Seven artists will create new commissions for the forthcoming $9.5 billion Terminal One at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, which will open in phases beginning next year.
The commissioned artists are Kelly Akashi, Firelei Báez, Julie Curtiss, Woody De Othello, Tomás Saraceno, Ilana Savdie, and Yinka Shonibare. Three of the artists—Báez, Savdie, and Curtiss—are based in New York, while Akashi is based in Los Angeles and Othello is based in Oakland, California. Shonibare is London–based, and Saraceno is Berlin–based.
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The seven monumental works are being presented under the banner “We Travel Under One Sky,” part of the terminal’s larger public art program, which is being organized by Culture Corps.
Several of the works focus on New York’s histories of migration, including Shonibare’s installation of hand-painted Dutch wax batik kites, titled Kites for Queens; Savdie’s mosaic Egregoros, which alludes to Old Master paintings of voyages; and Curtiss’s mosaic of oversize hands.
Báez’s mural Blue Calaibi–Yao Muzidi (or on alternate means of navigation) will overlay sea flora and swimming figures over various historic maps of the city, while Akashi’s 18-foot Migration of Flora will feature native flowers rising from a bronze hand.
Othello’s sculptures, collectively titled The City That Never Sleeps, will be installed atop the baggage claim carousels and will feature ceramics of watches, pay phones, and street lamps. Saraceno’s Cloud Cities New York will be a suspended sculpture that changes throughout the course of the day depending on the light.
In a statement, Rick Cotton, the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which manages JFK, said, “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. Riveting public art will anchor an expansive cultural program that will also include immersive digital experiences, engaging filmmaking and distinctive branding that will create a uniquely New York sense of place.”
The forthcoming Terminal One broke ground in 2022 and the first portion of the renovation will open in 2026, during which time the terminal’s headhouse and 14 gates will open. The terminal is set to be completed in 2030; when it is finished it will have 23 gates, 2.6 million square feet, and serve some 23 million passengers annually.
The new Terminal One is part of a larger $19 billion transformation of JFK that includes a $400 million expansion of Terminal 8 by American Airlines (completed in 2020), a $1.5 billion expansion of Terminal 4 by Delta Air Lines (nearly completed), and the construction of a $4.2 billion Terminal 6 to connect it with Terminal 5, which broke ground in 2023.
“These remarkable artists, filmmakers and digital designers will infuse JFK’s New Terminal One with the energy, diversity, and creativity that define our region,” Port Authority chairman Kevin O’Toole said in a statement. “Their work reflects the Port Authority’s commitment to reimagining the entire airport experience across our region—transforming our airports into world-class gateways that embody the very best of New York and New Jersey.”