Oral History with Anita Contini

Oral history interview with Anita Contini and Amy Weinstein on May 14, 2024.

Anita Contini is an arts administrator and former Director of Memorial and Cultural Programs for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC). In this interview, Contini reflects on her career promoting public art in New York City, beginning with the founding of Creative Time and continuing through leadership roles at the World Financial Center and Merrill Lynch. She recounts her experience on September 11, 2001, while in Washington, D.C., the relief of learning that her son had escaped the World Trade Center, and her return to a transformed Lower Manhattan, where she witnessed the devastation firsthand. Contini discusses joining the LMDC and leading the planning process for the National September 11 Memorial, describing the extensive public outreach undertaken to gather input from victims' families, residents, workers, historians, and other stakeholders. She explains the development of the Memorial Mission Statement and design competition guidelines, the nationwide study of memorials that informed the process, and the challenges of balancing deeply divergent public opinions while ensuring that every voice was heard. Contini also reflects on the selection of Michael Arad's Reflecting Absence design, the importance of meaningful adjacency in arranging victims' names, Peter Walker's contributions to the Memorial landscape, and the later creation of the Memorial Glade honoring rescue, recovery, and relief workers. Throughout the interview, she emphasizes the value of collaboration and diverse perspectives in shaping a Memorial that serves as both a sacred place of remembrance and a civic space, while expressing pride that the National September 11 Memorial & Museum has become an international model for communities confronting tragedy and collective loss.