Move Over, La Guardia and Newark: 18 Artists to Star at New J.F.K. Terminal
The New York Times
Terminal 6 at Kennedy International Airport will feature work by Charles Gaines, Barbara Kruger and more. Developers of new terminals must invest in public art.
John F. Kennedy International Airport’s new Terminal 6, scheduled to open in 2026, will host installations by 18 contemporary artists hailing from seven countries, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced on Tuesday.
The $4.2 billion facility in Queens will showcase the largest number of works of any New York airport by major figures from the United States, including Nina Chanel Abney, Teresita Fernandez, Charles Gaines and Barbara Kruger, alongside emerging international talents such as Felipe Baeza from Mexico, Kerstin Brätsch from Germany, and Uman, born in Somalia (all now living in New York).
Over the last four years, a broad range of public artworks have been unveiled by the Port Authority in new terminals at La Guardia Airport in Queens and Newark Liberty International Airport, in New Jersey, as the agency continues to expand its popular art program. La Guardia’s Delta Terminal C has six permanent artworks that celebrate the city’s energy and diversity; Terminal B has five installations, and Newark has two large works that reflect the landscape of New Jersey.
“The lessons and the positive feedback we’ve gotten from both the La Guardia terminals and at Newark have really hit home,” said Rick Cotton, the executive director of the Port Authority, which runs the major New York area airports, citing surveys of its new facilities showing improved ratings for ambience and passenger experience at La Guardia’s Terminal B and Terminal C and Newark’s Terminal A. “What you’re seeing at J.F.K.’s Terminal 6 is the increased recognition of the impact and the importance of the art.”
The art budget for Terminal 6 is $22 million, about double what was spent on art in each of La Guardia’s new terminals. Terminal 6, including the art, is funded entirely by JFK Millennium Partners, a consortium of private developers led by the Vantage Group, which is also the primary investor and developer at La Guardia’s Terminal B. The Port Authority has made art a requirement of all private developers it has contracted to build its new airport terminals.
For J.F.K., the Port Authority has again teamed with the Public Art Fund, the New York-based nonprofit that led the commissioning of the installations at La Guardia’s Terminal B and Newark. (The Queens Museum curated the site-specific works at La Guardia’s Terminal C).
