9/11 artwork unveiled in Battersea Park (From Your Local Guardian)

9/11 artwork unveiled in Battersea Park as part of educational project

7:30am Tuesday 6th September 2011 in Top Stories

A piece of art made from steel recovered from the World Trade Centre has been unveiled in Battersea Park ahead of the tenth anniversary of 9/11.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson and former commissioner of the New York City fire department Thomas Von Essen CBE paid visits to the park on Monday to celebrate the unveiling.

The event - part of a formal launch event for a 9/11 educational project - saw a unique eight-metre-tall, four tonne art work sited in an area of the park known as The American Ground six days before the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York.

The installation, by acclaimed New York born artist Miya Ando and commissioned by charitable organisation The London 9/11 Project, will stay in the park for one month while a permanent out-of-borough home is prepared.

The London 9/11 Project aims to "provide teachers with the resources to explore the causes, experiences and consequences of 9/11".

It is designed so they can then raise related issues in secondary school classrooms through subjects like English, history, art, citizenship and religious education.

Council leader Ravi Govindia said: "It is a great honour for Wandsworth to host the launch of an education project which will bring some good from the senseless attacks on New York.

"We are also extremely proud to be providing a home for this unique art work on the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy. The council stepped in to offer this temporarily location as soon as we learned that there were difficulties in getting the piece sited in its permanent home in time for the anniversary."

The London 9/11 Project's education programme is being developed by The Institute of Education in partnership with education consultancy EdComs, under the leadership of Prof Geoff Whitty, director of the Institute of Education.

Prof Whitty said: "Education is our principal tool in turning the appalling experiences of 9/11 into something which can give young people hope and inspiration."

Ms Ando added her intention was "to create a work that will serve as a visual symbol for peace and tolerance and which also looks to the future".

For more information about the programme, which draws together video and paper-based resources, visit interactive website 911londonproject.com.