{"id":21315,"date":"2026-01-16T16:16:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T16:16:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artsandscience.org\/?p=21315"},"modified":"2026-01-18T18:15:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T18:15:32","slug":"asc-takes-flight-public-art-transforms-clt-airport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artsandscience.org\/asc-takes-flight-public-art-transforms-clt-airport\/","title":{"rendered":"ASC Takes Flight: Public Art Transforms CLT Airport"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t

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ASC TAKES FLIGHT: PUBLIC ART TRANSFORMS CHARLOTTE DOUGLAS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Written by Page Leggett, Edited by Reina Campbell | Select Photos Courtesy of Charlotte-Douglas International Airport<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Every day, on average, about 160,000 people pass through Charlotte-Douglas International Airport.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>
And close to 70% of those passengers see nothing more of the Queen City than the inside of our airport, which Lauri Golden<\/b> calls \u201cthe portal to our city for the millions who are here just long enough to make a connecting flight.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>
Golden,\u00a0who\u2019s\u00a0worked at the airport since 2007, is CLT\u2019s customer engagement manager. She and her team aim to ensure that travelers \u2014 even those who are here for\u00a0a short time\u00a0\u2014 come away with a positive impression.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>
\u201cWhen you\u2019re\u00a0in\u00a0an airport, you\u2019re generally trying to get from one plane to the next,\u201d Golden said. \u201cYou may have just 20 minutes. You may have two hours. You may have all day.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>
No matter how long or short your duration inside CLT, Golden wants it to be\u00a0a good experience, and p<\/span>ublic art is a big contributor to that.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0where ASC comes in.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The entry monument at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Courtesy of Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Designed by Edison Foard Construction Services<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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When an Airport Becomes a Canvas<\/h5>
\u201cCharlotte-Douglas has an amazing art program, thanks to the city of Charlotte\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>1% percent for art ordinance<\/span><\/b><\/a>,\u201d said Todd Stewart <\/b>who, along with his team, manages that program while working closely with Golden. (Stewart was referring to the Mecklenburg County Commissioners and the Charlotte City Council ordinances that\u00a0appropriate 1%\u00a0of eligible capital improvement project funds for public\u00a0art.)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>
\u201cWith each capital improvement project,\u201d he said, \u201cmy team asks: How can we integrate the artwork so that it feels like part of the built environment rather than something tacked on?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>
The art installed at the airport (see it on CLT\u2019s website\u00a0<\/span>here<\/span><\/b><\/a>)\u00a0has to\u00a0do some heavy lifting.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>
Not only is it designed to spark joy in weary travelers;\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0also got to leave a powerful first impression of Charlotte. Stewart said, \u201cThe airport is many people\u2019s first impression of the city. For travelers just connecting here, the airport gives them a glimpse of our culture.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>
Improvements are being made to the airport all the time. Unlike other construction projects that are,\u00a0sooner or later, finished, construction at the airport seems eternal. (There\u2019s even a\u00a0<\/span>page on the airport\u2019s website devoted just to construction<\/span><\/b><\/a>.)\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>
\u201cIf you\u2019ve lived in Charlotte for any amount of time, you\u2019ve experienced the ongoing construction at our airport,\u201d Golden said. \u201cWe\u2019re always working to enhance the airport experience, and we know construction is a pain point for visitors.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>
Golden and her team try to minimize the impact construction has on visitors.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>
When construction alters\u00a0pathways\u00a0frequent flyers know well, for instance, airport staff will work all hours to help guide people. Golden said, \u201cI\u2019ll\u00a0never forget working an early shift, and a woman walking past me at about 5 a.m. and saying, \u2018I came early just to see the new art.\u2019\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A grand welcome\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>ASC led the\u00a0public\u00a0art planning\u00a0and artist selection process\u00a0for the\u00a0<\/span>terminal lobby expansion<\/span><\/b><\/a>\u00a0\u2014 the largest capital improvement program in airport history.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>
What\u2019s\u00a0known as the \u201cpre-security lobby\u201d \u2014 which includes everything before the TSA check \u2014 has been expanded into one massive, but unified, space. The project began in 2019 and was just completed in September 2025, with the final artwork placed in January 2026. During those years,\u00a08\u00a0works were selected,\u00a0completed\u00a0and installed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>
Artwork\u00a0<\/span>elsewhere in CLT is seen by only the people headed for that\u00a0particular terminal. But art in the pre-security lobby has the potential to be seen by\u00a0<\/span>everyone<\/span><\/i>\u00a0who comes to the airport.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0an honor \u2014 and an opportunity \u2014 for artists.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>
\u201cThese are very competitive commissions,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cCLT is such an amazing venue given the thousands of people who travel through it daily.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>
Artists are given creative\u00a0license\u00a0in proposing work for the airport, although Stewart asks them to consider the site.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>
\u201cThe task I give every artist,\u201d he said, \u201cis to think about being as specific to the site as possible. Some look outside the walls of the airport \u2026 to let travelers glean a little bit about Charlotte as a region. Others depict what happens within the airport walls. And some speak to flight and travel, and they all do that in beautiful ways.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t \n\t\t\t $\"Queen-Charlotte.webp\"$ \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Queen Charlotte\"\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Queen Charlotte,\" Raymond Kaskey, Airport Lobby\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t