Agent of Change - Todd Stone
Nearly ten years later, his work is awe inspiring. Witness||Downtown Rising is a collection of 60 watercolors and oil paintings, each documenting a different step in the downtown skyline's evolution. This exhibit not only reflects the functional development of New York City but the emotional journey Todd, Lori, and all of us have been on. This project gives viewers a space to contemplate the impact of 9/11 as well as the architectural and social shifts that occurred in its wake. Moreover, it provides a unique opportunity for people to both remember and look forward.
This past Wednesday was the launch of this seminal exhibit with 330 people in attendance, all of whom were celebrating a decade of Todd's work and downtown's revival. After nearly two months of preparation for this exhibit, it is humbling to witness Todd's pride and glory, spawned from a morning of tragedy and disaster. Earlier this month I wrote a column that is now live on Feminist.com's 'Our Inner Lives - A Tale of Two Sisters' section entitled "Flipping Pancakes", a commentary on one's ability to create beauty and purpose out of hardship and confusion. In this article I spoke about Phyllis Rodriguez's lecture at TEDWomen last year and how she, mother to a 9/11 victim, was able to befriend Aicha el-Wafi, mother of Zacarias Moussaoui, an integral and now incarcerated planner in the 9/11 attacks. Todd and Phyllis are special that way. They've shown us, through their own paths to clarity what it means to truly flip your pancake. Phyllis chose compassion for Aicha instead of hatred, she chose understanding instead of dismissal; Todd opted for inspiration rather than condemnation, fresh beginnings over abrupt endings.
And so, for the next six weeks, Agent of Change is producing Wednesday night cocktail parties at the Witness||Downtown Rising space. Each week Todd is hosting a new set of visitors from families of 9/11, police officers, fire fighters, EMS teams, to Port Authority personnel. Additionally, we are doing a special night for the poets and spoken word artists of New York City to respond.
Todd has partnered with various organizations for this exhibit including Silverstein Properties, The Tribute WTC Visitor Center, Tishman Construction, Turner Construction, DCM Erectors, Lower Manhattan Cultural Center, and Bowery Poetry Club. If you would like to attend, e-mail [email protected] and we will arrange for your admittance. Please note, because of high security at 7 World Trade Center, this event is not open to the public.
To learn more about the man himself, watch this clip or read this Huffington Post piece. Todd's grasp of art is only matched by his excitement for life and New Yorker or not, that is truly something to see.
