Kansas City has a clear favorite among the artwork chosen for KCI’s new terminal
As part of a recent feature looking at 10 of the artworks chosen for Kansas City International Airport’s new terminal, The Star asked: Which creation do you like best?
There was a clear favorite among Star readers — “The Air Up There” by Nick Cave.
Of the nearly 400 people participating in the reader poll, just over 40% selected the work by Cave, which will be featured prominently on the ceiling of the terminal’s massive check-in hall.
The artwork is a kinetic sculpture made from thousands of wind spinners that will move in the air currents in the space high above the floor.
“I hope the traveler passing beneath my work has a feeling or a reaction akin to what they might feel when looking up at a sky filled with stars,” said Cave, when asked about the work. “The idea of great potential, new experiences and the possibilities that dreams ignite.”
Cave’s artwork was one of 10 pieces that The Star recently highlighted. The other top choices were “Nostalgia” by Hasna Sal, which garnered 17% of the votes, and “Fountain (KCI)” by Leo Villareal, which finished with 12% of the votes.
Sal said she has woven stories of our everyday lives, transporting the viewer through layers upon layers of powdered glass into the clear canvas of her glass so that what is revealed are the simplicities of life and the most momentous experiences that make us human.
“Many times we take it for granted when we have it, but when we don’t, as the pandemic has taught us or when travels take us away from those we love, is when we cherish the power of hope that we have something profound to return to,” she said.
Her work will be located in one of the departure lounges in Concourse A and B at the new terminal.
Villareal’s sculpture, which will be in the retail area of Concourse A, resembles a fountain but instead of water, it will use light. The work is an homage to Kansas City’s legacy as The City of Fountains. It will utilize cutting edge LED lighting technology driven by custom software.
“My installation seeks to connect people together through a shared sense of wonder and awe by harnessing the universal power of light,” he said.
The art pieces are among the 28 commissioned artworks scheduled to be in place when the $1.5 billion, one million-square-foot single terminal opens in March 2023.
The new terminal’s artwork is Kansas City’s largest public art project in the city’s history. The city’s One Percent for Art Program funded the $5.65 million project. The pieces were selected from among more than 1,900 submissions.
Of the artists chosen, 75% are based in the Kansas City area or have significant ties to Kansas City. Likewise, 75% are artists of color or women.
