8-10-2023 4:35pm

Tulsa International Airport picks artist for terminal display

John Dobberstein Editor

Source: Tulsa International Airport

Tulsa International Airport (TUL) announced that Shane Darwent will create a one-of-a-kind suspended art installation for the terminal, which is expected to be completed by summer 2024.

With a total cost of $225,000, this public art project will be the largest investment the airport has funded for its collection.

The new piece titled “Sunrising” will hang over the entrance to the TSA checkpoint and will feature a series of 40 suspended colored-resin panels which shift through the color gradation of a sky from sunrise to sunset.

Each panel will be individually mounted to a motor hidden in the ceiling above, and the entire installation will slowly rotate, creating a wavelike movement from side to side across a 140’ span.

The slow movement of colored panels hovering above will serve as a point of reflection for passengers and the trips they just made, or the journeys they are about to embark on.

“When I catch the drama of the Tulsa sky at sunrise or sunset, it carries hints of nostalgia but seems to glow with the rich promise of tomorrow,” said Shane Darwent, a Tulsa resident artist. “I would love for my installation to inspire reflection in fellow travelers - an opportunity to slow down in our rush from here to there and take time to consider yesterday’s sunsets, and the potential of tomorrow’s sunrise.”