Art

Fresh art for Nashville International Airport (BNA)

Art

Yesterday, we told you about some of the shopping, dining, and live music spots in the Concourse D extension at Nashville International Airport (BNA).

The extended concourse leads to what the airport calls a “record node,” which is a rotunda with access to BNA’s first outdoor terrace, offering views of the airport and downtown Nashville.

There are also three new pieces of art.

“Twine with my Mingles” by Nashville-based artist Elizabeth Williams of New Hat Projects, is a 180-foot-long piece that lines the moving walkway. The artwork is created by loom-style weaving of custom-printed wristbands.  

“A Thread Without End” by Los Angeles-based artist Benjamin Ball of Ball-Nogues Studios is made with 620 stainless steel spheres.

And “Our Radiant City” by Nashville-based artist Brenda Stein depicts some of Nashville’s most recognizable buildings and locations in the terrazzo floor that encircles the center of the rotunda.

All images courtesy Nashville International Airport

Fresh art at Milwaukee Mitchell Int’l Airport

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(Courtesy Sarah Madden )

Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE) and the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (MIAD) have joined up for a new art installation at the airport.

(Courtesy Max Marlow)

(Courtesy Ben Commer)

The art show is on Concourse D, near the gates for Delta Air Lines and Spirit Airlines and features hand-pulled screen prints by Communication Design students.

Each piece offers a unique perspective on Milwaukee, focusing on the city’s landmarks and culture.

Fresh art and music at RNO Airport

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The Note-Ables at RNO Airport

The Artown festival is underway in Reno, Nevada, this month with more than 500 events across the region, including a batch of performances at Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO).

Next up at the RNO Airport is The Note-Ables, a group of professional musicians who do a great job of shattering the stereotype that people with disabilities have limited talents and abilities. They’ll be performing on July 17 from noon to 12:45 pm near the airport’s ski statue, located pre-security in the main terminal.

Here’s a preview:

While you’re at RNO Airport, take a moment to visit the depARTures Gallery, currently hosting the airport’s 17th Annual Employee Art Show, with more than 100 works by airport staff and their families.

Raven Visits SFO.

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The Stuck at the Airport team is a big fan of both the work of Seattle-based glass artist Preston Singletary and the impressive exhibits at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) that the SFO Museum puts together.

So we’re delighted that the newest SFO Museum exhibition at SFO is Preston Singletary: Raven Visits SFO.

The Tlingit and other native Northwest peoples, revere the Raven character as not only a creator of the world but also a trickster and a transformer.

Singletary’s Tlingit heritage and culture is reflected in his modern studio glass sculptures. For this exhibit, he’s collaborated with Garth Stein, a New York Times bestselling author who is also of Tlingit ancestry, and both the sculptures and the narrative text explore what Raven might be up to these days.

Preston Singletary: Raven Visits SFO is on view pre-security International Departures Hall of the San Francisco International Airport from June 21, 2025­ ­– October 18, 2026.

(All images courtesy of SFO Museum)

Airport amenity of the week? MIA memory lane

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A temporary art mural at Miami International Airport (MIA) offers a trip through time.

The mural is a collection of images and video content spanning from the 1920s to the present and includes home movies, travelogues, promotional films and news footage documenting growth and events that changed South Florida.

Images include photographs of the original Miami Daily News building (now Freedom Tower) and Flagler Railroad construction to more recent images of the Miami Marlins’ first World Series run and the Miami Grand Prix.

Local influential figures, historical personalities, and key events that have shaped Miami-Dade County and the state over the last century are also featured.

The images and videos are from the Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives, a collection of film and video related to Florida, with a particular emphasis on television news and home movies from the twentieth century.

The exhibition, Wolfson Archives: Celebrating 40 Years of Collecting, Preserving, and Sharing South Florida’s Visual History is on view at Miami International Airport until September 2025 at the Concourse E arrivals level near Door 11, pre-security. 

All Images Courtesy of The Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives & Miami International Airport.

Museum Monday: Chinese baskets at SFO Airport

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A new exhibition from the SFO Museum at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) celebrates the artistry of Chinese basketry and containers, many of which feature hand-painted motifs and auspicious symbols.

Portland Craft: Chinese Woven Baskets and Containers is on view post-security in SFO’s Harvey Milk Terminal 1 from April 19, 2025­, to June 7, 2026.

Here are some notes about the craft of Chinese basketry from the exhibit curators.

Baskets range in size, form, and usage—from sewing baskets and hat containers to food-carrying baskets and storage containers for grain, clothing, and other domestic items.

Betrothal or gift baskets, some of the most ornate Chinese baskets, are filled with food and gifts and given to the bride-to-be by the groom and his family.

Still made today in several southeasteHrn provinces, many of these specimens are now intended for the tourist or international market.

However, the SFO Museum exhibition features baskets from the 19th to early 20th century. Included are some baskets that not woven at all but are crafted from wood and laquered to mimic the form of a basket.

Here’s a sampling. All images courtesy SFO Museum.

Turn travel into poetry at San Diego Int’l Airport

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Passengers traveling through San Diego International Airport (SAN) may have their travel tales turned into poetry.

Now through April 29, the airport’s Spring 2025 Performing Arts Resident, Poets Underground, will be onsite in the terminals at their luggage-inspired stage called The Great Poetic Baggage Exchange.

The artists will be inviting and enticing travelers to engage in conversations and mural paintings around five travel-inspired themes: Adventure, Baggage, Connection, Checkpoint and Rise.

The stories and images gathered at SAN will help the arts residents create poems and other artworks that will be then be featured in three airport performances on May 2, 6, and 8.

Could be fun!

Fresh art at San Diego Int’l Airport

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(Artist: Guillermo Arias)

Mirror, Mirror exhibition at San Diego Int’l Airport

Mirror Mirror, the newest temporary exhibition on display at San Diego International Airport (SAN), features more than 100 works by 16 contemporary artists from the region, all exploring the fascinating interplay between light, color, and space. 

(Artist: Sophia Allison)

SAN’s Mirror, Mirror exhibition draws on the legacy of the California artists who were part of the 1960s Southern California Light and Space movement.

According to exhibition notes, artists were inspired by the unique quality of Southern California’s light “revolutionized minimalism” by using then-new light-interactive materials such as resin, plastics and neon.

The light-interactive materials were handy, thanks to the local aerospace manufacturing and industrial design industries.

Look for the Mirror, Mirror exhibit at San Diego International Airport in both the pre- and post-security areas of Terminal 2 throughout 2025.

(Artist – May-ling Martinez)

(Artist: Wendell Kling)

Travel tidbits from airports near you

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Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) has a cool new art car on display in Terminal A.

It’s called the “Karmadillo” – for obvious reasons – and is being referred to as the “most Texas ride ever.”

Agree?

SEA Airport’s N Concourse celebrates a concession milestone

When it officially opened at the end of 2021, the remodeled and expanded N Concourse at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) boasted 8 new and 12 remodeled gates, fresh new art and a long list of cool new shops and restaurants.

Due to the pandemic, it’s taken a while for all the contracted tenants to open their spaces.

Now they have. And this week SEA took the time to celebreate with lion dancers, ribbon cuttings and a visit from Jett the SEA Otter, the airport’s new mascot.

If you’re headed to SEA sometime soon, here are eight of the most recent openings:

Sky Gamerz is a gaming lounge serving up retro Atra-era video games that can be played for free, along with a full food and drink menu .

Tender Loving Empire was born in Portland and is a welcome Seattle gift shop addition that supports hundreds of artists, makers, musicians, and small businesses.

CHALO Seattle offers fun travel gear with really great graphics.

Show Pony is a locally-owned boutique featuring clothing, jewelry, accessories, and gifts from independent small designers, many local to the Pacific Northwest.

Other new venues include a branch of P.F. Chang’s, Lil Woody’s Burgers & Shakes, Embarque Whiskey Grill and Village Pub .

And check out what’s on deck for the Great Hall at Denver Internaitonal Airport

Orlando Int’l Airport ready for National Public Sleeping Day

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Have you ever fallen asleep in an airport or on an airplane?

If so, you will appreciate and want to mark National Public Sleeping Day, which takes place each year on February 28th.

The unofficial national holiday celebrates and encourages taking a nap in public places, including airports and on airplanes, a skill most travelers have down pat.

The holiday gets special attention at Orlando International Airport (MCO), which is home to Duane Hanson’s hyperrealistic sculpture commonly referred to as The Sleeping Man, but officially titled “The Traveler.”

The sculpture has been part of the airport’s art collection since 1985 and now sits in a display case on Level 3 of MCO’s Main Terminal. According to the airport, when the sculpture was first installed, “the model who posed for the piece – a neighbor of Hanson’s – was in attendance, sitting next to the finished sculpture. When the model abruptly stood up and walked away, it caused quite a stir among the staff and visitors.”

In 2024, “The Traveler” underwent a refresh from a local conservator who was able to complete the job “without waking him up from his almost 40-year slumber.”

This year, in honor of National Public Sleeping Day – February 28 – Orlando International Airport is hosting a look-alike contest inspired by “The Traveler” sculpture.

To enter, all you need to do is dress up as the sleeping man and show up by the sculpture at MCO airport between 11 am and noon on Friday, February 28th. The prize: an MCO Icons pin for your collection.

Snooze and you lose. Or, in this case, win.