of the City of New York and
the New York University Child Study Center. The Center solicited
children’s artwork made in response to September 11 by reaching
out to parents and to public, private and parochial schools in
the greater New York area. Out of more than 800 submissions, 83
works were chosen by a jury of artists, curators, art teachers
mental health professionals and students. The participating artists
range in age from 5 to 18.
The publication, The Day Our World Changed: Children’s Art
of 9/11. (Harry N. Abrams, Inc., September 2002, $19.95 hardcover),
reproduces in color all 83 works in the exhibition. Accompanying
the images are essays by prominent historians, artists, writers,
mental health professionals, and religious and political leaders
from across the New York metropolitan region. A movingly personal
commentary by former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani serves as the book’s
introduction.
Public
Programs will be held at the Museum in conjunction with the
exhibition, including: MCNY KIDS Rebuild New York on Saturdays.
Children and their caregivers will design and build a new city,
using wooden blocks and a variety of art materials. Families may
wish to combine block building with a guided tour of the exhibition.
Art Sundays: Hands-on activities for families designed to encourage
children to express themselves through art. Using the art on display
in the exhibition as an inspiration, art therapists and mental
health professionals will guide children and their caregivers
through the creation of such projects as coping collages, diversity
quilts, personal time capsules, framed memories, “picking up the
pieces” kaleidoscopes, and “My Hero” magazine covers.
Lecture
for Educators: “School Response to September 11: Mental
Health Diversity in the Classroom,” Wednesday, September 25, 6
p.m., Mary Courtney, Ph.D., Director of School-Based Interventions,
NYU Child Study Center, Child and Family Recovery Program, discusses
the unique challenges educators face when children in the same
classroom have different reactions to trauma. Discussion will
focus on how educators can address children’s varied needs and
handle their own responses to emotional upset.
Parent/Teacher
Workshop: “Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Children,” Thursday,
September 26, 4 p.m. Elissa J. Brown, Ph.D., Director of Trauma
Services and Research, NYU Child Study Center Child and Family
Recovery Program, will share the most up-to-date information about
the causes, warning signs, and treatment of posttraumatic stress
disorder in children. Her talk will be followed by a question-and-answer
period.
Lecture:
“Coping With Tragedy: Obstacles and Opportunities,” Sunday,
October 6, 2:30 p.m., Robin F. Goodman, Ph.D., Director of Bereavement
Services and Outreach of the NYU Child Study Center and co-author,
The Day Our World Changed: Children’s Art of 9/11, discusses
how trauma and loss can affect children. Adults have the opportunity
to help children become resilient through such difficult times.
Key principles and strategies for coping will be addressed.
Parent/Teacher
Workshop: “Depression and Anxiety in Children and Adolescents,”
Thursday, October 10, 4 p.m., Anne Marie Albano, Ph.D., The Recanati
Family Assistant Professor in Psychiatry, NYU Child Study Center,
discusses current information about the causes, warning signs,
and treatment of depression and anxiety disorders in children
and adolescents. A question-and-answer period will follow.
Parent/Teacher
Workshop: “Artistic Devel-opment in Children,” Thursday, October
17, 4 p.m., Robert Forloney, MCNY Learning Programs Coordinator,
will help teachers analyze artistic, personal, and cultural expression
in children’s art. A tour of the exhibition will be followed by
discussion on interpreting and encouraging children’s artistic
expression at home and in school.
Admission to all events is free.
The NYU Child Study Center is dedicated to the understanding,
prevention, and treatment of child and adolescent mental health
problems. The Center offers expert psychiatric services for children
and families with emphasis on early diagnosis and intervention.
The Center’s mission is to bridge the gap between science and
practice, integrating the finest research with patient care and
state-of-the-training, utilizing an extraordinary new facility
and the resources of the world class New York University School
of Medicine. For more information on the NYU Child Study Center,
or how you can help, contact the NYU Child Study Center at (212)
263-6622 or visit
www.AboutOurKids.org
Education
Update, Inc., P.O. Box 20005, New York, NY 10001.
Tel: (212) 481-5519. Fax: (212) 481-3919.Email: ednews1@aol.com.
All material is copyrighted and may not be printed without express
consent of the publisher. © 2002.
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