The Healing Project - Press Release

April 2002

The Healing Project
A 9/11 memorial and a gift to the living

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort
and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
~ Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love, 1963

I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you.
And the people who knocked down these buildings will hear all of us soon.
~ George Bush Jr., Ground Zero, 2001

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
~ Gandhi

If the World were really listening, what would you want it to hear?

Looking Back

The Healing Project would like to honor theARTproject.net by reprinting the following statement by founder Nina Meledandri. Artists Respond to Terrorism gave birth to the Healing Project by providing a shining example of how art can transform us, bring us closer together, and provoke discussion of subjects which are important and complex, utilizing the Internet as a tie that binds us. Nina's depth, humanity, clarity, non partisan approach, and artistic work ethic are personally inspiring to me. Our collective thoughts esteem hers completely regarding this March 11 message marking the six month anniversary since the September 11 attacks. The accompanying photograph was taken by Nina from her studio window:

skyline

"Six months later, as the recovery process continues, each of us might be at a different stage. Wherever you are, theARTproject exists to provide an opportunity for reflection and for a shared sense of community. The site offers a wide range of responses from artists across this country and around the world; what they have in common is that each submission is an attempt by another human being to share something meaningful about this tragedy with you.

Moving forward requires looking back. When theARTproject began, it was with the belief that the losses suffered last September would not be in vain if we could manage to explore the roots from whence the destruction came, and learn, in hopes of insuring that it can not happen again. To do this requires not forgetting, but no one could stay sane and live directly with the enormity of the impact we experienced on that day. Art can help us remember; with its ability to abstract, it can touch a place in us that allows complicated and powerful emotions to come to the surface in a manageable and meaningful way. And images, without the boundaries imposed by language have the ability to reach out across the lines that often divide us.

theARTproject [and the Healing Project] remembers all who perished on that day, offers comfort to those who lost loved ones, honors our heroes who gave of themselves to help others and reaches out to everyone effected by the devastation, both in this country and throughout the world."

From October through December 2001 we were hosted by the Oakland Museum of California during their Day of the Dead exhibit, where we folded cranes with hundreds of school children and adults. During Thanksgiving we visited Ground Zero, laid 6,000 cranes on the Imagine mosaic in Central Park and handed out cranes to passersby to let them know that we are thinking about them with love. We celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. day as "a day on" instead of a day off and constructed an American flag made up entirely of peace cranes.

Our site www.wtchealingproject.org has now been visited by 35 countries, representing four continents, making this peace effort truly global. We invite all freelance peacemakers to construct special projects such as banners and flags with their cranes, to personalize contributions and further define your voice. The MLK American Peace flag is 30"x50", and may be on display at the MLK Memorial fountain in Yerba Buena Gardens (San Francisco, California) on the 4th of July.