art at airports

Airport attractions: horses, stars & free cards for moms

Events, , , , ,

Whoa, Nellie: thoroughbreds at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport

They’re not flying horses. But if you’re flying through Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI) you can take a selfie with a horse.

The 150th Preakness Stakes – the second race in the Triple Crown series of thoroughbred horse races – takes place at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore on Saturday, May 17.

To celebrate the Preakness Stakes race and the accompanying Preakness Festival, two large models of thoroughbred horses are now on display at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport.

Both horses are located on the upper level of the airport, near the center of the terminal and the C security checkpoint. One horse is located pre-security and the other is located post-security.

Passengers may snap a selfie with one or both of the horses.

But, unfortunately, no rides.


Fresh art at Denver International Airport

We’re looking forward to flying into Denver International Airport (DEN) soon and seeing this cool new constellation-inspired artwork near Gate C54.

Free Mother’s Day cards at Norfolk Int’l Airport

Flowers, phone calls, brunch, and big hugs are in store for many moms this weekend.

And maybe a bonus postcard.

Over Mother’s Day weekend Norfolk International Airport (ORF) will be handing out free “Thanks, Mom” postcards at the Information Desk between 9 a.m. and 9 p.,m.

They’ll even give you a free stamp to send that postcard (while supplies last).

Museum Monday: Chinese baskets at SFO Airport

Art, ,

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.

Fresh art at MSP + Airport libraries

Books,

Fresh art at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport

The Arts@MSP program at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) presents to new temporary exhibits.

Purely Textual Map Point, by Alison Price,  is a collection of organic and mineral structures on canvas wity metal leaf, glass, handmade paper and found metal. Look for the display in MSP Terminal 1, near Gat C6 through April 1, 2026.

Chorus, by Alexandra Beaumont, celebrates “the freedom and power of the dance floor,” and is a 12X48-foot artpiece made up of 36 hand-sewn squares of textile collages.

Look for Chorus in Terminal 1, on the Tram East platform through March 1, 2027

Pick up a book at the airport

Last week was National Library Week and a good time to remind travelers that many airports maintain book corners where travelers can leave a book they’ve finished reading and pick up a new one. For free.

The tradition of airport libraries goes back to 1962, when a branch of the Nashville Public Library opened at Nashville International Airport (BNA).

Staffed by a librarian who received an extra $4 in her paycheck to cover airport parking, the Nashville Public Library reading room was the first time a public library was established in a municipal airport.

As a bonus, patrons could check out reproductions of well-known artworks.

These days, airport libraries come in a variety of formats. Here’s a sampling.

Miami International Airport (MIA) has a mini-lending library that holds up to 100 books at a time.

Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) has a book exchange center in Terminal A.

And at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), the San Francisco Airport Commission Aviation Library shares space with the Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum on the Departures Level of the International Terminal Main Hall.

You’ll also spot Little Free Libraries at many airports.

Here’s a pretty one at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).

Let us know when you spot a library at an airport you’re passing through.

Turn travel into poetry at San Diego Int’l Airport

Art,

 

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!

SFO Museum celebrates San Francisco

Museums, ,

 

Here’s a great reason to plan or be thankful for a long layover at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

The SFO Museum‘s newest exhibition, San Francisco: City of the World, offers travelers a thoughtful, fun and educational look at the iconic city’s colorful history.

Find it post-security in Terminal 2 through July 6, 2025.

A preview of images and information from the exhibit is below.

Content and images courtesy of SFO Museum.

In 1848, gold was discovered in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The following year, more than seven hundred ships arrived in San Francisco.

The Gold Rush transformed the region into a bustling city of approximately twenty-five thousand inhabitants, including thousands of Chinese immigrants who established California’s oldest and largest Chinatown.

Andrew Smith Hallidie (1836–1900) tested the first cable car in 1873 on Clay Street and public service began in September that same year.

By the turn of the twentieth century, San Francisco was known as the “Paris of the West,” until the 1906 earthquake and resulting fires leveled the city.

The resilient metropolis was quickly rebuilt, and during the early 1900s numerous San Francisco landmarks, such as Coit Tower (1933) and the Golden Gate Bridge (1937)—the most photographed bridge in the world—were built. In addition to its natural beauty and historical sites, San Francisco has long served as a meeting ground for diverse groups of people and countercultures, which are also explored throughout the exhibition.