Travelers inside Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) were greeted this fall with a series of new “selfie” walls that feature student artwork by alumnx from both Otis College of Art and Design and Woodbury University. The project is a continuation of one that began in Otis’s Centennial year in 2018, in which graphics by then-students were installed in different terminals in the airport, and travelers were encouraged to take selfies in front of them and post their pics to social media. The work by Charlie Kendall (’18 BFA Communication Arts), Alternative Transportation, which was used for the poster wrap for this year’s Viewbook, came from the 2018 series.
The project was so well-received that new work went up to welcome guests arriving in Los Angeles. “LAX is excited to partner with Otis College of Art and Design to showcase to our travelers original artwork from talented art students from our local community. These pieces capture the unique aspects of our great city,” says Gail Gaddi, Airports Public and Community Relations Director at LAX’s Guest Services Division, adding that this year’s work will stay up through the upcoming holiday season.
The collaboration with LAX Visitor Services presented an ideal opportunity to use local art and design to highlight Los Angeles’s dynamism and diversity. There’s the mural by Gun Oh (’19 BFA Digital Media), Vibeywood, depicting Hollywood and its klieg-lit promise of opportunity. Jeanette Kulick (’19 BFA Digital Media) used the Santa Monica Pier as a backdrop for Pier Cruisin’, showing the “glittering shores” of Southern California’s beaches. Khang Nguyen (’21 BFA Communication Arts) illustrated a colorful cityscape in his mural, We Are Los Angeles, a revision of one that was used as the poster wrap for last year’s Admissions Viewbook.
“Each of these artworks bring an element of beauty and adventure that will resonate and engage our guests,” Gaddi says. “Whether it is to imagine floating with swans at Echo Park on soaring above the Santa Monica pier, these selfie walls showcase Los Angeles as a wonderful place to visit!”
Visit the hashtag, #ComeFlyWithLAX, on social media to see how the murals are enjoyed and shared, and scroll through the images below to see the new murals located throughout LAX terminals:
All photographs by Jen Atalla/Otis College of Art and Design.