The MEMO Blog

The tremendous outpouring of love and support we saw from around the globe on September 11 underscored the fact that even in the face of unfathomable adversity, our capacity for hope and resilience will unite and carry us through. Today we're looking at highlights from the milestone anniversary. 

The National Quilt Museum in Paducah, KY, hosts an exhibit of commemorative quilts from our collection, on display through November 2. Each tells its own piece of the overarching 9/11 story; together, they serve as essential "ambassadors" from New York to the world as we mark 20 years since the attacks. 

Nominations are open now through Sunday for the inaugural America250 Awards, which this year will recognize individuals who embody and represent the strength and bravery that came to define 9/11 - and the spirit of the nation as a whole. 

Brenda Berkman, a pioneering female firefighter, spent September 11 and the ensuing weeks as a first responder searching for survivors and remains at Ground Zero. After retiring from the FDNY, she turned to art as a way to channel personal and collective trauma, documenting the rebuilding of lower Manhattan in a series of prints. A collection of those prints - "Altered Skyline: Thirty-Six Views of One World Trade Center" - is now on view at the Flaten Art Museum in Minnesota. 

More than 300 dignitaries from around the globe attended a special tribute ceremony this week, organized on behalf of the United Nations by their Office of Counter-Terrorism to remember and honor those killed in the 9/11 attacks. Guests observed a moment of silence and laid wreaths in memory of 9/11 victims and terrorism victims around the globe. 

Henry Leutwyler's photographs of objects from our collection let each remnant and remembrance tell its own piece of the 9/11 narrative. The photos - commissioned by National Geographic in cooperation with the Museum - are on view through the 26th at the Foley Gallery, as part of Leutwyler's "Sacred Dust" exhibit. 

The New York Culture Club gallery at the Oculus hosts a solo exhibition of works by Todd Stone, showcasing the artist's perspective on the rebuilding of lower Manhattan over the course of two decades. Two pieces from Stone's earlier collection "Witness," which documents the attacks and their devastation, are housed in the Museum's permanent collection. 

Thank you to everyone who joined us in remembrance on Saturday. Together, we will #NeverForget911.

Beginning on the day the subway reopened, the painter Marie Roberts spent four months at Ground Zero, live sketching the rescue and recovery efforts. The resulting 200 drawings capture not only the breadth of the disaster, but also the incredible resilience that shone through each day as she walked the changing perimeter. 

The 911 Health Watch will host two days of panel discussions with health professionals, journalists, first responders, and survivors, exploring the impact of toxins at Ground Zero, the Pentagon, and the Shanksville crash site.