The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and New Terminal One (NTO), the company that is developing the highly anticipated $9.5 billion, 2.6 million-square-foot, all-international terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport, today announced that seven internationally recognized artists have been selected to create monumental, site-specific artworks that will anchor the new terminal’s expansive cultural program celebrating the history, culture and diversity of New York and the airport’s home borough of Queens.
Sculpture, mosaics and murals throughout the terminal will be integrated seamlessly into a cultural program that will also include filmmaking, immersive digital experiences and the terminal’s branding to create a sense of place that is unique to New York.
The cultural program supports the Port Authority’s vision to create a world-class passenger experience at JFK, as it has done at the award-winning, internationally recognized terminals at the new LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport’s Terminal A, through inspirational public art, operational excellence, 21st century technology and world-class functionality.
The New Terminal One is a key component of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s $19 billion transformation of JFK into a world-class gateway, which will include the construction of two new terminals, the modernization and expansion of two existing terminals, a new ground transportation center, and an entirely new, simplified roadway network.
The New Terminal One will open in phases beginning in 2026 with the terminal headhouse and the first 14 gates. When complete in 2030, the New Terminal One will be the largest terminal at JFK, with a footprint of 2.6 million square feet, 23 gates and the capacity to serve up to 23 million passengers annually.
Led by Arup in collaboration with Pentagram, Culture Corps, Gentilhomme, Karlssonwilker, We Should Do It All, and a cohort of renowned artists and studios, the integrated cultural program establishes the New Terminal One as a global destination that reflects the creativity, diversity, and cultural prominence of New York, contributing to a best-in-class passenger experience.
“Public art that is inspiring and evocative of our region is an essential part of the Port Authority’s strategy to create world-class airports that are becoming destinations in their own right,” said Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton. “Riveting public art will anchor an expansive cultural program that will also include immersive digital experiences, engaging filmmaking and distinctive branding that will create a uniquely New York sense of place.”
“These remarkable artists, filmmakers and digital designers will infuse JFK’s New Terminal One with the energy, diversity, and creativity that define our region,” said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole. “Their work reflects the Port Authority’s commitment to reimagining the entire airport experience across our region — transforming our airports into world-class gateways that embody the very best of New York and New Jersey.”
“We are thrilled to unveil our art, branding and digital experience program in partnership with the Port Authority and Arup, further elevating our transformational guest experience for partner airlines and their customers at the New Terminal One,” said Jennifer Aument, chief executive officer at the New Terminal One at JFK. “From the moment travelers arrive at our doors to the moment they depart, they will be immersed in stunning works of art and unique installations that reflect the distinct energy and culture of New York, a city like no other.”
A Cultural Extension of New York
Airports use public art, bold branding and digital installations — which are typically treated as separate programs — to enhance the guest experience. The New Terminal One had a vision of doing something different: developing all of these elements as part of one integrated program to create an all-encompassing cultural experience. To realize this vision, Arup orchestrated a multidisciplinary team of leading creative professionals who collaborated to bring together these typically disparate elements into a seamless experience. The goal of the program was to create a guest experience that could only happen in New York and has a strong, authentic New York sense of place.
“Too often airport experiences feel like they could be anywhere,” said Gideon D’Arcangelo, experience design lead at Arup. “Building on the Port Authority’s philosophy of creating airports with a true sense of place, we set out to create an experience that could not happen anywhere else, that could only happen in New York.”
Landmark Public Art Program
The public art program at the New Terminal One, developed by lead curator Culture Corps, will feature monumental, site-specific commissions all with a New York sense of place from internationally celebrated artists, including three who live and work in New York City. These artworks will echo the diversity and iconic identity of New York and help to position the New Terminal One as both a transportation hub and cultural landmark.
- Yinka Shonibare CBE RA has created Kites for Queens, a monumental installation that will include nine hand-painted Dutch wax batik kites that celebrate the multicultural identity of the borough and allude to the movement of people, migration, and global relations at large.
- Kelly Akashi’s 18-foot sculpture Migration of Flora will depict native flowers rising from a bronze hand, symbolizing New York’s international influence and the strength and togetherness that it embodies.
- Tomás Saraceno’s Cloud Cities New York reveals a vision of connection across human-drawn divisions. The suspended sculpture’s iridescent forms shift over the changing light of day, reflecting travelers from every horizon, contemplating a cloudscape that unites us all.
- Ilana Savdie’s large-scale mosaic mural, Egregoros, will evoke the past, present, and future of New York’s people, highlighting migration’s role in forming the city. Alluding to Old Master paintings of voyages, will capture the city’s perpetual movement forward through energetic waves of vibrant color.
- Julie Curtiss has created New York Hands, a playful mosaic, which will feature oversized hands clutching iconic foods and cultural symbols, capturing the theatricality and multicultural vibrancy of New York.
- Firelei Báez’s monumental mural Blue Calaibi–Yao Muzidi (or on alternate means of navigation) sprawling above, will layer sea flora and swimming figures over historic maps of the city at critical junctures in American history.
- Woody De Othello’s whimsical sculpture series of watches, payphones, and streetlamps sit atop the carousels of the baggage claim, welcoming passengers to The City That Never Sleeps.
“The art program for JFK New Terminal One provides an inspirational journey with a unifying theme ‘We Travel Under One Sky’ that greets passengers to and from New York City,” said Yvonne Force Villareal and Doreen Remen, founding partners of Culture Corps, a certified women-owned business enterprise. “Exemplary local and international artists participated in a selection process that resulted in a program grounded in diverse voices and uplifting visions. Each artwork is a testament to the magnetism of New York and an inspiring welcome or send off to the estimated 23 million annual voyagers from around the world.”
Bold, Unifying Brand Identity
The brand development for the New Terminal One, led by Pentagram, creates a system that condenses the spirit of New York into a visual identity “like no other.”
Pentagram translated the JFK and NTO brands into brand experiences throughout the terminal — from monumental signage welcoming passengers to the terminal to whimsical inlays in the floor of the baggage claim area. Key elements of Pentagram’s brand experience work include the world’s largest split flap display, part of the “Leaving New York” experience in the departures hall, and “The City In Bloom,” one of the largest lenticular graphic installations ever mounted.
“At JFK New Terminal One, the brand identity works in concert with the art and digital experiences to celebrate travel as a transformative journey — one that reflects the stories connecting New York to the world,” said Eddie Opara, partner at Pentagram.
Creative Filmmaking
The New Terminal One will feature series of short films displayed in each hold room —conceived as “Love Letters to New York” — offering travelers a final, heartfelt glimpse of New York. The immersive digital experiences in the hold rooms were conceived and designed by Arup, in partnership with Gentilhomme. Supported by Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, Gentilhomme engaged talented local filmmakers. Under the studio’s creative direction, these artists, primarily from Queens — where the terminal is located — are certified M/WBE (minority, women-owned business enterprises) and SDVOB (service-disabled veteran owned business) and contributed to bring to life authentic, place-based stories.
“Design, emotion, and cinema converge at an unprecedented scale, transforming a gateway into a stage and bringing New York to life at JFK’s New Terminal One,” said Thibaut Duverneix, founder and executive creative director of Gentilhomme.
Dynamic, Immersive Digital Experiences
The defining feature of the New Terminal One’s departures hall is an immersive media experience: “Leaving New York,” designed in collaboration by Arup and Pentagram. Dynamic displays flanking the walls alongside and overhead the security queue weave together a compelling narrative about the ways people have departed from New York over the ages — by land, by rail, by air, and by sea.
A soundscape of New York sounds welcomes travelers back to land after their international flights along the corridor leading to the Customs and Border Protection hall. The soundscape is complemented by flowing visual scenes of New York’s natural environment from upstate New York down to Jamaica Bay, creating a calming atmosphere.
As travelers exit the terminal, another large-scale digital display, designed by Arup, envelops travelers, providing one last visual reminder of New York’s unique atmosphere. The display’s 90-degree wrap will create an anamorphic optical illusion, giving subjects a 3D appearance.
A Terminal “Like No Other”
Through the integration of art, branding, film and digital media into a unified cultural experience, JFK’s New Terminal One sets a new benchmark for global airports and reaffirms New York’s identity as a world capital of creativity and culture.
Transforming JFK Into a World-Class Global Gateway
In January 2017, the JFK Vision Plan was announced to transform JFK into the world-class airport that New Yorkers deserve. The vision plan provides a strategic framework for the Port Authority and its partners to completely redevelop, modify and expand existing facilities and infrastructure. The $9.5 billion new Terminal One broke ground in September 2022. A new $4.2 billion Terminal 6, which will connect seamlessly with Terminal 5 to create an anchor terminal on the airport’s north side, broke ground in February 2023. The $1.5 billion expansion of Terminal 4, led by Delta Air Lines and JFK International Air Terminal (JFKIAT), is substantially complete. Additionally, the $400 million expansion of Terminal 8, led by American Airlines, which operates the terminal, was completed in November 2022.
All of the privately financed terminal projects combined with the Port Authority’s roadway, parking and infrastructure projects, represent a $19 billion transformation of JFK and an extraordinary series of public-private partnerships. The Port Authority’s capital investment of $3.9 billion is leveraging private investment at a rate of nearly four to one when taking into account the full private investment of more than $15 billion that has been committed to the four projects comprising the full redevelopment of JFK.
