Art

100 Music Legends in 1 Mural At New Orleans International Airport

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Alaska Airlines canceled our direct flight from Washington, DC to Seattle, WA on Sunday. And the rebooked route home gave the Stuck at The Airport team the gift of a 7-hour layover at New Orleans International Airport (MSY).

That gave us plenty of time to check out the fun shops, the bars, and the restaurants.

And all of the art.

We could identify just a few of the people pictured in this three-panel mural. And we’ve reached out to the airport for a key or list of them all.

In the meantime, let us know how many musicians you can ID in this great mural by Richard C. Thomas, called The Roux, which depicts 100 music legends from New Orleans.

Update: Here’s a brochure sent to us by MSY Airport that includes a list of all the people featured in the mural:

Fresh Art at PIE Airport

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Two new murals now greet passengers at Florida’s St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport (PIE).

Both murals are visible to passengers arriving and departing from Gates 7-11 and Gate 12.

Leo Gomez’s mural “GO EASY” features a dreamy Tampa Bay sunset, with welcoming colors, bold text, and silhouettes that evoke travel and nature. 

Laura “Miss Crit” Spencer’s mural is inspired by Florida native flowers and is inhabited by a variety of bees, butterflies, and pollinators.

These new murals join the other amenities we love at PIE airport, including a great art collection, the PIE Pups animal therapy program, and the outdoor Bark Parks animal relief areas.

PIE Airport is also a great place to learn some aviation history.

PIE airport’s location on Tampa Bay, north of St. Petersburg lays claim to being the birthplace of commercial air transportation. 

On January 1, 1914, barely a decade after the Wright Brothers’ pioneer flight at Kitty Hawk, the first ticket for air travel was sold by the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airport line to a fare-paying passenger. 

St. Petersburg mayor A.C. Phiel (center in the photo below) paid $400 to be the first passenger on the St. Petersburg Tampa Bay Airport Line. That flight marked the beginning of commercial air transportation. 

Courtesy Courtesy National Air and Space Museum Archives

A replica of the Benoist amphibious airplane flown on that inaugural flight is on display in the PIE baggage claim.

Except where noted, all photos are courtesy PIE Airport.

Toy Airplanes at St. Louis Lambert Int’l Airport

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Fans of toy airplanes will enjoy the Toys Take Flight exhibit on view through the end of March 2023 in the Lambert Gallery at St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL).

“Toy airplanes have been around longer than airplanes themselves,” the exhibit notes tell us. “The earliest model airplane, a glider powered by a rubber band, was created in 1871, 32 years before Orville and Wilbur Wright took their first flight. Through countless fads, innovations, and technological advances, toy airplanes have endured as a testament to humankind’s fascination with flight.”

Here are just a few of the toy airplanes on display at STL Airport.

Look for more toy airplanes on exhibit at St. Louis Lambert International Airport in the Lambert Gallery. It is located in Terminal 1 near Exit 11, close to the C Concourse Exit and is accessible to the public.

Flying this week? Look for this airport art

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Cool Clay exhibit at Denver International Airport

Artist: Dean Goss

We’re not sure how we missed the announcement of this cool exhibit at Denver International Airport (DEN). But if you’re passing through DEN this month, be sure to take a moment to visit the Colorado Clay exhibit near the A-Bridge checkpoint.

Visual Artists at Work at IAH & HOU Airports

Houston Airports owns one of the country’s largest public art collections. Now it has an Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program.

During a three-month-long residency, visual artist and educator Jaymes Earl will work with textiles at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). Visual Artist and educator Mathieu JN Baptiste will paint at William P. Hobby Airport (HOU).

Houston Airports will provide each artist with an easel, a workstation, and a monthly stipend to cover their art supplies. And the traveling public will get to see artists at work. Both artists will be working in prominent spots in the airport and, to maximize interaction with travelers, they’ll be doing much of their work in the evenings and during weekends.

“As air travel returns to pre-pandemic levels and with these artists in the airports during the holidays, our travelers will have an extraordinary experience to enjoy art and culture without ever having to leave the airport,” said Alton DuLaney, Curator of Public Art for Houston Airports.

Fresh art at Albany Int’l Airport

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– Bouquet of Floral Funnel Forms – Ben Godward
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New York’s Albany International Airport (ALB) is getting ready to debut a new exhibition.

The sculptures and prints in the Lumen exhibition are by Shaina Gates, Heather Hutchison, and Ben Godward. And all the works in the exhibition are engaged with or activated by light.

“Visitors will experience shifts in the dimension and character of the artwork as sunlight and weather change over the course of a day or a season,” said Kathy Greenwood, Director of the Airport’s Art & Culture Program. “Each artist harnesses light and color through complex and somewhat mysterious processes.”

Assemblies of small, gem-like sculptures by Shaina Gates are made from expired black and white photographic sheet film.

The range of hues results from sun exposure and a host of chemical and chance conditions.


Ben Godward’s hand-pigmented resin sculptures are composed of translucent layers of brilliant color.


In the presence of light, these sculpture project radiant effects on the surfaces around them.


And Heather Hutchison’s minimal forms contain meticulously constructed optical shifts that are produced with layers of transparent and opaque materials conditions.

Lumen will be on display in the Albany International Airport Gallery, located pre-security on the third floor of the terminal, from September 24, 2022, through February 27, 2023. Hours: 7 am – 10 pm daily.