About the International Freedom Center

September 23, 2005
Issues and Answers

The International Freedom Center was designated by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation as one of the four cultural institutions slated for the World Trade Center site on June 10, 2004, following the completion of LMDC's Invitation to Cultural Institutions process. Of the four institutions, only the International Freedom Center is an entirely new creation, designed especially for this special site. In June of 2005, after initial designs for Snohetta's Cultural Center building at Ground Zero were made public, the IFC became the focus of considerable public criticism, some of it originating with the families of September 11 victims. The IFC's Board, staff and creative team take these concerns very seriously. We believe they stem largely from miscommunication and misunderstanding. As laid out in detail in today's Concept and Governance Report, we are resolved to create programming that is positive, inspirational and educational, and that will honor the victims of the attacks. And we are equally committed to involving the families of the victims in the most fundamental aspects of our planning. We aim here to set out some of the important facts and background.

Why can't the IFC simply be placed elsewhere?
The International Freedom Center was created especially for the World Trade Center site, and has been designed to be an integral part of the living memorial at the site. There simply is no alternative place for the IFC within the larger WTC site. The IFC is located within the Cultural Center building, which was called for in Daniel Libeskind's site master plan. The balance of the site, beyond the Memorial quadrant, is already committed to the Performing Arts Center, or is land effectively not within public control and already committed to private development.

What is the political orientation of the IFC?
The IFC will be non-partisan and non-ideological, in the best tradition of leading non-profits in this country. It has drawn, and will draw for advice on leading thinkers, scholars and educational and museum practitioners from across the political spectrum and around the world. The breadth and diversity of the IFC's various advisory groups is proof of this. Moreover, it will be the role of the Center's distinguished and expanded Board to ensure that the IFC never strays from its vision and mission, again as outlined in today's Concept and Governance Report. With respect to the 9/11 attacks themselves, as has been said repeatedly, the IFC will never provide a platform for rationalizing them, or for attempting to defend the indefensible.

How much exhibit space will the IFC have in the Cultural Center building, and how does this compare with the exhibit space at the Memorial Center museum?
It is now projected that the IFC's exhibition spaces will occupy about 40,000 square feet (down from a projection of about 50,000 square feet when the design of the Cultural Center was announced back in May). This compares with a current projection of about 100,000 square feet for the Memorial Center museum (up from earlier projections of about 50,000 square feet). In other words, the Memorial Center's exhibit space is now projected at about twice that for the IFC, where the two had previously been about equal in size. There has never been a plan for the IFC's exhibit space to be larger than that of the Memorial Center. The Cultural Center building will also house a visitor center, a large ventilation system for the new transit station, and perhaps the Drawing Center, as well as the International Freedom Center. Even with all of that, it will be less than 200,000 square feet in total.

What role has the IFC played in the decision to place the Memorial Center museum underground, and how does the size of the IFC relate to the capacity of the Memorial itself or the Memorial Center?
The IFC played no role in the decision to place the Memorial Center underground; that decision was made by the LMDC, largely at the urging of 9/11 family members who wanted it placed at the site's bedrock. The decision was made before the LMDC selected the IFC. The size of the IFC has nothing at all to do with the capacity of the Memorial, which is largely dictated by the size of the "voids" in Michael Arad's design, which in turn roughly reflect the size of the World Trade Center towers. The size of the IFC also has no bearing on the capacity of the Memorial Center museum.

How will the IFC be financed, and what impact will this have on financing for the Memorial and the Memorial Center?
Financing for the IFC will be, as it has been to date, largely from funds raised privately. The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation has announced that its first priority will be to build and endow the Memorial and Memorial Center museum. Until this is accomplished, all funds donated to the Memorial Foundation will be used for this purpose unless the donor directs otherwise. The IFC supports this approach. As a consequence, the financing of the IFC-- likely about $200 million in total-- will not affect fund-raising for the Memorial or Memorial Center. Donations to the IFC will be largely separate, and entirely subject to the interests of donors.