Art on the fly: Airport galleries take off

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Heathrow Airport in London hosts the Terminal 5 Expo Fine Art Gallery, which aims to exhibit the very best British art during the forthcoming 2012 Olympic Games as well as providing a quiet, contemplative space for travelers.

The Fashion Gallery at Helsinki Vantaa Airport exhibits Finnish clothing brands via an array of detailed photo exhibits. A catwalk installation meanwhile enables travelers to envision a life of glamour on the runway.

A 950 foot long installation by the artist Amy Landesberg is part of the new international terminal at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. Reported to have cost $1.5 million, the mammoth artwork is one of four pieces designed to ensure the building embodies a bespoke aesthetic style.

Rijksmuseum Schipol is a joint initiative between Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and Schiphol Airport to display the best and most historic Dutch artwork for free. The terminal gallery has housed temporary exhibitions of some of the Rijksmuseum’s most illustrious works, including famed pieces by the likes of Rembrandt, d’Hondecoeter and Van Gogh.

Sculptures by Belgian artist William Sweetlove are displayed at Carrasco airport in Montevideo as part of a temporary exhibition in November 2011.

Passengers take in an exhibition by artist Kirsten Thiele as they await their flight at Miami International Airport. The Division of Fine Arts Cultural Affairs at MIA says its mission is to “humanize and enrich the airport environment” through exhibitions that “communicate culture, environment and art resources of an international scope.”

An elaborate Thai sculpture inside the departure area of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.

San Francisco International Airport boasts its own museum. An ever-changing schedule (recent exhibitions have displayed Scandinavian ceramics, sewing machines of the 20th century and Vietnamese photography) aims to provide an educational and cultural experience for the 40 million passengers who use the airport annually.

A human-shaped plastic balloon floats in the air above the concourse of Tokyo’s Haneda Airport as part of a temporary public art installation in March 2009.

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The new international terminal at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport opened in May this year kitted out with a cool $5 million-worth of artwork and sculptures.

San Francisco International Airport, meanwhile, cooperates with the city’s arts council to put on exhibits by artists of local, national and international acclaim in its very own on-site museum.

See also: Airports with art worth seeing

But it’s not only U.S. airports that are doubling up as a home for elaborate and extensive exhibits. Locations in Europe and Asia are getting in on the act as well. London’s Heathrow Airport hosts the Terminal 5 Expo Fine Art Gallery, which aims to provide a “contemplative space” amidst the bustle of one of the world’s busiest airports.

See also: World’s best airport restaurants

The departures lounge of Schipol International Airport in Amsterdam meanwhile contains a permanent exhibition by the city’s Rijksmuseum, including classic works by the famed Dutch masters of the 17th century “Golden Age,” such as Rembrandt.

With the refined sensibilities of the cultured traveler in mind, in the picture gallery above we’ve compiled a list of airports that have embraced the arts.

Did we miss out your favorite airport galleries or museums? Let us know in the comments section below.