September 11, 2026 marks the 25th anniversary since the tragic events of 2001 when four coordinated terrorist attacks were carried out by Al-Qaeda against the United States, including the two planes that were flown into the Twin Towers of New York’s World Trade Center, causing their collapse. NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale will present the photography exhibition Joel Meyerowitz: Aftermath as an elegy to the thousands of people who lost their lives and loved ones in the World Trade Center, while also honoring survivors and the responders who participated in its rescue and recovery efforts.

The exhibition features 28 large-scale color photographs by renowned photographer Joel Meyerowitz of the World Trade Center (known as Ground Zero) in the aftermath of the horrific terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Meyerowitz (born in New York, 1938) was the only photographer granted continuous artistic access to the site. His photographs document Ground Zero’s transformation over a nine-month period from a place of total devastation to cleared bedrock. These images played an important role in the 2002 traveling exhibition organized by the U.S. Department of State under Secretary of State Colin Powell. The global tour of the exhibition traveled to more than 200 cities in 60 different countries, allowing millions of people to view the historical record of the 9/11 recovery efforts. Meyerowitz made a gift of these historic photographs to NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale in 2025.

This 25th anniversary exhibition of 9/11 serves to educate a new generation and reflect on the legacy of the attack. Firefighters, police officers, military personnel, engineers, construction workers, and volunteers appear throughout Meyerowitz’s photographs of the site, embodying the values of service, unity, and sacrifice. These ideals remind us that America’s strength lies in collective action during times of crisis. As with the original exhibition organized by the U.S. Department of State in 2002, Joel Meyerowitz: Aftermath is about healing and resiliency after a national trauma. An official ceremony will be held in the museum in conjunction with this exhibition.