NATION’S LARGEST COMMUNITY-CREATED 9/11 MEMORIAL NEARS COMPLETION
After 10 years, a grassroots group of volunteers complete a 100-ton stone sculptural memorial
AUGUST 17, 2011 – HIGHLANDS, NJ - A group of dedicated volunteers based in New Jersey prepare to inaugurate the nation’s first all-inclusive community-created September 11th tribute, which has been in development for over nine years. On this year’s anniversary of 9/11, all surviving family members will finally have a memorial to honor their loved ones during a sundown event at Veteran’s Memorial Park in Highlands, NJ planned for 6:00 p.m. EDT.
It is a rewarding conclusion for those working on The Memoria Project. After nearly a decade of work and planning the project is ready to be installed, uniting five granite boulders in Vermont engraved with all 2,983 victims with the centerpiece statues created in 2002. The result is a 100-ton tribute collaboratively created by thousands of participants--from local families to international supporters all over the world.
“Creating the memorial was the easy part,” observes Memoria Project President and Artist Stephen Shaheen. “Our community needed a way to heal after the devastation of 9/11 when our friends and loved ones disappeared without goodbyes. The act of physical participation in something tangible and larger than ourselves was a chance to cope with personal and communal losses.”
The project was not without setbacks. “Our effort has faced many challenges since we started nine years ago, but our organization and the local community never gave up,” stated Evan Urbania, Chairman of The Memoria Project. “Everyone on the Project’s Board is looking forward to some form of closure with the memorial’s completion. There is an undeniable passion and drive from our supporters to finish this memorial, and we are very pleased to complete its installation in time for the tenth anniversary.”
Unforeseen factors such as a defect appearing in one of the stones that required replacement, exhaustive name-checking prior to the engraving and funding issues due to the organization’s all-volunteer structure made the project’s aggressive timeline stretch out longer than expected.
Despite the delays, The Memoria Project has been fueled by an outpouring of community support and generosity over the years. With no commission or government funding, the group succeeded in raising funds and in-kind services from thousands of individuals and companies. RED Graniti, Vermont Quarries and Virgina Mist donated over 100 tons of high-quality stone. Contractors, engineers and landscapers have offered their services for everything from concrete foundations to irrigation. The New York Stock Exchange made a major gift and hosted a fundraiser honoring 9/11 advocates. Most recently, one of Europe’s top lighting companies, Reggiani Illumination, donated $20,000 worth of high-end light fixtures for the project. The organization continues to seek final support and funds for the installation and long-term care of the memorial.
“We believed in the idea of a community coming together in a time of need,” says Shaheen. “This project has proven repeatedly that resolve and collaboration trump forces of destruction.”
About The Memoria Project
The Memoria Project was formed in 2002 by local New Jersey residents in response to the trauma of 9/11. With the assistance of many generous individuals and companies, The Memoria Project succeeded in creating two 20-ton marble statues on Sandy Hook, Gateway National Recreation Area. The statues were carved outdoors, where visitors and surviving family members could watch and participate. The Project ran over 30 educational programs surrounding the creation of these statues including courses in sculpture and art history, as well as special programs focusing on art as therapy for those who lost loved ones on 9/11. Programs often highlighted the traditional sculptural techniques used under the direction of New York-based sculptor Stephen Shaheen and two master stone carvers flown in from Italy.
For more information about The Memoria Project visit www.memoriaproject.com. Images, descriptions and captions can be found online via Flickr at http://cbla.st/memoriaproject.
About Stephen Shaheen
Stephen Shaheen is an artist and designer residing in Brooklyn, NY. He has trained extensively in Italy and earned his MFA from the New York Academy of Art in 2005. He is the recipient of a Ludwig Volgestein grant, the Italian Cultural Institute/La Fortuna Foundation Fellowship, and a 2009-2010 Residency at the Digital Stone Project. Shaheen’s indoor and outdoor installations are in public and private collections in the United States and Europe. He currently teaches at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, the New York Academy of Art, and is the director of Tuscany Study, an intensive art program in Italy. Stephen’s art has evolved from stone to drawings to plastic found objects, recently receiving widespread recognition for his Metrobench constructed from 5,000 New York City Metrocards. For more information, visit www.stephenshaheen.com.
| A Letter From The Memoria Project's Executive Director, Evan Urbania |
September, 2003
The events of September 11th and what they mean for us in our personal or professional lives are still very close. Even after two years, I believe many of us still lack any real sense of perspective on it.
For me, September 11th was a helplessly surreal experience. I happened to be in Italy with sculptor Stephen Shaheen, and was emerging from an 800 year-old church when we received the first pieces of information. After watching the horror unfold from 3,000 miles away, I returned home to a community severely crippled and traumatized by the events of that day.
I personally spent the following months in reflection, remembering the shock and sorrow on the faces of my friends, loved ones and community members. It has been an overwhelming and wrenching experience for me, and I share the anguish of the families and colleagues of the missing.
The Memoria Project grew from a commitment to help begin the process of healing through art. I am proud and honored to be part of a project that is already successfully on its way to achieving its mission. This success can be seen and heard in the personal letters sent to us by surviving family members, in the active community participation in our education programs, and through participation by surviving family members during the first phase of construction. Our goal to include the public and surviving family members in the actual sculpting of the statues was as important as the creation of the memorial itself. We believe that art heals, and we strive to give everyone affected by September 11th the opportunity to take part in the process of creation – and hopefully the process of healing.
It is an exciting time for The Memoria Project as we enter the second phase of construction. This involves the preparation and polishing of five large granite boulders and engraving almost 3,000 victims’ names. This process is being executed by an advanced stone facility in Vermont, and will be complete by the end of 2005. Information and photos will be available on our website as the process advances.
Due largely to efforts made by Congressman Christopher Smith, Congressman Frank Pallone, and State Senator Joseph Kyrillos, representatives from the National Park Service and local surviving family members met to discuss permanent placement on Sandy Hook on July 21, 2003. We are grateful that the National Park Service is listening to the community’s request, and look forward to continued discussions.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank all of our donors and supporters for making financial or in-kind contributions to our effort. Your generosity has truly touched us all, and you have directly assisted a community-involved effort to create a permanent tribute to all those who perished, and all those affected by September 11th. We are particularly grateful to Judith Stanley Coleman for hosting last year’s fundraiser and to PNC Bank and The New York Stock Exchange for making generous lead gifts that helped set the tone for our fundraising campaigns.
The Memoria Project is proud to be collaborating with Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey. In addition to hosting a forum on memorial art in New Jersey on September 12, 2003, the University will be archiving all aspects of The Memoria Project at the main campus art library so that future generations of students and artists may benefit from the experiences and lessons learned while creating this memorial.
Special thanks should be extended to our talented and dedicated Board of Directors and volunteer committee members for their continued support throughout the year. Without them, The Memoria Project would simply not be possible.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our partners who have offered their expertise and resources to further our effort: The National Park Service, Congressman Christopher Smith, Congressman Frank Pallone, State Senator Joseph Kyrillos, The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders, Rutgers University, The Highlands Business Partnership and the Borough of Highlands. I extend special appreciation to Stephen Shaheen, my colleague and my friend who had the creative vision and compassionate desire to create what has now become The Memoria Project.
Finally, as we continue to make progress and work towards project completion, I would like to thank the surviving family members in our community who have stepped forward and shared their personal stories of how the events of September 11th affected them. Your strength, resolve and bravery is astounding, and we at The Memoria Project are as committed as you are to create a lasting tribute to the victims, and survivors, of September 11th, 2001.
Evan Urbania
Executive Director
The Memoria Project, Inc.
