Airports across the country are dealing wiht the fallout of having federal workers being forced to show up and work without pay and, now, the chaos and confusion cause by the FAA-mandated reduction in flights.
But there are still fresh airport amenities to celebrate.
Like this charming new spot on Concourse B at Albany International Airport (ALB) called the Adirondack Imaginarium Family Play Space.
Develeoped with the Wild Center at Tupper Lake and featuring the creative work of artists Gracelee Lawrence and David Fadden, the play space is a cheery, regionally-themed spot for families to hang out.
New York’s Albany International Airport (ALB) and Southwest Airlines are marking 25 years of Southwest service to the Capital Region with art.
A new large-scale sculpture titled Treasure Map, by Hudson Valley artist Ruby Palmer, is now on display in the terminal.
The work was made entirely of aircraft seat leather from Southwest’s Repurpose with Purpose initiative, which promotes sustainability through creative upcycling of retired aircraft seat leather.
A wide variety of objects, including travel gear, have been made with old seat leather, but Treasure Map is the first sculpture to come out of the initiative.
There will be a party to celebrate both the anniversary and new artwork on Saturday, September 13, 2025, from 2:00 to 4:00 PM next to the Southwest ticket at Albany International Airport, where Treasure Map is installed.
Guests will have the opportunity to meet the artist and enter prize drawings to win an original artwork by the artist, plus 25 round-trip tickets to any Southwest destination.
The airport created an Art & Culture Program back in 1998 when only a handful of other airports were presenting artwork.
And now, 25 years later, travelers at Albany International Airport can rely on being able to spend time in the airport enjoying permanent art installations, great temporary exhibitions, and exhibit cases showcasing treasures from area museums and cultural organizations.
(Adirondack Folk School exhibit cases at ALB)
The Stuck at the Airport art review team is looking forward to seeing the current exhibition in ALB’s Concourse A, titled Souvenir, in part because it features work by Sharon Bates, the founding director of Albany International Airport’s Art & Culture Program.
The Souvenir exhibit features artwork submitted to the participatory magazine, Cut Me Up, and Bates’ contribution was a series of miniature versions of some of her most memorable installations at ALB.
We hope she has made some extras, so we can take home some souvenirs.
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.
Barnes spent a year photographing and collecting specimens from over 150 plants growing in the Sharker Heritage Society’s herb garden, which is on the site of the first Shaker settlement in the United States.
The herb garden, and historic Shaker ‘gift’ or ‘spirit’ drawings, are the inspiration for the images and prints Barnes created during her year-long project going on view at Albany International Airport on July 16. There’s also a companion site-specific installation at the Shaker Heritage Society, which is a short walk from the airport.
At the Shaker Heritage Society’s 1856 Drying House, Barnes’ installation includes temporary murals on the exterior of the historic brick building. The images are stark blue and white silhouettes of herbs in bloom climbing the outside of the red brick walls. Inside, there are prints on fabric and hanging bunches of herbs from the garden. The murals and the installation will remain on view through summer 2023.
For the installation at Albany International Airport, Barnes made eight cyanotype paintings on paper with plants collected from the Shaker herb garden. (Cyanotype is an old photographic printing process that creates dark greenish-blue prints.)
These paintings are reproduced on aluminum panels that will be on view for three to five years in the pedestrian corridor linking the new south parking garage with the ticketing area.
On July 16, ALB Airport will also debut a six-month-long exhibition, called Planting Utopia, in the post-security Concourse A Gallery with artwork, preparatory sketches, and a documentary video about the collaboration.
(All images courtesy Albany International Airport)
