FIU to observe 9/11 with Arianna Caroli exhibit Sept. 5-11


Italian-born multimedia artist Arianna Caroli was in New York City after 9/11, roaming the city with her father’s old Olympus camera.

Ten years later, the artwork inspired by the photographs she captured – on film – will be displayed at the Frost Art Museum at Modesto A. Maidique Campus beginning Monday, Sept. 5, through Sept. 11.

Caroli will be part of FIU’s “Unity/Diversity: Reflecting on the Meaning of 9/11,” a series of events scheduled to take place at MMC and Biscayne Bay Campus as the country readies to observe the 10th anniversary of the terrorists attacks on Manhattan and the Pentagon.

The artist’s work evokes the resilience of New York, which in the weeks following that fateful Tuesday morning was colored red, white and blue as that symbol of American freedom – the Star-Spangled Banner – endured not only in the minds of New Yorkers but the country at large.

“When I first met Arianna during Art Basel last year she told me about her pride in being globally aware and active,” said Stephanie Doscher, associate director of the Office of Global Learning Initiatives. “She shared her body of work exploring these themes with me and when I saw her flag photos, I was immediately struck by another symbolic possibility – that the exhibition could instigate a university-wide conversation about the meaning of 9/11.”

America’s flag was at every turn Caroli took while walking around the city, a revitalized expression of strength in the face of tragedy.

“New York was all an installation of friendship, of banding together,” she said, “it was a symbol of unity and diversity. I was moved by it.”

A set of her photos will be projected on the side of the museum, as well as exhibited as part of a limited-engagement installation inside and shown on the monitors throughout campus.

She also will speak on the topic of being a global citizen in the post-9-11 world (stay tuned for those details as they become available).

“Unity/Diversity: Reflecting on the Meaning of 9/11” also will feature a commemoration on Sept. 9 in the GC Pit, an evening of Sufi music, poetry and the dancing of the whirling dervishes at the Wertheim Performing Arts Center on Sept. 11, and a student-essay contest, among other events.

Update: Caroli’s lecture “On Being a Global Citizen in the Post 9/11 World” is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 8, from 1-2 p.m., in GC 140 at MMC.

The artist also will be available for meet-and-greets the next day, at 2 p.m., in GC 243, following the commemoration and reflection ceremonies set to begin at 12:15 p.m. by the GC Fountain.