Farmingdale High School students create commemorative mural
(Photo courtesy of The Farmingdale School District)
They were not born yet, but through discussions and story sharing, students from Farmingdale High School were able to perfectly illustrate a vital transition that is being ushered in by time: their ability to feel as we experienced, since they cannot possibly remember the events of September 11, 2001.
Farmingdale Remembers is the annual observance commemorating the tragic events of 9/11. It is hosted by the Farmingdale Community Summit Council and held each year at the 9/11 Memorial located at the Farmingdale Public Library. In honor of the twentieth anniversary, Farmingdale High School senior Jaxon Rivera and junior Abbygail Burns created a beautiful mural depicting both the somber memory and pure camaraderie that New Yorkers endured on that fateful day.
“We are so proud that our students were able to perfectly capture the feelings we felt after our lives were changed forever,” Farmingdale High School art teacher Lisa Gramarossa said. “As educators, we believe that it is our duty to pass down our memory to future generations through narratives and visual expression.”
Rivera and Burns’s painting features Lady Liberty embracing the towers of light deep in space. They wanted to exhibit a feeling of global community and mourning. The final image perfectly illustrates the spirit that has passed and our firm will to remember. The students first painted the artwork onto a large wood panel under the supervision of art teachers Amanda Rummenie and Lisa Gramarossa. The painting was then professionally printed onto a large canvas which now lives on in perpetuity in the Farmingdale Public Library main entrance. In addition, the student’s artwork was featured on the cover of the Farmingdale Remembers program.
The Farmingdale Community Summit Council was formed during the highly emotional time following September 11, 2001. The summit represents a “coming together” of residents, organizations, merchants, and houses of worship in the communities that comprise the Farmingdale School District for the common good of all.
For more information about the Farmingdale Union Free School District, visit the district’s website at www.farmingdaleschools.org and like the Facebook page: @FarmingdaleSchoolDistrict.
—Submitted by the Farmingdale Union Free School District
