After 9/11, making art helped children to express complex thoughts and feelings about the attacks. Drawing Meaning examines how young artists from around the world used their work to heal themselves and others.
As images of devastation appeared on televisions across the world on September 11, 2001, millions of children saw what adults saw. Within hours of the attacks, children were using art to express feelings that were too big for words.
Some of the artists were thousands of miles from the attack sites at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Some were blocks away.
In much of the children’s art, the trauma of the attacks is on display. But their work also goes beyond the attacks to show selflessness, generosity, and the young artists’ empathy. Some drawings were treasured by first responders. Others explored the political and social consequences of 9/11.
Children of all ages found meaning in these tragic and confusing events, using art to help find their place in a world that had changed in an instant.
Drawing Meaning is a temporary exhibition in the Museum’s South Tower Gallery showcasing children's art from the Museum's permanent collection. The exhibition opened to visitors in February 2025 and is made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
