Art & Culture Master Plan

About the Plan Denver International Airport’s Art and Culture Program is in the process of developing a comprehensive plan that will establish a creative direction for the Program and help guide the commissioning of new artworks for future development, including the forthcoming South Terminal Redevelopment Program. The plan is being developed as a supplement to the airport’s overall master plan, which envisions new terminals, concourses and additional infrastructure that could double the airport’s capacity over the next30 years. The art and culture master planning process began in the fall of 2010 and is expected to be complete by summer 2011. When DIA opened in 1995, it boasted the finest airport art collection anywhere in the world. The new plan seeks to position art and culture as a vital asset to the passenger experience in the airport, and to the development of cultural tourism and the creative economy in Colorado. The plan will consider how permanent and temporary artworks, exhibitions and performances throughout airport grounds –can enhance passenger satisfaction. The plan will call for the activation of public areas – including Jeppesen Terminal, Peña Boulevard and new plazas included in the planned South Terminal Redevelopment Program – as a means of attracting the public to the airport’s shopping and dining amenities, and future hotel and conference facilities. The plan will also contemplate how partnerships with Colorado arts and culture organizations can enrich DIA’s offerings while promoting airport organizations and local arts groups.

  About the Planning Process

DIA has engaged a planning team with a wide range of experience with art and culture programs in airports and other important civic spaces throughout the U.S. and Canada. The planning team is led by Todd W. Bressi, an urban designer and art planner based in Philadelphia. He is working with Meridith McKinley/Via Partnership, St. Louis-based art consultant; Creative Time, a New York City nonprofit; Gorbet Design, a Toronto-based interaction design firm that managed the San José airport public art plan; Dwyer Brown, a St. Louis-based airport exhibition expert; and Deana Miller, an art curator and planner based in Denver

Planning Team
Todd W. Bressi
www.artfulplaces.com

Meridith McKinley, Via Partnership
www.viapartnership.com

Matt Gorbet and Susan Gorbet, Gorbet Design Inc.
www.gorbetdesign.com

Meredith Johnson, Creative Time
www.creativetime.org

The planning team began their work in the fall of 2010 by connecting with leaders in Colorado’s arts, tourism and economic development communities, airport officials and the designers of the South Terminal Redevelopment Program to learn about the community’s aspirations for DIA’s Art and Culture Program, as well as the details of the airport’s planned capital projects. The planning team has also begun seeking information from passengers and the general public through on-site interviews and an online survey.

In early 2011, the team will present its findings and preliminary recommendations. Based on feedback from these presentations, the team will develop a strategy for DIA to follow to commission, acquire and present an innovative range of art and cultural programming.

  Share your Thoughts with DIA and the Planning Team

DIA’s Art and Culture Program is seeking input from the public on their experiences with Denver’s airport and its art program. The public can participate by taking an online survey.

  Art & Culture Program Survey

The survey seeks information about the overall experience the public has when using the airport, as well as information regarding the public’s experience specific to art at DIA. The survey provides an opportunity for the public to offer their favorite recollections of flying through Denver, as a way of understanding how air travel connects with the lives of people in the region.

The survey results will be one source of information used to influence recommendations for the overall directions and priorities of the airport’s Art and Culture Program, and may be used to make specific suggestions for future projects.

  Stay Tuned

DIA will release the findings and recommendations developed by the planning team for public review in winter 2011. Check back to view these recommendations and to learn about future opportunities to participate and provide feedback.