Marking the fifth anniversary of the still-resonant terrorist attacks, the Ann Arbor District Library in conjunction with Magnum Photos of New York City is hosting a special exhibit of photos from Sept. 11, 2001.
"New York, September 11, by Magnum Photographers,” starts Monday at the library, the first time the photo collection will be exhibited outside New York.
When the planes hit, members of the Magnum cooperative set out to document the aftermath of the attacks. The exhibit consists of more than 30 photographs on large canvas panels.
According to a press release from the library, the exhibit first went on display at the New York Historical Society in late 2001. The photos were later compiled into a book, "New York, September 11.”
International Arts & Artists – a Washington nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing crosscultural understanding and exposure to the arts – has organized the exhibit into a tour, and Ann Arbor is its first stop.
The librarywide display features photographers Chien-Chi Chang, Bruce Davidson, Raymond Depardon, Paul Fusco, Bruce Gilden, David Alan Harvey, Thomas Hoepker, Richard Kalvar, Josef Koudelka, Hiroji Kubota, Steve McCurry, Susan Meiselas, Gilles Peress, Eli Reed, Larry Towell and Alex Webb.
Visitors will have a chance to record their thoughts and impressions in a visitor book, which will available for viewing.
The library is hosting the following events to coincide with the exhibit. They will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the lower-level multipurpose room at the library, at 343 S. Fifth Avenue. There’s no charge for admission.
- Monday, Sept. 11. Guy Sanville, artistic director of the Purple Rose Theatre Company in Chelsea, and Quintessa Gallinat, Purple Rose program manager, will present a reading of Ann Nelson’s acclaimed off-Broadway drama "The Guys,” about a fireman who loses his men in the attacks and the writer who helps him compose their eulogies.
- Wednesday, Sept. 20. Library Director Josie Parker will moderate a panel discussion, "Five Years Ago: 9/11 Survivors and Families.” The discussion will feature John and Bev Titus of Dexter, whose 28-year-old daughter Alicia, a flight attendant, died on United Airlines Flight 175; Ann Arbor’s Marilynn Rosenthal, whose son Josh died in the South Tower of the World Trade Center; and Adele Welty of New York City, mother of firefighter Timothy Welty, who was killed in the line of duty on Sept. 11.
- Tuesday, Sept. 26. "How Life Has Changed Post-9/11: A Community Forum With Experts From the University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry” will led by Kenneth Silk, Brian Martis and Joseph Himle.
- Tuesday, Oct. 3. Terry McDermott, Los Angeles Times national correspondent, will discuss his book, "Perfect Soldiers: The Hijackers: Who They Were, Why They Did It.”
The exhibit opens Monday and continues through Oct. 11. For information, call 734-327-4200.
Female artists speak
In conjunction with the Ann Arbor Art Center’s Off the Wall Gallery "Feminist Art Project,” the center will host a panel discussion on Wednesday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Ann Arbor District Library’s lower-level multipurpose room.
Participants will include artists Margaret Parker, Leslie Sobel and Brenda Oelbaum and Off the Wall Gallery project manager Christy Kelly-Bentgen. Each participant will offer expertise gained from their experiences as artists, educators and arts activists. There’s no charge for admission. The library is at 343 S. Fifth Ave. The "Feminist Art Project” continues in the area of Main, Liberty and Washington streets and Fourth Avenue through Oct. 31. For information, call 734-994-8004.
"On Display” collects news items about local art and exhibits. Fax items to 734-994-6879 or e-mail jcantu@umich.edu.
