Artist Frank McEntire’s “Spontaneous Memorial” exhibit and an interactive American flag painting feature as part of Utah Valley University’s commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York City on September 11, 2001.
OREM — Artist Frank McEntire’s “Spontaneous Memorial” exhibit and an interactive American flag painting feature as part of Utah Valley University’s commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York City on September 11, 2001.
McEntire created the “Spontaneous Memorial” collection with inspiration from the impromptu memorials established across New York City after the attacks. The exhibit was first installed at UVU’s Fulton Library in 2004 and has grown as it has traveled to a new home each September. Student curators Alex Coberly, Chelsea Davis, and Chloe Hunter are assisting with the exhibit at UVU, which is located in the Art & Design Gallery in the Gunther Technology Building (GT 634).
“The student curators selected all the work and wrote panels for the exhibition,” said Jason Lanegan, UVU assistant professor of art and design. “They were involved in everything. The show wouldn’t be there without the three students.”
Lanegan said a big challenge for the student curators was to give context and meaning to an event that many UVU students may not remember.
“In times of devastation and confusion, what sources can be turned to to find peace and optimism?” Lanegan said. “They are posing those questions throughout the exhibit.”
Other activities include an interactive collaborative art project on Sept. 10 in the breezeway outside the UVU Reflection Center, where students and community members are invited to use red, white, or blue paint to place handprints in the pattern of an American flag.
The Reflection Center will also feature a webinar from the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum and a display of information on how to counter Islamophobia. UVU employees will be on hand to facilitate discussions.
“We want to create a campus where everyone feels welcome,” said Ellie Thompson, UVU Reflection Center coordinator. “When we are commemorating, we should also be active about trying to counter the Islamophobic ideas that sprang up around 9/11. We have so many Muslim professors and students, and they’re just as much a part of UVU as anyone.”
In addition to on-campus activities, the UVU Veteran Success Center is participating in the United We March fundraiser in Gunnison, Utah, on Sept. 10-11. The event includes a patriotic procession, dinner, and a 26-mile “gut check” ruck march in which participants will carrying 35-pound backpacks. For more information, visit facebook.com/UnitedWeMarch.
