Artist chosen for signature artwork at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
The Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC), along with the Airport Foundation MSP and the Arts@MSP blue ribbon artist selection committee, today announced the name of the artist who will design and create a two-story artwork for Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP). This significant art piece will anchor the central gathering space in the arrivals and departures lobbies at Terminal 1-Lindbergh.
Jen Lewin, an internationally respected and experienced artist known for her large-scale, technology-driven interactive public art pieces, is the selected artist.
“With Jen’s help, we have an opportunity to install an engaging artwork that will reflect the airport and the region, help transform the arrivals and departures lobbies and, over time, become an iconic symbol of MSP,” said Brian Ryks, CEO of the MAC.
Members of the public, airport employees and other stakeholders will have several opportunities to meet Lewin, learn about her design process and contribute ideas over the next several months.
The announcement follows a vetting process that included an invitation to 59 artists from Minnesota, the U.S. and internationally who are experienced in creating this type of a large-scale, public project.
The Arts@MSP artist selection committee received 38 applications as a result. Among them, five were chosen to be interviewed.
Lewin will be joined in the effort by a Minnesota artist mentee, whom she will choose based on applications received from an open call.
“It was important to the Arts@MSP program that, regardless of the selected artist’s home town, this major public art project include an opportunity for someone from the Minnesota arts community to be mentored in the process of creating large-scale public art,” said Tom Anderson, chair of the Arts@MSP committee.
Originally from Hawaii, Lewin lives in New York, where she has an expansive studio space and a team of technical and artistic professionals assisting her. You can learn more about Lewin’s work here: http://jenlewinstudio.com/
Members of the artist selection committee include:
- Jack Becker, Founder and Director of Community Services, Forecast Public Art
- Lyndel King, Director, Weisman Art Museum
- Colleen Sheehy, Executive Director, Public Art Saint Paul
- Jay Coogan, President, Minneapolis College of Art and Design
- Mark Addicks, Retired CMO and Senior VP, General Mills Corporation
- James Garrett, Jr., Managing Partner and Architect, 4RM+ULA
- Mohammed Lawal, Principal Architect and CEO, LSE Architects
- Sharon Sayles-Belton, VP Government Affairs and Community Relations, Thomson Reuters; former Mayor of the City of Minneapolis
- Erica Prosser, former Commissioner, MAC
- Alan Howell, Senior Architect, MAC
- Phil Burke, Director MSP Operations, MAC
- Jeff Nawrocki, Asst. Director MSP Operations/Facilities T1, MAC
- Robyne Robinson, Consulting Director, Arts @ MSP
- Jana Webster, Executive Director, Airport Foundation MSP
- Thomas Anderson, Chair, MSP Arts & Culture Steering Committee
Funding for the project will come from the airport’s percent for arts program – a dedicated source of funds for art from public-area capital projects at MSP – which the MAC created in 2016. This project is part of the operational improvements project currently transforming the departures and arrivals lobbies at Terminal 1.