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

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