City of Refuge is artist Krzysztof Wodiczko's ambitious proposal to create a literal memorial for the 9/11 attacks, fusing politics and passion and showing a unique commitment to resistance. City of Refuge: A 9/11 Memorial stands as a parallel memorial and a supplement to the World Trade Center Memorial that is presently under construction. The artist's aim is to create a more active, critical and discursive memory of the September 11 terrorist attacks, seen in their historical and political context, and in the light of their domestic and international fallout. The resulting City of Refuge is a memorial in action: on one hand criticising the culture of memory in the wake of 9/11, on the other an ambitious proposal for public art in New York City, reckoning with the catastrophe and the political implications in terms of a ?cosmopolitan democracy?. New and unpublished sketches and montages animate the text, visualising the memorial site. Wodiczko's focus on memory is complemented by a concentration on learning and pro-active programmes of engagement, encouraging new and informed practical initiatives, creating the hope of paving a way to a less unjust and safer world. City of Refuge is a fascinating insight into the working mind of Wodiczko, the political and personal concepts pushing the project forward, and the idea of social responsibility infused in his work. The book is supported by text from leading scholars from a variety of disciplines, including: Mark Jarzombek, John Rajchman, Andrew Shanken, and Lisa Saltzman. Their contributions constitute a forum published alongside Wodiczko's text, ensuring an engaging debate. AUTHOR: Krzysztof Wodiczko was born in 1943 in Warsaw, Poland, but currently works in New York and in Cambridge, Massachusetts as a professor at MIT. Wodiczko has realized more than 70 public projects in Australia, Austria, Canada, England, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States. He participated in the Cold War Modern (VX) and the Sleeping and Dreaming (Welcome Trust) exhibitions in London in 2008. SELLING POINTS: New and unpublished sketches and montages animate the text, visualizing the memorial site ILLUSTRATIONS 170 colour Pb/w illustrations
