Art exhibit honoring victims of 9/11 and first responders opens in downtown Sacramento

An art exhibit honoring the victims and those who helped in the aftermath of 9/11 opened Thursday in downtown Sacramento.

The exhibit, “A Space In Between,” features the work of photojournalist Martha Cooper. Photos and gear of the team of Sacramento firefighters deployed to New York are also in the installation, according to a tweet from the Sacramento Fire Department.

Sacramento Fire Department Assistant Chief Chris Costamagna spoke at an opening reception Thursday, recalling his experiences on the ground 20 years ago, Fox40 wrote.

Cotomagna arrived in New York City on the evening of 9/11 with limited information on everything that occurred. Reality hit when he and other team members saw the rubble.

“There’s no concrete left in the steel, which isn’t a good sign. The steel’s all twisted up, and it’s reduced to 12 stories,” Costamagna said. “There’s not going to be a lot of void spaces for people to survive in. We were hopeful we would find and have live rescues.”

The team from Sacramento did not find anyone alive. “We found human remains, yes. We didn’t know how significant that was in the moment,” Costamagna said.

The art display contains posters of the missing put out by their loved ones.

The exhibition will be here until Oct. 11. It is at 1401 C St. and open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free for all ages.