Air Gallery

New docent-led tours allow visitors to take in the artistic twists at Reagan National.

by Stefanie Berry

Artful Youth During the month of April, more than 300 works of art by District of Columbia public school students will be on display at National's Terminals B and C (lower level). Other art exhibits at National (located in the historic Terminal A) include works by students from Fairfax, Virginia's Carl Sandburg Middle School (with which the Airports Authority has a school-business partnership) and works by artists based at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Virginia.

Most people at the airport are on the go, racing to catch a flight or anxious to get home after a trip. So while most enjoy Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport's modern, light-filled and colorful design, few stop and take in the airport's built-in art or consider its place in the overall airport design and structure.

Now, thanks to a new "Art and Architecture in the Airport" program at National, anyone can take a docent-led tour of the 30 commissioned pieces of artwork that are incorporated into the airport's architecture. Renowned architect Cesar Pelli felt strongly that visual art and artists should be involved in the development of the new terminal. That's why Pelli worked closely with 30 artists (chosen from an initial pool of 300) throughout the design and fabrication phases of their artwork.

Susanne Joyner, a longtime docent at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American Art, is one of about 25 docents from a handful of area museums (including the Corcoran and the National Gallery) who will be leading tours at National. It is Joyner who came up with the idea that people might enjoy an art tour at the airport.

"I was coming down the stairs and looking at 'Pegasus' and thought that [the art] would be fun to work with," says Joyner. ("Pegasus" is a bold, abstract, mixed-media work by Lisa Scheer located in the airport's center well.) Joyner called Leslie Berkowitz at the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority—who, in turn, pulled in staff architect and design project manager Dan Feil—and the idea began to take shape.

After a year and a half of teamwork and a series of docent training programs, free tours of the floor medallions, railing panels, murals, window-wall glass friezes and sculpture are underway. You'll see artist Kent Bloomer's window-wall bedecked with sculptural aluminum trees, with branches and leaves elegantly climbing upward. Also, don't miss a balcony railing by Siah Armajani stamped with the words of Walt Whitman and decorated with mini bronze castings of houses and airplanes, as well as a modern, abstract, marble and glass floor medallion by Frank Stella.

"We're proud of our art, and we're happy when others can enjoy it," says Chris Browne, airport manager at National. "It makes for a wonderfully unique airport experience."

Free, hour-long "Art in the Airport" tours will be conducted Monday through Friday between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Two weeks' advance registration is required. For more information or to schedule a tour, call 703-417-0895.