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)
SFO Museum presents an exhibit about art from pineapple leaves
At SFO: From Pineapple to Piña: A Philippine Textile Treasure
The newest exhibit from the SFO Museum at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is about textiles made from pineapple leaves.
“Unique to the Philippines, piña is an extraordinary textile made by weaving the fibers of the leaves of the pineapple plant. This light, airy fabric was perfectly suitable to the tropical climate. The textile enjoyed a golden age during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, particularly on the island of Panay, where it was made into shirts, women’s blouses, shoulder scarfs, handkerchiefs, and table linens.“
A new exhibition at Albany International Airport (ALB)
Albany International Airport (ALB) will open a new Gallery exhibition on May 7. The Life Around Us, features recent paintings by Ashley Norwood Cooper and Heidi Johnson, as well as a new site-specific installation, Stream by Laura Moriarty.
Iced Coffee With Friends – by Heidi Johnson
Route pins from PHL Airport
And Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) recently handed out pins created by local artists to celebrate the return of several transatlantic flights. Great idea!
#PHLAirport celebrated the return of several transatlantic routes– some for the first time in two years– with special destination pins created by local artists . Pins were presented to passengers and crews prior to takeoff. More: https://t.co/fAIABhiG4jpic.twitter.com/fPVl993ZwO
Sunrise Sunset features work by 46 artists and runs from May 15-August 30, 2021. The show is in the airport’s new redeveloped pre-security Gallery and in the post-security Concourse A Gallery.
Jenny Kemp: Sun Salutations
Sunrises and sunsets have long been rendered and allegorized to signify beginnings and endings, the show notes tell us. “Yet, at a glance, how are we to tell whether we’re welcoming a new day or the approach of the night?”
“Much the same can be said about our recent experience of time passage when for many it could be hard to distinguish one day from the next or discern what the future might hold,” said Kathy Greenwood, Director, Art & Culture Program Albany International Airport.
For this exhibit, Greenwood chose work in a wide range of media, including video and still photography, as well as sculpture, installation, painting, fiber, and collage by artists who are emerging as well as those who occupy an international stage.
Here are a few more samples;
Lily Prince – American BeautyKK_Kozik- _Lone Tree Hill
The pavilion is an 800-square foot glass-enclosed space on the first floor of the terminal. The space is designed to be a reading lounge where visitors can select a free book by authors featured by the Institute, download an author interview, and learn about the Institute’s programs and events.
In addition to Concourse Galleries and an exhibition case program that features information and artifacts from museums in the region, ALB airport has a dedicated 2,500-square gallery located pre-security on the third floor of the airport.
As a nice bonus, artwork in the curated gallery shows is often for sale.
Red Drift by Gina Ochiogrosso
3. The Observation Area at ALB
Albany International Airport has a pre-security observation area on the third level of the terminal. Part of the airport art gallery, the observation area offers views of the airport runways, the wings of the terminal, and, on a clear day, the southern Adirondack Mountains.
4. Flowers at ALB
Albany International Airport makes a point to have fresh flowers throughout the terminal. And lots of them. Starting at the curbside.
5. Shiny new facilities at ALB
Albany International Airport recently completed a multi-million dollar capital redevelopment project. Passengers will benefit from the new air traffic control tower, a new 230,000-square-foot terminal, and a new 1000-space parking garage with a pedestrian bridge to the terminal.
Did we miss one of your favorite features or amenities at Albany International Airport (ALB)?
If so, leave a note in the comments section below.
And be sure to take a look at the other airports in the “5 Things We Love About…” series. We’re adding a few new airports each week.
Albany International is one of those rare airports that has an art curator and a dedicated space for changing group art exhibitions.
Their newest show – Under the Ground, Below the Water – has just been installed and will be on view through September 3, 2018 in the gallery located pre-security on the 3rd floor of the main terminal.
Here are few more snaps of the show shared by the airport.
Tanya Marcuse – Woven1
(By D.Harris: I went down in the valley And I crossed an Icy stream and the water I was crossing Was no water in a dream)
Robert Hite, Migration House, reclaimed wood and metal, 2007-2017, Concourse A, Albany International Airport.
A new, specially-commissioned large-scale sculpture titled Migration House by Hudson Valledy based artist Robert Hite has taken up residence at New York’s Albany International Airport.
Scheduled to be on view post-security through 2020 in Concourse A, this reclaimed wood and metal sculpture “evokes the idea of home – a shelter that can provide refuge for dreams and aspirations as well as protection from the elements.”
At 9 feet high and 21 feet wide this structure is also hard to miss and is supported by stilts perched on wooden lathe hills that form a kind of landscape.
Find more information about the extensive Albany International Airport art and culture program and be sure to leave plenty of time to shopt at DEPARTURE when you’re at the ALB airport: the award-winning store features a great collection of gifts and crafts from 60 museums and cultural institutions in the region.
