(May 21, 2003; White Plains, N.Y.)—Westchester Arts Council, the Town of Greenburgh, and Project Liberty-Westchester today announced that the September 11^th Memorial Mural—a permanent outdoor artwork composed of more than 2,000 hand-painted ceramic tiles created by Westchester residents to commemorate the victims and events of September 11^th 2001—will be installed at Webb Field on Central Avenue in Hartsdale during a ceremony scheduled to take place on or before September 11, 2003. For more information about the project, please call (914) 428-4220.

“We are particularly pleased that the Town of Greenburgh has generously agreed to provide a site and construct a wall on which the September 11^th Memorial Mural will be mounted, and to maintain the project as a permanent installation for everyone in Westchester,” says Janet T. Langsam, executive director of the Westchester Arts Council.

“The Town of Greenburghis extremely honored that Westchester Arts Council selected Greenburgh for this project,” says Paul Feiner, Supervisor, Town of Greenburgh. “At Webb Field in Hartsdale, where children enjoy recreation activities, this mural will not only help them to appreciate what America is all about, it will add artistic beauty to the park and demonstrate Greenburgh’s longtime commitment to the cultural health of our community.”

CountyExecutiveAndy Spano said he was particularly inspired by the heartfelt feelings expressed in the hundreds of tiles designed by county residents. Spano said that the county was in the process of working with the families of 9/11 victims to create a memorial to those who died. 

Spano said: “Westchesterresidents – like all Americans – were deeply affected by the events of 9/11. The wall of tiles – like the memorial we are working to create – will record our feelings for future generations.’’

The September 11^th Memorial Tile Project was initiated by the Westchester Arts Council and Project Liberty-Westchester, which is funded by the Federal Emergency Management Association and administered locally by the Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health.

“The Sept. 11 Memorial Tile Project enabled the Westchestercommunity to come together to honor the courage and sacrifice of their fellow citizens,” says Jackie Connors, Program Director of Project Liberty-Westchester. “The creative process of designing and painting a tile helped all who participated in healing.”

Since kicking off in May 2002, the September 11th Tile Memorial Project has sponsored 25 tile-painting workshops in community art centers and human services agencies across Westchestercounty. A team of professional artists led by New Rochelle-based sculptor Ron Mineo, director of Art Life Studios in Port Chester, helped thousands of individuals creatively share their thoughts and feelings about the events of September 11^th by painting images on six-inch-square ceramic tiles, which were later fired at The Clay Art Center in Port Chester. Mr. Mineo, who previously supervised the “Hands Across The Bridge” tile mural project in New Rochelle, will design the layout of the mural and supervise its installation at Webb Field.

 “We lost some Greenburgh residents in the 9/11 tragedy and we hope that everyone who was directly or indirectly affected will find this mural setting to be a place for reflection and healing,” says Town of Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner. “It is important that 20 years from now there will be an appropriate place for people to visit this thoughtful, creative artwork, made by the people of our county, so that we shall never forget.”