Arden Bendler Browning awarded new public art commission at the Philadelphia International Airport
April 9, 2016
PHILADELPHIA – The Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy’s Percent for Art Program (OACCE) and the Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) are pleased to announce a new site-specific public art commission from Philadelphia-based artist, Arden Bendler Browning.
This commission is part of a restroom renovation project underway in Terminal E of the airport. PHL continues its ongoing restroom renovations in order to best meet the needs and expectations of more than 30 million annual passengers. These renovations will greatly enhance the Airport’s ability to efficiently connect travelers to their destinations, provide world-class amenities, and enrich the public’s airport experience through artwork. This public art commission will create a dynamic and memorable restroom entrance that will enliven the E concourse. $22,000 was allocated for this commission, which is scheduled to be installed in August 2016.
Ms. Bendler Browning will create Nonstop, a 17' long mural referencing landscape, both literally and through abstraction. It will present viewers with a series of large, active images that, while derived from places in Philadelphia, could be understood as a number of other locations. Ms. Bendler Browning states that the artwork "paints Philadelphia as a thriving hub connecting commerce, recreation, nature, density, and activity through vibrant color, suggested movement through urban and natural space, and a wide range of marks and shapes."
Arden Bendler Browning is a Philadelphia-based artist. She received her Master's of Fine Art from the Tyler School of Art. Her work is recognized internationally and is widely exhibited and collected. She is represented by Bridgette Mayer Gallery.
This Percent for Art opportunity was nationally announced as an open Call to Artists in September 2014 to artists and artist teams. Out of the 151 applicants, fourteen finalists were selected to present proposals. An independent selection panel consisting of Curator and Writer Judith Stein, Artist Benjamin Volta, and Artist and Curator Richard Watson, with advisory support from Conservator Katherine Cuffari, the Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy, and Philadelphia International Airport recommended these four projects for commission.
About the Public Art Program – The Percent for Art Program of the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy commissions exceptional and enduring works of site-specific public art by renowned and emerging artists for City buildings and public spaces. Philadelphia’s public art collection is recognized as the largest and most remarkable in the world. Since 1959, more than 300 works of art have been commissioned through the City of Philadelphia’s Percent for Art Ordinance.