Art

Opera & ballet at Helsinki Airport + Giant miniature house at Indianapolis Airport

Helsinki Airport shows ballet & opera snippets

The Stuck at the Airport team is a big fan of Helsinki, Finland. And not just for the licorice.

We love the airport too.

And we’re delighted to learn that passengers traveling through Helsinki Airport (HEL) can now enjoy snippets of opera and ballet from the Opera House in Helsinki.

Audio and video selections from performances are projected on a giant wall at the airport train station.

The first set of snippets includes highlights from the ballets Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty and the operas Tosca, Turandot and Don Giovanni. The run time is about 20 minutes and the program selections will be refreshed regularly.

We’re putting this in the running for Airport Amenity of the Week.

Indianapolis Int’l Airport displays a replica of a President’s house

Here’s another fun installation at an airport.

(Courtesy IND Airport)

The home of Benjamin Harris, the 23rd President of the United States, is a popular tourist destination near downtown Indianapolis.

And now an intricate replica of Harrison’s house created by miniaturist Jimmy Landers is on display in the pre-security Civic Plaza at Indianapolis International Airport (IND).

The replica is nearly six feet long, three feet wide and four feet tall. It includes more than 40 windows, eight porch columns, four chimneys and real slate roofs.

The original home was built with 380,552 bricks. The replica has 48,000.

The original structure cost $29,000 (over $800,000 in 2024 dollars). The cost of building the replica was about about half as much: $15,000.

“Made in Miami” film posters on exhibit at MIA Airport

Love movies?

Then be sure to look for this film-related exhibition the next time you visit Miami International Airport (MIA).

MIA Galleries and Film Miami are presenting a selection of film posters spanning seven decades of motion pictures shot in Miami and surrounding areas.

And Now, Our Feature Presentation (great title for an exhibit about movies, right?) celebrates Miami and the Miami area as both an inspiration for filmmakers and as a popular filming location.

The exhibition is at the Gates D31 Gallery and features 33 Hollywood film posters spanning eight decades of motion pictures shot in Miami-Dade County from 1941 to 2024.

Here’s a flipbook preview of the new exhibition at MIA: And Now Our Feature Presentation: Miami Film Posters, 1941 – 2024.

Check to see if your favorite films or actors are included. You may be surprised.

Bradley International Airport (BDL) gets fresh art

Connecticut’s Bradley International Airport (BDL) partnered with RiseUP for Arts to add five murals inside the main terminal.

The landscapes and imagery represent New England and Connecticut, the Nutmeg State.

Hartford-based RiseUP for Arts has completed 250 murals throughout Connecticut since 2015. The murals at BDL are by Patrick Ganino, Micaela Levesque and Chris Gann. Take a look.

Old Southwest Airlines seats = cool stuff

Southwest Airlines has been in the news lately for the carrier’s decision to end its open seating policy, add premium-style seating and begin flying red-eye flights.

So, it’s a good time to look at another Southwest Airlines seating story. This one is all about what the airline has been doing with old aircraft seat leather.

After a seat refresh in 2014, Southwest Airlines had 43 acres of surplus seat leather. Rather than throw it in the landfill, the airline created the Repurpose with Purpose program.

The ongoing program not only recycles and repurposes Southwest Airlines’ old seat leather, but it also provides employment, skills training and other community benefits.

Through October 2024 an exhibit at Denver International Airport (DEN) displays some of the diverse and creative items being made.

Look for the exhibit at DEN Airport on Concourse C, Mezzanine (upper level), and at Baggage Claim 1, East Side.