The Art Angle Podcast: Artists in Residence at the World Trade Center Reflect on 9/11

Four artists who were in residence at the World Trade Center share their experiences from 9/11.

Reflections of the Twin Towers in New York City. Photo: Michel Setboun/Corbis via Getty Images.

Welcome to the Art Angle, a podcast from Artnet News that delves into the places where the art world meets the real world, bringing each week’s biggest story down to earth. Join us every week for an in-depth look at what matters most in museums, the art market, and much more with input from our own writers and editors as well as artists, curators, and other top experts in the field.

 

This week marks the 20th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.

Thousands of people who worked at the trade center or who witnessed the events of 9/11, or who lost loved ones, have stories about that. Among these are the artists of the World Views Artists Residency.

In a terrible irony, the Port Authority started the residency to try to draw businesses back to unused office space following the earlier 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Run by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, World Views gave each cohort all-hours access to the building and six months of workspace on the 91st and 92nd floors of the north tower.

As the name suggests, World Views brought applicants from around the world, drawn to the prestige of New York and the chance to make work in such a unique space with its dramatic views of the city. Naomi Ben-Shahar, Monika Bravo, Simon Aldridge, and Jeff Konigsberg were four of the 15 artists participating in the World Views Residency in 2001.

Amid the commemorations and reflections on the 20th anniversary of 9/11, we asked them to share their memories of the space, of the tragic day, and how the experience shaped their lives and work thereafter.

Listen to Other Episodes:

The Art Angle Podcast: Genesis Tramaine on How Faith Inspires Her Art

The Art Angle Podcast: The Bitter Battle Over Bob Ross’s Empire of Joy

The Art Angle Podcast: How Britney Spears’s Image Inspired Millennial Artists

The Art Angle Podcast: How the Medicis Became Art History’s First Influencers

The Art Angle Podcast: How Two Painters Helped Spark the Modern Conservation Movement

The Art Angle Podcast: The Hunter Biden Controversy, Explained

The Art Angle Podcast: Legendary Auctioneer Simon de Pury on Monaco, Hip Hop, and the Art Market’s New Reality

The Art Angle Podcast: 18-Year-Old NFT Star Fewocious on How Art Saved His Life, and Crashed Christie’s Website

The Art Angle Podcast (Re-Air): How Photographer Dawoud Bey Makes Black America Visible

The Art Angle Podcast: Tyler Mitchell and Helen Molesworth on Why Great Art Requires Trust

The Art Angle Podcast: How High-Tech Van Gogh Became the Biggest Art Phenomenon Ever


Follow Artnet News on Facebook:


Want to stay ahead of the art world? Subscribe to our newsletter to get the breaking news, eye-opening interviews, and incisive critical takes that drive the conversation forward.