When you walk into 7 World Trade Center, dazzling LED lights not only greet you, they speak to you. Literally. The lights are inspired poetry written by 826NYC students — words brought to life 18 years after 9/11 touched the lives of every American.
Indeed, acclaimed artist Jenny Holzer recently commissioned 18 826NYC students to include their poetry in her permanent installation at the building.
“I needed to fill the space at 7 World Trade Center with writing that reflects the joy of New York City,” Holzer said. “I invited young authors of 826NYC to offer their voices to the project so their texts would appear with the programming by William Carlos Williams, Elizabeth Bishop, Walt Whitman, and distinguished others.”
On September 10, 2019, Holzer along with Larry Silverstein of Silverstein Properties, developer of the World Trade Center, asked the students, parents, and members of the 826NYC community to gather and see their words in action as they floated across a screen, letter by letter.
“We are deeply grateful to Jenny Holzer and her team as well as Silverstein Properties, for giving our students this amazing opportunity to share their talent with so many people,” says Joshua Mandelbaum, executive director of 826NYC.
Mandelbaum calls the collaboration with Holzer “a high point in 826NYC’s history.”
“Students from three programs in three boroughs are now paid poets with work incorporated into a permanent installation at an iconic New York City building,” he says.
The young authors – ranging from 8 to 18-years-old – represent the light and hope that emerged from a generation born into a post-9/11 world:
“When you were a child You
had all the freedom Weren’t as strict
In your own district but That all ends
When the torch burns out Your freedom is gone Like when the night
Turns to Dawn.
When the dawn Comes leaves fall From trees
But when Leaves fall Other leaves Grow.” – Untitled by Husam M, age 12
“It really helps them see that their voices and their stories matter,” Aarti Monteiro, director of education at 826NYC told WNBC. “I think that they’re often siloed at their schools and they’re writing — and it’s not really to a larger audience.
Given that the installation at 7 World Trade Center is open to the public, all of New York City can read what a new generation has to say. And Holzer certainly believes in their voices. The students “represent the vibrancy and vitality of this great city,” she said. At 826 National, we couldn’t agree more.
Read the poetry written by 826NYC students here.
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