Airport Art Program

The Airport Art Program creates an Airport ambiance unique to San Diego and welcomes people to the Airport and region. The mission of the program is to provide enhanced customer service by creating artwork and programming that engage travelers in innovative, memorable considerate experiences that enlist a “wow” response and encourage people to return to the airport.

Temporary and Rotating Exhibits

Temporary and Rotating Exhibits is a free program available to local and regional cultural organizations. The purpose of this program is to showcase the diversity of arts and culture of the San Diego Region. Museums, cultural institutions, arts organizations as well as individual artists are afforded opportunities to exhibit their collections of wares, artifacts and original artwork at the airport. Visitors to the airport can expect to see antique toy banks, pottery, photography, Native American cultural regalia and much much more. This program presents just a sample of the cultural richness that can be found throughout San Diego.

Cultural Exhibits

Exhibit Programming
As part of the Temporary and Rotating Exhibits programs, Cultural Exhibits are scheduled annually, up to three years in advance. An open call for proposals is advertised to organizations, groups or individuals interested in submitting for the Cultural Exhibits Program. 

Submissions are reviewed by an Exhibits Review Panel. Each approved proposal is assigned an exhibit start date based on the yearly selection calendar. The duration of exhibits is up to six (6) months.

Current Exhibition Schedule

Youth Art Wall
Dedicated to all young aspiring visual artists.

The Youth Art Wall is a component of the Airport’s Temporary and Rotating Exhibits Program. Here, we offer young artists an opportunity to exhibit their work in a highly visible venue.

Exhibitions feature collaborative projects by individual children, groups of students and community-based projects and also work from schools, youth groups, museums and other organizations that foster visual creativity within young people from kindergarten to 12th grade.

Visual art submitted for consideration is reviewed by the Airport Art Program through an Open Call for Exhibits. Selected groups are assigned an exhibit start date based on the yearly display calendar. Artwork remains on display for up to three months.

Public Art

The newly developed Public Art Program seeks to develop a broad collection of permanent artworks that support and enhance the mission of the Airport Authority, engage travelers in innovative and memorable experiences and educate travelers about the region. 

New commission opportunities vary from large and dramatic statements to intimate and subtle insertions which may require numerous visits to discover. Functional installations such as an integrated meditation space, exterior seating, wall mosaics and multimedia installations, as well as and more traditional art forms, are all new commissions pending design and installation. Some of the concepts will create an experience to excite different senses, while others will have deliberate placement to direct the traveler. The Airport Art Advisory Committee Oversees the selection of artists for the Airport Art Program.

Or on your next visit to the airport, be sure to look our existing public art displays.