Art in airports

Kurt Vonnegut exhibit at Indianapolis Int’l Airport

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We love it whenever a favorite airport teams up with a great museum.

And Indianapolis International Airport (IND) and the local Kurt Vonnegut Museum & Library have done just that.

Through the end of 2024, the airport’s KIND Gallery, on Concourse A, is hosting an exhibit created by the museum that honors the late writer, artist, teacher, and Indianapolis native Kurt Vonnegut.

Like the dowtown museum, the Vonnegut exhibit at the airport tells the story of Vonnegut’s life and explores some his influences, from his upbringing in Indianapolis to his time as a prisoner of war during World War II to his journey to becoming a beloved writer of the 20th Century.

One of his typewriters is on display, along with photos, artwork, personal effects and, of course his books.

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“Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God.”

Vonnegut gave those words to the character named Bokonon in his book, Cat’s Cradle.

“Kurt loved flying into Indy,” said Vonnegut Museum Founder and CEO Julia Whitehead. “Now to have his life, works and memory on exhibit prominently in the best airport in the country is a beautiful way to honor and share his legacy.”

All photos courtesy IND Airport.

Fresh art at SFO Airport: Rosie the Riveter

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One of the newest SFO Museum exhibitions at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) tells the story of Rosie the Riveter and the accomplishments of more than 16 million women who joined the workforce during the Second World War.

More than sixteen million women were employed at the peak of wartime production in 1944—with over three million in skilled factory positions to support the massive increase in war-related industries. Many of those jobs were in aviation.

Here’s the story of “Rosie the Riveter” from the exhition notes:

The Second World War had a profound impact on working women in American society. After the United States entered the war on December 7, 1941, millions of men left manufacturing jobs for military service and recruiters scoured the country in search of replacements. Women joined the workforce in record numbers and filled industrial positions previously denied to them. Migrating from diverse regions and cultures, women converged on the nation’s industrial centers and quickly learned skills that traditionally took years to master. Popular culture and propaganda launched the legend of “Rosie the Riveter,” the anonymous, bandanna-clad woman in coveralls who produced all manner of wartime equipment on the home front.

Look for Rosie the Riveter: Womanpower in Wartime post-security in Harvey Milk Terminal 1 at San Francisco International Airport through May 11, 2025.

(Images courtesy of SFO Museum)

Tour the ‘secret’ SFO Museum facility

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Flying boat airliner model aircraft. Courtesy SFO Museum

Yesterday we shared a video from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SFO) featuring the real-life magician pictured in the 180-foot-long “High Wire” mural from the airport’s art collection.

In that video, we get the answer to the riddle: How is a magic trick like an airport?

Today we’re sharing a charming video from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) offering a never-before look into the ‘secret’ storage facility of the SFO Museum.

Tag along and then be sure to take in a few of the great exhibits at SFO Airport next time you’re there. We’ve arranged a long layover at SFO this week just so we can see the Airplane Model exhibit in the International Terminal.

How is a magic trick like an airport?

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How is a magic trick like an airport?

“High Wire,” a 180-foot-long mural by artist Michael Fajan, has been at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) since 1993.

In 11 panels, Fagan depicted a magician and his assistant performing a magic trick.

Depending on which direction you view the artwork, it either depicts a person disappearing into a magic box or shows a person emerging from it.

For years the artwork was on a corridor wall in Concourse D where crowds of passengers made it difficult to see. But in 2021, “High Wire” was cleaned and reinstalled above the Concourse A corridor.

And in its new location, it is much easier to see.

But what about that magician in the painting? Turns out he’s a real Seattle-area magician named Jonathan Docter.

SEA recently shared the video below showing the magician at the airport, standing under the artwork, telling the story of how he came to be portrayed in the painting.

And he reveals the connection between magic and the airport.

“Traveling by air is a magical experience. You’re in one city and then after a couple of hours of flying in this large tube that we call an airplane or a jet, you are transported to another world, another city. Almost as if by magic.”

Not almost…

SFO layover? See Art of African Instruments

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If you’re arriving, departing or making a connection at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), be sure to leave some time to explore some of the museum-quality exhibits offered by the SFO Museum.

The newest exhibition comes to SFO Airport courtesy of the Fowler Museum at UCLA. It features bells, rattles, harp lutes, drums, slit gongs, and lamellophones or “thumb pianos” from the West and Central African countries of Liberia, Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Here’s a bit about the exhibit from the museum:

Africa’s rich cultural heritage encompasses a tremendous range of music, musical instruments, and performing arts. The variety of instruments made and used in Africa ranges from drums, xylophones, and zithers, to electric guitars and keyboards. Many traditional musical instruments appear utilitarian, while others are embellished with geometric, anthropomorphic, and zoomorphic features, allowing them to simultaneously serve as works of art.

Take a look at a few images from the exhibit below and see the rest of the instruments in SFO’s Harvey Milk Terminal 1 through April 13, 2025.

(Images courtesy SFO Museum)