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.”
An aerial view of the New Terminal One at JFK Airport Courtesy the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
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.
In addition to art commissions, the New Terminal One will feature branding and signage led by the international design firm Pentagram and a film programme developed by the creative studio Gentilhomme and the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning.
A rendering of the arrivals area at JFK Airport's New Terminal One Courtesy Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
“Public art that is inspiring and evocative of our region is an essential part of the Port Authority’s strategy to create world-class airports that are becoming destinations in their own right,” Rick Cotton, the Port Authority’s executive director, said in a statement. “Riveting public art will anchor an expansive cultural programme that will also include immersive digital experiences, engaging film-making and distinctive branding that will create a uniquely New York sense of place.”
The terminal was designed by the architecture firm Gensler and the construction engineering firm AECOM. It is being built on an area previously occupied by JFK Airport’s terminals one, two and three, and will be the airport’s largest terminal once complete. It follows a similarly art-forward revamping of another Port Authority property, LaGuardia Airport, which features large-scale works by Jeppe Hein, Sabine Hornig, Laura Owens, Sarah Sze (commissioned through the Public Art Fund) and by Mariam Ghani, Rashid Johnson, Aliza Nisenbaum, Virginia Overton, Ronny Quevedo and Fred Wilson (commissioned through the Queens Museum).
