STL’s Lambert Art & Culture Program Marks Best Year Yet

St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) celebrates art with its 7th annual Art of Travel fundraising gala Oct. 5. The event highlights a monumental year in the Lambert Art & Culture Program, which introduced 14 temporary exhibitions by St. Louis area artists and organizations in the last year. That’s in addition to 15 permanent or loaned works of art already at the Airport. It was the biggest year yet in the Airports’ eight-year old program. The art has been on display in 19 different locations through terminal and concourses. Watch our 2016-17 Lambert Art & Culture Program celebration video.

With community support, the Lambert Art & Culture Program curates and commissions works of art that elevate the visitor experience, generate regional pride, and sustain the vibrant local arts community. The Art of Travel event, along with direct donations to the Airport’s art program, fund these exhibitions. The Airport also receives tremendous financial support for its temporary exhibitions program from the St. Louis Regional Arts Commission.

In 2016-2017, the Airport unveiled a 100-ft long aerial sculpture, “Spectroplexus,” in Terminal 2. It was a collaboration with the Sam Fox School of Art and Visual Design at Washington University of St. Louis. We also partnered with the Missouri History Museum with two exhibitions in the last year including a visual history of the Airport in connection with its 2016 book publication, “The Aerial Crossroads of America.” Passengers and visitors have also enjoyed its “St. Louis by Sievers” exhibition in Terminal 2 bag claim featuring historic photos and panoramic images of St. Louis.

Thanks also goes out to our other contributors that shared their creativity and vision over the last year: International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum, Ken Konchel, Michael Hoffman, Craft Alliance, William and Florence Schmidt Art Center, Robert Ketchens, Amy Reidel, Third Degree Glass Factory, Work/Play, Gallery 210, Jenna Bauer, and Wildwood Press/Valerie Hammond.

The Airport will be unveiling more than 10 new temporary exhibitions between now and the next Art of Travel event in 2018. In the last few days, the St. Louis Mercantile Library at UMSL opened its exhibition of historic travel images from St. Louis: “Traveling through Time” in Terminal 1. Other confirmed artists and organizations include: Firecracker Press, Art Bae, Carol Carter, Photo Flood, Laumeier Sculpture Park, World Chess Hall of Fame, Jackie Lewis Harris, Yvonne Osei, Ellie Balk, Megan Singleton, Cbabi Bayoc, and the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA) at Saint Louis University.

The Airport Art Advisory Committee is a seven member panel appointed by the mayor of St. Louis to provide guidance and help select exhibitions for the Lambert Art and Culture Program. The committee is currently represented by Lisa Cakmak, Associate Curator of Ancient Art at Saint Louis Art Museum; Ellen Gale, Executive Director of Clayton Chamber of Commerce; Shelly Hagen, Curator of Corporate Art Resources at Wells Fargo; Leslie Markle, Curator for Public Art at Washington University; Kiku Obata, President & CEO for Kiku Obata & Company; Roseann Weiss, Director of Community and Public Arts at the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis; and Carlos Zamora, Creative Director at Express Scripts.