Art In The Airport

Jul 01, 2015

ART IN THE AIRPORT

Come view the art exhibits of local and regional artists displayed at Truckee Tahoe Airport's terminal building.
Local resident and curator Carole Sesko is TTAD's Public Art Coordinator. Exhibits change seasonally. Cessna-180 oil on canvas by Soren Wolff.

Walk into the Truckee Tahoe Airport’s main terminal building, and you’ll immediately notice the captivating, eclectic and inspiring artwork hanging on its walls.“Art In The Airport”, a program now in its fourth year, was developed by local Truckee resident and artist, Carole Sesko. As coordinator and curator, Carole creatively designs the exhibit displays featuring local and regional artists. The artwork not only adds color and intrigue to the building, but also gives artists the opportunity to showcase and even sell their artwork. The exhibits change seasonally, enhancing the airport terminal with 25-30 new displays of paintings, mosaics,photography and more. The artwork gets great exposure with all the terminal traffic; from people departing or arriving on flights, to those attending functions in the meeting rooms or from folks just stopping by to enjoy a great meal and good company at the ever popular Red Truck Café, (Mon -Sat 9-3). The current summer - “Art In The Airport” exhibit, features five artists from the greater region; Kerstin Ronsiek, an oil painter from Nevada City, Peter Gerdin, a local architect and water color painter, Kate Kerrigan, a mosaic artist from Alpine Meadows, Soren Wolff, a Truckee based oil painter and Rob Retting, a local photographer. “Ninety percent of our artists are local or regional. Once in a while, we’ll add art from out of the area to expose the community to a new artist. We’ve featured artists from Boston to Berkeley,” said Sesko. Carole approached the Truckee Tahoe Airport District Board of Directors with the “Art In The Airport” proposal back in 2011 when the new terminal building was just under construction. “For us it’s a great way to provide additional benefit and value to the greater community, and it fills our walls with beautiful art,” said Kevin Smith, General Manager of the airport. “It’s been very successful; we’ve received a lot of positive public comment and we want it to continue indefinitely.” The “Art In The Airport” program is mutually beneficial, both for the artists to exhibit their work in a clean, bright, well trafficked venue and for the community to be exposed to talent and the vast array of quality artwork found in our region. In the last four years, Sesko said she’s received a lot of positive feedback from the program and feels the exposure has expanded interest and inspiration in our local artists. In April 2015, Sesko attended AAAE’s (American Association of Airport Executives) “Art In The Airport” conference in Dallas, Texas to learn how other airports were integrating art into their terminals and other spaces. “I met public art specialists and curators from around the country, mostly from larger airports such as Dallas Fort Worth, LAX, Chicago O’Hare, etc... Truckee Tahoe was one of the smallest airports represented. I was pleased to realize that our public art program is progressive, and we have advantages in our smaller sized airport. There are many ways to enhance the visitors experience at the airport and communicate our unique regional identity through the use of public art,” Sesko said. If you are an artist and are interested in having your work considered for a future exhibit at Truckee Tahoe Airport, please contact Carole Sesko at: csesko@sbcglobal.net, or leave a message for her at the airport UNICOM Customer Service desk upstairs in the main terminal building. Come visit us at the Truckee Tahoe Airport and don’t forget to take a few moments to enjoy the impressive views, both on the walls and out the windows!