More Than Just Airplanes at Sea-Tac
If you’re anything like most people, when you go to SeaTac to catch a flight you head right for the security line, immediately followed by your gate. You might stop at the restroom or a restaurant, but most are not likely to take their time to admire the art on the walls or even a piece of sculpture sitting on a platform practically right in front of you. I recently started to pay more attention to the colors and shapes all around me, which brought me to spending most of a day, and walking 4.5 miles, exploring the airport’s public art. Believe it or not, I didn’t see or notice, every piece of art in the airport, and I’m showing about one half of what I photographed. The photos are organized by the function of their locations.
Since a good proportion of the art is behind Security I obtained a Visitors Pass which opened the airport to freely walk. Visitors passes are available for individuals that do not have tickets and need to enter post-security areas to meet arriving passengers, to see off parting loved ones, or to shop or to enjoy the restaurants. Requests can be made up to seven days in advance.
Pre-Security Mezzanine and Ticketing
The public art collection at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) consists of approximately 300 installations valued at over $40 million. Managed by the Port of Seattle, it was the first airport program of its kind in the United States, established in 1968. The collection is integrated throughout the entire airport, featuring some of the finest contemporary work in glass, sculpture, photography, painting, and new media. The region's diversity is well-represented through all-American, Asian, European, Northwest Native American, and folk-art influences. SeaTac is the busiest airport in the U.S. right now for public art. It is expecting to invest more than $20 million in public art by mid-2026, in anticipation of the FIFA World Cup in June and July of this year.
Baggage Claim
Funding for public art in SeaTac comes from three primary sources: the City of SeaTac (master plan, capital funding, initiatives), the Port of Seattle (1% for Art Policy and current investments), and King County & 4Culture (Cultural Funding, Grants, and the Airport Community Ecology, [ACE] Fund). The Port of Seattle has designated a total public art pool of $27,523,820 for the 2022–2026 capital budget period.
Terminals
Near Escalators
Thie series of glass panels for TRAVELING LIGHT was created in honor of the Pacific Northwest old growth trees, “sacred to the First Peoples and a source of inspiration and commerce for those that followed.” The glowing transparency of this 82 panel composition uses cross sections of old-growth trees embedded within amber layers of glass. The images are created through the lamination of two layers of silkscreened, airbrushed, and hand painted glass. The image of the tree rings is taken from an actual source – a cross section of a Douglas fir that was cut in 1945 at the base of Mt. Rainier in Packwood, Washington. The tree was 586 years old and 238’ tall and is considered one of the largest trees ever cut down. The cross section is now on display at the Tacoma Library.
New All Gender Rest Rooms
North and South Train Satellite Terminals
