NEW YORK -- A coalition of groups of Sept. 11 victims' family members is attempting to prevent two museums from becoming part of the development at Ground Zero, contending that the institutions will promote artwork critical of the United States.
The International Freedom Center and the Drawing Center, two museums selected as part of a proposed arts complex on the 16-acre site where the World Trade Center was destroyed in 2001, have drawn accusations that they are politically left of center and will invite controversy to what the families consider a sacred site.
The Drawing Center has been scrutinized after recent installations that depicted the well-publicized image of a hooded detainee at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison and linked President Bush to Osama bin Laden. The International Freedom Center, which exists only on paper, is the target of allegations that its left-leaning leadership will use the museum as a bully pulpit.
At Ground Zero, the International Freedom Center plans to mount exhibits that document the history of struggles for freedom around the world. The Drawing Center, which is based in SoHo, will exhibit a variety of artists' works.
Representatives of 14 groups of victims' families fear that the exhibitions, regardless of political slant, are inappropriate for a place they consider a cemetery.
"This is not a place we should be dedicating to other social or political issues," said Mary Fetchet, executive director of Voices of September 11. "The space should be dedicated to honoring the people who died that day and telling the story of 9/11."
Last week, coalition members traveled to Washington to appeal to Congress and Bush for help. Earlier, an estimated 200 family members staged a demonstration at Ground Zero.
New York Gov. George E. Pataki (R) responded to the families' demands by telling the two museums they must "guarantee" to observe the "sanctity of the site" and that exhibits should not offend victims' families or visitors.
"We will not tolerate anything on that site that denigrates America, denigrates New York or freedom or denigrates the sacrifice and courage that the heroes showed on September 11th," Pataki told reporters in Albany last month.
The city's tabloids have lobbed political grenades into the fray with headlines such as "Nutty 9/11 Art Nixed" alongside a photo of a sullen Pataki. The New York Post ran a full-page editorial calling for donations to the Sept. 11 memorial to be withheld.
Tom Bernstein, president of the International Freedom Center, said the museum will respect the loss of life that occurred at the site. He said the center will become "a living memorial" that fosters learning and discussion.
"We hope to look at some of the epic moments when the human spirit prevailed and triumphed," he said.
