Jacksonville International Airport's Arts & Media Day

The Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA) was established in 2001 by the Florida legislature and is governed by a seven-member board. The JAA operates Jacksonville International Airport, which is funded through user fees instead of local taxes. Quietly, the Jacksonville International Airport Arts Commission has worked diligently to create an impressive and award-winning public arts program throughout the airport where many visitors experience our community for the first time. Taking advantage of an invitation from Tucker/Hall's Account Coordinator, Megan Dodd, Metro Jacksonville had the opportunity to participate in the airport's first-ever Arts and Media Day tour.

According to Arts Commission Coordinator Allie Gloe, "Jacksonville International Airport was one of the first to institute an arts program back in the 1990s. JAX continues to be a world-leader in the arts, as we strive to celebrate culture and perception that brings about calmness, wonder, and inspiration, which are all emotions nicely fitting for travelers in an airport."

Apparently, their work has not gone unnoticed.  Because of its impressive and award-winning public art program, the airport was recently recognized by the London Observer as one of the best airports in the world to be stranded. Others on that list were London's Heathrow Airport, Seoul Airport in South Korea, and Amsterdam's Airport Schiphol.

With this in mind, here is a brief look at the impressive collection the airport has assembled over the last decade.





Javier Marin's Hoy es Hoy was installed in 2006.  The 13' tall sculpture was the first permanent exhibit by an international artist at the airport.




The theme of Peter Hite's The River was created to parallel a traveler's viewpoint in the airport's Level 1 baggage claim section.  Take a close look and you'll notice it's 300,000 stamps.






The Level 1 Baggage Claim area is also home to rotating Art & Culture cases.  These exhibits feature the work of local Not-for-Profits.




Don Martin's Habitation I, II & III murals in the Level 2 Ticketing area were some of the airport's first permanent art exhibits.  Habitation's theme represents a visual timeline of development in Northeast Florida.




Time Prentice's Silver Rain is a kinetic structure made of aluminum and rotates with with the movement of travelers within the airport's Connector Bridge concourse.




The Connector Bridge also includes cases for rotating displays.  Delicate artwork by artist Hiromi Moneyhun was on display during Metro Jacksonville's visit.




Airworks Studio's Sky Bridges anchors the airport's Connector Bridge concourse. It was installed in 2011 and at $200,000, the exhibit is one of the most expensive at the airport.  It was designed with Jacksonville's bridges in mind.




Jim Draper's Healing Palms on 48 glass panels is located at the TSA Security Checkpoint. Jim Draper is a local artist and his studio is located in Riverside's CoRK Arts District.






Concourse Cases for rotating temporary exhibits are spread throughout Concourses A and C.  The cases are rotated quarterly. During Metro Jacksonville's visit, the works of Claire Kendrick were being showcased.




Gordon Heuther's Gotta Go is a permanent feature that dominates the view corridors of Concourses A and C. Micro layers of metal give the illusion that colors with the exhibit's "bag" are changing.







Entries to restrooms throughout Concourses A and C are utilized as canvasses for permanent artwork.



Norma Greenwood's and Maureen Healy's Cloudscapes.




Julia Morrisroe's Suspended Time Series.




Gregor Turk's Pictograms.




Matthew Bezark's Repeated Travel.




The airport's Mezzanie Pre-Security area is home to a number of eateries and retailers along with the Sky Gallery and Haskell Gallery.




The Sky Gallery is a location where arriving and departing flights can be seen without the viewer having to pass through the security checkpoint. It is also a space for rotating exhibits and currently features the exhibit Historic Riverside/Avondale.








Haskell Gallery is also a space for temporary exhibits and artwork.  The Laird Cphace Series is currently being displayed.






The public restroom entrance between the Sky and Haskell Galleries features the airport's latest permanent exhibit called Celestial Playground.  New York artist Amy Cheng was present and shared thoughts on the glass and stone mosiac's design with JAA staff and local media members. According to Cheng, "Celestial Playground is designed to impart to the viewer a sense of lightness, a feeling of joy. I like to think that my work provides the facility users with something visually."



New York artist Amy Cheng shares her thoughts on the airport's most recent installation, Celestial Playground, while JIA Arts Commission Coordinator Allie Gloe and Metro Jacksonville's Arash Kamiar look on.




For the more than five million who pass through Jacksonville International Airport each year, JIA is more than a building of function. As these images illustrate, the Public Art Program invites visitors and residents alike to explore the city’s cultural and artistic treasures. For more information, visit https://www.jiaarts.org/

Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com