art at airports

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.

Spring has sprung – in art – at PHX Airport

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The newest exhibition at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) offers an artistic look at the wide variety of plant and animal life in Arizona and the Sonoran Desert with work by 21 artists.

The diverse selection of artworks, all from the Phoenix Airport Museum’s own collection, includes a realistic bronze tortoise family, an embroidered and appliqued art chair with butterflies and flowers, and large vibrant paintings of cactus blooms – to name a few.

Persistent Plants and Desert Dwellers is in Phoenix Sky Harbor’s Terminal 3, on level 4, and is an inviting and colorful respite, especially for travelers from colder climates who will appreciate the sunshiny images.

Travelers can visit the exhibition in the post-security gallery while airport visitors without a flight ticket can see a sampling of works near the PHX Sky Train® portal through August 2022.

Something Fishy Spotted at Seattle-Tacoma Int’l Airport

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Sometimes the coolest stuff is below you

You know how during the airline safety instructions (you pay attention, right?) they say the nearest exit may be behind you?

Well, sometimes at the airport the coolest art features may be below you.

At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) one of the artworks is a river of 300 brass fish running along the terrazzo floor in Concourse B.

The work is called Flying Fish and is by Judith and Daniel Caldwell.

Most of the fish are regular fish, but there are some unusual ones in there.

Including the fish spotted swimming with a suitcase.

We’ve been walking over the floor and appreciating the fish for years, but yesterday was the first time we noticed this bonus traveling fish.

Maybe it was because it was early in the day and we could actually take our time walking down the concourse.

But we think it was because after being so nervous about traveling during the pandemic, we’re finally starting to go back to our normal travel mode of being excited to travel and alert to everything around us.

Even the art on airport floors.

Fresh Art at San Diego Int’l Airport

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Artist: Beliz Iristay

Are you sick of staying at home? Or maybe still trying to get home after being stuck somewhere due to the pandemic?

Perhaps some art will help.

In a new temporary exhibition at San Diego International Airport (SAN), 16 artists explore the concept of home.

From the exhibit notes:

“Home is a lens through which people explore memory, identity, and belonging in an increasingly nomadic world. More recently, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, home became a safe haven–an all-in-one workplace, classroom, and living space for millions of people around the globe. The term also took on significance as a desired destination that was not possible to reach for some, whether due to travel restrictions or health limitations.“

Artist: Cheryl Tall

Make Yourself at Home, located pre and post-security in Terminal 2 at SAN through May 2022, includes sculpture, painting, photography, video, woven textiles, ceramics, site-specific installation, and more.

[The] “exhibition takes on new and imaginative ways to view the concept of home,” says Kimberly Becker, San Diego County Regional Airport Authority President and CEO. “We hope passengers traveling through San Diego take a moment to embrace the art and find new meaning in what home means to them.”  

Here are few more selections from the exhibition.

Artist: Judith Christensen
Artist: Jane Brucker
Artist: Nasem Navad

Art and Magic at SJC and DAL Airports

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Artists: Humans Since 1982 Photographer: John Janca

Fresh art at Mineta San Jose International Airport

Take a look at this cool new permanent artwork installed at California’s Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC)

Installed in the pre-security Arrivals Hall of Terminal B, A million Times (San José), by artists Humans since 1982, is made from 160 clock faces with white hands set against a black surface. The clock hands have been programmed to spin individually so the artwork sometimes shows the accurate time between performances of three different compositions.

Take a look.

Travelers who have had the chance to go through Terminal 2 at Singapore’s Changi Airport in the past will recognize this version of A million Times, which is made up of 504 clock-faces.

MAGIC SHOW AT DALLAS LOVE FIELD

Who says all the magic has gone out of travel?

On Tuesday (September 21, 2021) Dallas Love Field (DAL) hosted a live magic show for travelers and airport employees.

The 45-minute show by magicians Dal and Cinde Sanders included magic and illusion including, card magic, mind-reading, floating tables, and giant balloon dogs. We’re nominating this for Airport Amenity of the Week.

What do you think?