Native Art and Airports

Susan Point's Whorl at YVR

With the popularity of air travel and the transient nature of flying from one destination to the other, airports are becoming destinations in and of themselves. As flight prices became affordable and technological developments enabled planes to fly further and faster during the boom of the airline industry in the postbellum 1950s, long-haul necessities such as stopovers and connections became the norm. With patrons beginning to spend more and more time in airports around the world, and many travellers being put in the position to judge cities (and even entire countries) on time spent within specific airports, these facilities began making an effort to be both practical and cultural in nature. 

Airports are responsible for providing first impressions. If you get off of a plane only to enter a drab and dirty airport belonging to a foreign and unfamiliar city, you very well may judge this new land before you have even left the building. On the other hand, a clean and well-appointed airport can reflect a city and community that is proud and eager to make a good impression. Above and beyond logistical efficiencies, cleanliness, and safety, the aesthetic qualities of an airport are among the most important factors when considering how these bastions of modern travel affect those traversing their various terminals, tunnels, and tarmacs.

Several airports in North America have stepped up and made a great effort to highlight and promote the Indigenous cultures upon whose land they have been situated. This is a positive and effective approach to design and decoration for many reasons. Artwork produced by cultures within their traditional territories can represent idiosyncratic aesthetic values and reinforce unique geographical features.

The Albuquerque International Sunport, for example, houses over one hundred permanent artworks that communicate the overarching aesthetic values of New Mexico and the primary traits of Pueblo artwork. This airport art collection is not composed entirely of Indigenous work, but an effort is made to promote Pueblo taste and artistic values. The Sunport has been greatly successful with their design approach, with USA Today ranking it as one of the top ten airports for art in the USA.

Allan Houser's Apache Crown Dancer at ABQ

Vancouver’s YVR Art Foundation was founded in 1993 and made it a priority to feature British Columbian First Nations art in the city’s main airport. Red Cedar, monumentality, and interconnectedness are elements essential to both British Columbia as a geographical region and the First Nations from this province, and most of the works in Vancouver International Airport epitomize these elements.

Referencing their promotion of Aboriginal art, the YVR Art Foundation strives “to do its part in helping these traditions flourish and to contribute to the success of a new generation of BC First Nations artists.” In addition to expressing the character of the land and the artistic values of the Indigenous cultures that inhabit it, including First Nations art in a bustling public venue such as an airport is also beneficial from a commercial standpoint.

Connie Watts' Hetux Thunderbird at YVR

The Phoenix Sky Harbour International Airport contains not only a permanent art collection, but also a museum displaying rotating exhibits and numerous shops and galleries that sell Indigenous art from the area. It is the Phoenix Airport’s mission to create a space for travelers “that promotes Arizona’s unique artistic and cultural heritage”. This promotion is not simply aesthetic, for the inclusion of retail spaces dedicated to art and jewellery produced by the Ak-Chin, Yavapai, Colorado River Tribes, and local cultures encourages visitors to support the community on an economic level as well.

From February to June of last year, the Phoenix Airport teamed up with the Heard Museum to present an exhibition of Native bolo ties. This was an ingenious idea for a show because bolo ties are one of the most popular and common jewellery items produced by Indigenous cultures in the Southwest. This temporary exhibition was an excellent way to both educate travelers about this form of jewellery and encourage them to purchase one of these beautiful and locally-made items. Furthermore, this small display was up during the Heard Museum Guild’s Indian Fair and Market, which is held in Phoenix every year and is a huge tourist attraction.

Phoenix Airport's Bolo Ties Exhibition

While it is outstanding that Albuquerque, Vancouver, and Phoenix have acknowledged and promoted the unique Indigenous cultures from their respective regions, the inclusion of Native art in public spaces, such as airports, needs to be improved. Airports are a necessity of travel, and communities that contain vibrant Native art markets should take advantage of these teeming travel hubs to elevate the output of their Indigenous inhabitants.

The Phoenix Sky Harbour International Airport contains not only a permanent art collection, but also a museum displaying rotating exhibits and numerous shops and galleries that sell Indigenous art from the area. It is the Phoenix Airport’s mission to create a space for travellers “that promotes Arizona’s unique artistic and cultural heritage”. This promotion is not simply aesthetic, for the inclusion of retail spaces dedicated to art and jewellery produced by the Ak-Chin, Yavapai, Colorado River Tribes, and local cultures encourages visitors to support the community on an economic level as well.
From February to June of last year, the Phoenix Airport teamed up with the Heard Museum to present an exhibition of Native bolo ties. This was an ingenious idea for a show because bolo ties are one of the most popular and common jewellery items produced by Indigenous cultures in the Southwest. This temporary exhibition was an excellent way to both educate travellers about this form of jewellery and encourage them to purchase one of these beautiful and locally-made items. Furthermore, this small display was up during the Heard Museum Guild’s Indian Fair and Market, which is held in Phoenix every year and is a huge tourist attraction
- See more at: http://urbannativemag.com/top-3-airports-for-indigenous-artwork/#sthash.P3WU6tAY.dpuf

The Phoenix Sky Harbour International Airport contains not only a permanent art collection, but also a museum displaying rotating exhibits and numerous shops and galleries that sell Indigenous art from the area. It is the Phoenix Airport’s mission to create a space for travellers “that promotes Arizona’s unique artistic and cultural heritage”. This promotion is not simply aesthetic, for the inclusion of retail spaces dedicated to art and jewellery produced by the Ak-Chin, Yavapai, Colorado River Tribes, and local cultures encourages visitors to support the community on an economic level as well.
From February to June of last year, the Phoenix Airport teamed up with the Heard Museum to present an exhibition of Native bolo ties. This was an ingenious idea for a show because bolo ties are one of the most popular and common jewellery items produced by Indigenous cultures in the Southwest. This temporary exhibition was an excellent way to both educate travellers about this form of jewellery and encourage them to purchase one of these beautiful and locally-made items. Furthermore, this small display was up during the Heard Museum Guild’s Indian Fair and Market, which is held in Phoenix every year and is a huge tourist attraction
- See more at: http://urbannativemag.com/top-3-airports-for-indigenous-artwork/#sthash.P3WU6tAY.dpuf

 Keywords: "Alex Dawkins", "Vancouver Airport Art", "best airport artwork"

While it is outstanding that Albuquerque, Vancouver, and Phoenix have acknowledged and promoted the unique Indigenous cultures from their respective regions, the inclusion of Native art in public spaces, such as airports, needs to be improved. Airports are a necessity of travel, and communities that contain vibrant Native art markets should take advantage of these teeming travel hubs to elevate the output of their Indigenous inhabitants. - See more at: http://urbannativemag.com/top-3-airports-for-indigenous-artwork/#sthash.P3WU6tAY.dpuf

The Phoenix Sky Harbour International Airport contains not only a permanent art collection, but also a museum displaying rotating exhibits and numerous shops and galleries that sell Indigenous art from the area. It is the Phoenix Airport’s mission to create a space for travellers “that promotes Arizona’s unique artistic and cultural heritage”. This promotion is not simply aesthetic, for the inclusion of retail spaces dedicated to art and jewellery produced by the Ak-Chin, Yavapai, Colorado River Tribes, and local cultures encourages visitors to support the community on an economic level as well.
From February to June of last year, the Phoenix Airport teamed up with the Heard Museum to present an exhibition of Native bolo ties. This was an ingenious idea for a show because bolo ties are one of the most popular and common jewellery items produced by Indigenous cultures in the Southwest. This temporary exhibition was an excellent way to both educate travellers about this form of jewellery and encourage them to purchase one of these beautiful and locally-made items. Furthermore, this small display was up during the Heard Museum Guild’s Indian Fair and Market, which is held in Phoenix every year and is a huge tourist attraction.
- See more at: http://urbannativemag.com/top-3-airports-for-indigenous-artwork/#sthash.P3WU6tAY.dpuf