Arts Program at Dulles International and Reagan National Airports
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, through its Arts Program, welcomes visitors to the National Capital Region from across the country and around the world. Here at the Airports you can experience diverse regional, national and international rotating exhibits, dynamic live performances and new and innovative public art displays that celebrate the stately beauty, spirit and great creativity of the National Capital Region.

Live Performances

As part of our performing arts program, the Airports Authority brings musicians, singers, dancers and other artists to Washington’s airports to provide entertainment for our passengers to enjoy throughout the year.

Asian-Pacific Heritage Month Performances

Dulles International Airport will be hosting Asian Pacific Heritage Month Performances in May. Passengers and visitors will have the opportunity to experience the diversity of Asian-Pacific culture and heritage. Events include performances by Miji, a popular girl group hailing from South Korea, that performs well-known American and K-pop songs; traditional Japanese Taiko drums; demonstrations of the dance phenomenon Gangnam Style; and other traditional Filipino, Afghan and Indian performances.
See detailed schedule below:

May 1-3 sponsored by Korean Air	Miji –Korean music group Korean fashion show Taekwondo demonstration Gangnam Style and K-Pop dancers	Departures Level – West 4:00pm-6:00pm
May 14	Afghan and Northern Indian fusion music	Departures Level – East 4:30pm-6:30pm
May 17	Indian Classical and Bollywood dancers	Departures Level – East 5:00pm-6:30pm
May 21	Filipino Folk Rock music	Departures Level – East 4:00pm-6:00pm
May 30 sponsored by ANA	Japanese Taiko Drums	Departures Level - East 3:00pm-5:00pm
May 31 sponsored by ANA	Japanese Taiko Drums	Departures Level - East 10:00am-11:00am; Gate B41 (post security) 11:15am-noon

Public Art

Hello and Welcome - U.S. Customs area in Concourse C
Self-portraits of 180 local schoolchildren from Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia greet passengers arriving on international flights in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection area in Concourse C. Artist Catherine Judge taught local students the art of portraiture for this project. Pastels and colored paper were the media for the original portraits. The images, along with words of welcome in several languages, were then fabricated in porcelain enamel for the public art project designed by Michael McBride, and 18 of the 40 panels were backlit to enhance their color. A plaque includes the names of each student artist so their work may be admired for years to come as it welcomes visitors to the Nation's Capital.

 

Wonder of Wonders near the A-Gates AeroTrain Station
Passengers can enjoy "Wonder of Wonders," permanent abstract art, bronze cast in a variety of metallic hues, which creatively depicts the journey through life and the exploration of the universe. 

Public Art - U.S. Customs area in the International Arrivals Building (IAB)

The Game of Flyers, Part Two, 2012 - Above IAB Primary Inspection Hall
The hall area, expanded in 2009, provides a welcoming gateway to Dulles International. After stepping through the entrance, passengers can see a large suspended sculpture by well-known New York artist Alice Aycock. The sculpture includes lighting which moves across the space on the diagonal axis. It is suggestive of an aerodynamic dance movement across the space and contains shapes and forms which refer to airplanes, the euphoria of flying and the night sky.

North/East/South/West - Above IAB Baggage Claim Area
The baggage claim area in the Main Terminal's International Arrivals Building (where U.S. Customs and Border Protection operates) was expanded in 2011. New skylights were added providing an ideal light source for Philadelphia artist Ray King's artwork.

The artwork consists of four lens sculptures, each using a large 14' diameter filter suspended under the skylights. Each lens projects splashes of spectacular color onto the white terrazzo floor in the center of the baggage claim area. The four projection sites are color-coded to represent the four cardinal directions: North--Blue; South--Magenta; East--Yellow; West--Cyan. The colors change dynamically depending on the angle of the light source and the viewpoint of the spectator.

The Pendulum Project - Along IAB Exit Wall
Just before leaving the Customs area, passengers will pass The Pendulum Project, a resin wall sculpture which juxtaposes global and local time within a series of folded and digital lenticular images. The piece, by Boston artist Mikyoung Kim, offers a dynamic visual experience that contrasts global telescopic images from NASA with local landscape images and microscopic regional plant life photographs from the Forest Products Laboratory. The project underscores contrasting pendulum conditions of time from the regional plant transformations during the seasons of the year to the global transformations of light in a 24 hour period as the sun orbits the earth

More Information

If you are interested in performing in the Airports or submitting your works for display through a regional Arts Association or museum, click here to contact the Arts Program Manager

Click here for Arts Program at Reagan National