CASCADE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Gerald R. Ford International Airport is asking for submissions to choose a hanging art installation that will be put up in its newly expanded Concourse A.
The airport is looking for local artists to design suspended art that creates a sense of circulation and interacts well with natural daylight. It hopes to find a piece that incorporates West Michigan’s identity.
“From the blue of Lake Michigan and the natural tans of the dunes to the greys and purples of the urban core to the greens of the forests and farmland in between,” describes a release from Ford Airport.
In September, the airport announced that it would be taking proposals for custom terrazzo flooring and wall art as well as suspended art to decorate the new expansion of Concourse A. More information about submitting art proposals can be found on the airport’s website. Ford airport is currently only taking submissions for the hanging art, as the terrazzo art portal has closed.
“Concourse A has been designed to represent the journey to and through West Michigan,” said Casey Ries, Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority engineering and planning director. “We have been extremely thoughtful about the placement of art throughout our public space, choosing for this installation to be suspended from the stunning sawtooth ceiling, which was designed to capture natural light in the modernized concourse. The hanging art piece is critical to accentuating our unique sense of place – welcoming all to West Michigan!”
Submissions for hanging art are due by Jan. 15 at 11:59 p.m. Wall art will be considered at a later date.
The airport has hired on an art manager, Katie Moore, who works with Downtown Grand Rapids, Inc., and previously worked with ArtPrize, to help pick the art and organize getting it in place.
Ford airport said support for the art is coming from the Frey Foundation.
Concourse A is getting eight more gates for a total of 15, a number of restaurants and shops, and an executive lounge. The 90,000-square-foot expansion, which has a price tag of $110 million, is expected to create 300 jobs when it opens by the end of next year.
— News 8’s Rachel Van Gilder contributed to this story.