Amsterdam artists behind 9/11 drone tribute in New York

An Amsterdam art collective and a Dutch designer were behind the memorial light installation for the Twin Towers in New York on Wednesday night, two days before the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

Exactly 2,977 drones – one for every person killed in the attacks – were flown over New York Harbor to form the outline of the two skyscrapers. The display, titled “2,977 Lights Over New York Harbor”, appeared twice for 15 minutes each time.

Amsterdam studio Drift, which has also used drones to rebuild landmarks such as Rome’s Colosseum in light, acted as artistic advisor on the project, alongside Japanese architect Shigeru Ban.

The show itself was designed by Yan Paul Dubbelman, a Dutch digital artist also based in Amsterdam. American creative director Addison Mehr led the project, which was developed with relatives of victims, survivors, and first responders.

Drift co-founder Ralph Nauta told broadcaster NOS the idea came to him while walking through New York two years ago. The aim was to give those who had lost someone “something beautiful with light”, he said. “It is of course very emotional for everyone who lost someone there to see the Twin Towers again.”

The drones were not allowed to fly on the eve of the anniversary itself for security reasons, NOS reported, so the show took place a day earlier. It was designed to sit alongside Tribute in Light, the two beams projected from Lower Manhattan every year on September 11.

Friday’s official ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial in Manhattan takes place under the heaviest security in years, with relatives reading out the names of all the victims. For the first time, the roughly 9,000 people who have since died of illnesses linked to the attacks will also be commemorated.