Debut of original documentary offers remembrance and renewal through the images and words flooding public spaces after 9/11
The days and weeks following 9/11 saw a vast outpouring of images and words into the streets and parks of New York City and nearby communities. Missing posters, artwork by people of all ages and abilities, patriotic symbolism, and handwritten notes expressed the anger, grief, astonishment, renewal, love and compassion that we all experienced. They blanketed the streets in an unprecedented and profound creative phenomenon. Our public places saw an unscripted, hands-on spiritual triage performed by - and for - a devastated community.
Yet most people never experienced this phenomenon. As we struggled to find ways to return to a sense of normalcy in the weeks that followed the tragedy, we watched endless news of rescue workers seeking to recover broken bodies. Very few of us got a personal sense of the efforts made by people seeking to recover our broken hearts. Until now.
After 9/11: Remembrance & Renewal
WHAT: Debut of a new documentary about healing art and expression after 9/11
WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 7, 2002, 8 p.m. (Doors open at 7:30 p.m.)
WHERE: DeBaun Auditorium, Edwin A. Stevens Hall, Stevens Institute of Technology, 5th and Hudson Streets, Hoboken, New Jersey
TICKETS: $100 reserved, $20 general admission, $15 seniors, $10 students. Advance reservations are highly advised since space is limited.
BENEFITS: All proceeds benefit a new Stevens scholarship for 9/11 victims' children.
Tickets may be reserved by calling the DeBaun Auditorium Box Office, (201) 216-8937
On Saturday, Sept. 7, 2002, at 8 p.m., Stevens Institute of Technology will debut a new, original 45-minute documentary about this outpouring of human expression - a work produced by Stevens with live musical accompaniment - titled "After 9/11: Remembrance & Renewal." Proceeds from this one-time-only event, to be held in Stevens' historic DeBaun Auditorium, will benefit a new Stevens scholarship for children of 9/11 victims. (See the end of this release for ticket and event details.)
Artwork and photography for the documentary were created by hundreds of people, both known and unknown, and painstakingly compiled by Hoboken, N.J., writer and designer Jeff Faria. Hoboken animation director Randolph Hoppe put these images into a compelling documentary format with voice-overs for DeBaun Auditorium's high-tech projection and sound system. Images in the documentary range from the touching drawings of children to the polished, professional work of the Magnum Photographers.
Live music for the event will be provided by New Jersey's own Don Slepian, an electronic musician and composer par excellence whom Rolling Stone Magazine called "one of the genre's major talents." The featured singer will be Shara, a rising star and New York City phenomenon in her own right, whose remarkable operatically trained voice has a deeply American and contemporary resonance. In addition, members of Stevens own Glee Club and Music Department will lend their voices.
Voice-overs used in the documentary's soundtrack include 9/11 survivors, teachers, and other Stevens and area community members. The soundtrack showcases poignant original poetry and remembrances of the 9/11 tragedy.
Besides the documentary, the Sept. 7 event program will include remarks by guest dignitaries (to be announced) and Stevens officials, and the awarding of the first-ever Stevens Jerome Lohez '95 Memorial Award. An alumnus of Stevens, the late Mr. Lohez was a victim of the World Trade Center disaster.
The public will also have its first opportunity to view, in one place, a special display about the technologies Stevens has developed to counteract terrorism, such as its unique and effective land mine detection technology, an innovative cold plasma technology for cleaning lethal biological agents (such as anthrax) from surfaces and the air, an academic program in computer security designed to produce the world's most sophisticated methods to safeguard information, and more. This display presents a meaningful counterpart to the expressions in the documentary in a testament to the creative work of science and technology in finding solutions for a safer world.
"After 9/11: Remembrance & Renewal" was produced by Cass Bruton-Ward, Director of University Relations at Stevens, with assistance from Drew Diskin, Patrick A. Berzinski and others in Stevens' Office of Development and External Affairs. Major sponsors for the event will be announced in the coming days. A DVD of the documentary is expected to be released this fall.
About Stevens Institute of Technology
Founded in 1870 and celebrating 140 Years of Innovation, Stevens Institute of Technology, The Innovation University TM , lives at the intersection of industry, academics and research. The University's students, faculty and partners leverage their collective real-world experience and culture of innovation, research and entrepreneurship to confront global challenges in engineering, science, systems and technology management.
Based in Hoboken, N.J. and with a location in Washington, D.C., Stevens offers baccalaureate, master’s, certificates and doctoral degrees in engineering, the sciences and management, in addition to baccalaureate degrees in business and liberal arts. Stevens has been recognized by both the US Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security as a National Center of Excellence in the areas of systems engineering and port security research. The University has a total enrollment of more than 2,200 undergraduate and 3,700 graduate students with almost 450 faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America as well as strategic partnerships with industry leaders, governments and other universities around the world. Additional information may be obtained at www.stevens.edu and www.stevens.edu/press.
