The real title of this article by Benjamin Sutton (The Art Newspaper) is “$9.5bn terminal at New York’s JFK Airport will feature art by Yinka Shonibare, Firelei Báez, Tomás Saraceno and others.” Sutton writes that “seven monumental public art commissions will land at the airport’s massive new terminal.” As a fan of Firelei Báez’s work I am excited that she is one of the artists chosen to represent New York. According to the article, Báez will create a large-scale overhead mural that renders aquatic plants and swimmers atop historical maps of the city.
By the time it is completed in 2030, the new terminal at New York’s John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport will feature seven new large-scale commissions by the contemporary artists Yinka Shonibare, Kelly Akashi, Tomás Saraceno, Ilana Savdie, Julie Curtiss, Firelei Báez and Woody De Othello.
The terminal, dubbed New Terminal One, is being developed by a company of the same name and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the region’s transportation infrastructure including its three major airports. It is expected to cost $9.5bn, will begin to open in phases starting next year and, by the time it is complete in 2030, will span 2.6 million sq. ft. The terminal’s 23 gates will be devoted entirely to international flights and have the capacity to accommodate as many 23 million passengers every year.
The artistic programme at New Terminal One is being curated by Culture Corps, an arts consultancy co-founded by Yvonne Force Villareal and Doreen Remen (who also co-founded the Art Production Fund). “Exemplary local and international artists participated in a selection process that resulted in a programme grounded in diverse voices and uplifting visions,” they said in a joint statement. “Each artwork is a testament to the magnetism of New York and an inspiring welcome or send off to the estimated 23 million annual voyagers from around the world.”
For Yinka Shonibare’s commission, the British Nigerian artist will create a large-scale installation of nine hand-painted kites featuring his trademark use of Dutch wax batik fabric patterns and celebrating rich cultural heritage and migration patterns of Queens, the borough where the airport is located. The Los Angeles-based sculptor Kelly Akashi is developing an 18ft-tall sculpture depicting flowers native to the New York region rising from a bronze hand. The Argentine artist Tomás Saraceno will create a monumental new suspended sculpture of iridescent forms in his Cloud Cities series.
The Miami-born, Brooklyn-based painter Ilana Savdie is creating a large mosaic that seeks to convey how New York’s past, present and future are shaped by people’s movements. Another mosaic commission, by the French, Brooklyn-based painter Julie Curtiss, will feature large hands holding famous foods and cultural symbols associated with New York City. The Dominican Republic-born, New York-based artist Firelei Báez is creating a large-scale overhead mural that renders aquatic plants and swimmers atop historical maps of the city. Woody De Othello, the San Francisco-based artist known for his bright and playful ceramic sculptures, will create a suite of objects (including streetlights and payphones) that will be installed atop luggage carousels. [. . .]
For full article, see https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/10/27/jfk-airport-new-terminal-one-public-art-commissions
[Photo above: Rendering of the future departures hall at JFK Airport’s New Terminal OneCredit: The New Terminal One at JFK/Arup.]
The real title of this article by Benjamin Sutton (The Art Newspaper) is “$9.5bn terminal at New York’s JFK Airport will feature art by Yinka Shonibare, Firelei Báez, Tomás Saraceno and others.” Sutton writes that “seven monumental public art commissions will land at the airport’s massive new terminal.” As a fan of Firelei Báez’s work