On Friday, September 9, 2011, and again on Monday, September 12, 2011, County of Summit Executive Russell M. Pry will be sponsoring the creation of the 10th Annual 9/11 Remembrance Art Project, Full Circle: A Decade of Remembrance. The community art project will be created from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the first floor lobby of the Ohio Building, located at 175 S. Main Street in downtown Akron. Citizens are welcome to participate.
The project features a 40 x 60 foot long American flag folded into a large triangle and placed into a wooden box. The flag was hung from the Ohio Building the morning after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States to honor the lives lost and the courage displayed by first responders.
Participants will be given a square piece of Mylar and be asked to print the name of someone they have lost during the last decade. By doing so, citizens can forever honor their loved one, along with those who died on September 11, 2001. The Mylar squares will be placed into the box creating a clear layer over the American flag.
"Retiring the American flag that was featured in our first tribute to the victims of 9/11 is a touching way to conclude the series of 9/11 Remembrance Art Projects," stated Executive Pry. "The art project truly has come full circle."
The 9/11 Remembrance Art Project was established in 2002 as a way to remember the lives lost on September 11, 2001 and to provide citizens with an opportunity to express themselves in a creative, meaningful and enduring way. It is estimated that nearly 4,000 individuals from across Summit County have participated in the 9/11 Remembrance Art Project thus far.
Throughout the past nine years, the County of Summit Executive's Office has worked in partnership with businesses, citizens, civic groups, government employees, organizations and schools from across the community to craft installments to the 9/11 Remembrance Art Project. As a result, nine pieces of public art have been created: Thumbs Up, America!; Red, White & You; Let Freedom Sing!; Individual Peace; Red, Write and Blue; Celebration of Heroes; Red, Woven and Blue; darn, stitch & PEACE; and FREE Standing. All 9/11 Remembrance Art Projects are currently on display in The Room at Church & Main, located at 175 S. Main Street in downtown Akron.
Each of the nine public art projects (listed above) have been celebrated on the national level. On the local level, the Akron Area Arts Alliance (AAAA) plans to honor the County of Summit 9/11 Remembrance Art Project as a whole this November with the prestigious 2011 Arts Alive! Collaborative Award.
For more information contact County of Summit Department of Communications at 330-643-2609, or visit http://www.co.summit.oh.us/executive/SummitCounty9-11ProjectInfo.htm.
