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Experiencing Art In Unexpected Places

One of my favorite things to do is travel, and while my spring and summer plans were somewhat limited due to the pandemic, I nevertheless look forward to planning future trips to visit friends, family…

One of my favorite things to do is travel, and while my spring and summer plans were somewhat limited due to the pandemic, I nevertheless look forward to planning future trips to visit friends, family and explore new destinations.

Since moving to Fort Lauderdale, I’ve enjoyed the benefit of living in close proximity to Fort Lauderdale-

Phillip Dunlap

Phillip Dunlap, Director, Broward Cultural Division

Hollywood International Airport, which in addition to serving as one of country’s most popular airports, also has the distinction of containing Broward County’s largest collection of public art. Whenever I’m there, I always make sure to keep an eye out for these wonderful pieces that were created by local and internationally recognized artists and have been integrated throughout the airport’s terminals, parking garages, connectors and other locations to provide enjoyable and often unexpected enhancements to the travel experience. FLL currently houses 65 of pieces of public art, commissioned over the more than 40-year history of Broward County’s public art program.

Wavelength by artist Emily White at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Terminal 1.

Amid the hustle and bustle of the typical airport trip, you may forget to take time to look around at the amazing artworks that can be found there. Some of these are stand-alone pieces, like Wavelengtha dramatic aerial sculpture by Emily White suspended overhead in the A Concourse of Terminal 1, which was nationally recognized as the Best in Public Art Project by Public Art Network. Others are functionally integrated into the design of the terminal as is the case with the airport’s newest piece of public art, Mosaic¸ a lighting installation by Los Angeles-based artist Cameron McNall.

Mosaic, a 240-foot long luminous LED artwork, located in the concourse of Terminal 4 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

This impressive, 240-foot LED light display transforms the Terminal 4 walkway into an immersive experience of color and luminosity in which colored cells continually change and slowly morph from one chromatic range to another. And talking about unexpected, ‘In Flight’, a 445-foot long mural by artist Peter Agardy that depicts scenes from Florida’s natural habitats and images of modern flight travel, was creatively painted on the North Runway’s corrugated metal jet blast deflector – a brilliant example of how essential infrastructure can be visually transformed. 

“In Flight,” a new 445-foot long outdoor mural by artist Peter Agardy Fine Art at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Experiencing amazing public art in unexpected places is one of the things that I enjoy most about living in Broward County, so be sure to take some time when you’re out and about to look around and see what you might find.

For more information about Broward’s Public Art & Design Program, which is administered by the Broward Cultural Division, visit Broward.org/Arts.