Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has $8 million art collection

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At one North Texas art museum, millions of visitors pass through each year, but many may not realize they’re even in a gallery. They’re just trying to catch their next flight.

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport houses an estimated $8 million art collection and regularly displays works on loan from the Nasher Sculpture Center. You just have to know where to look.

“The airport is a reflection of its citizens,” said Byford Treanor, vice president of customer service at D/FW Airport. “So we have two cities, and both are very heavy in the arts. And we’re trying to reflect that, particularly in Terminal D.”

A public venture

D/FW’s art program began in July 2005 as it started renovations in Terminal D and began opening its Skylink train stations throughout the airport.

Officials, including the late art collector Raymond Nasher, put together $6 million in funds to commission artwork from local, national and international artists. The group sent out exploratory letters to about 300 artists, getting about 140 applications and eventually choosing 30 artists to design pieces.

The commissioned artists were not given design parameters. So although some works feature an aviation or Texas theme, designs vary widely from a lasso-wielding cowboy made from styrofoam at the airport’s car rental center to an aluminum castle designed to look like crystal in the middle of a food court.

Treanor says officials had two goals in mind when starting the art program: de-stressing passengers and providing a space to promote the area’s culture.

Flying can be a stressful event, Treanor said, because there are a lot of things passengers have to do in a limited amount of time before they even step on the plane, such as checking baggage and going through security. Art can captivate the mind and draw attention away from airport hassles, Treanor said.

“I think it softens and reduces that anxiety that’s been doing nothing but going up,” he said.

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