The 1,000sq ft store houses work from over 50 artists and will feature art created live on-site |
USA. Dufry-owned Hudson will open what the company calls a “first of its kind” airport art gallery at Eppley Airfield Airport in Omaha, Nebraska on Wednesday.
Bronze artist Russell Christensen and his wife will staff the store |
Dubbed Gallery Eppley by Hudson, the store is located in around 1,000sq ft of space in the North Terminal and adjoins a Hudson Booksellers unit.
The gallery and store will house over 50 mid-western artists’ work with thousands of pieces of art. Included among those are ten different types of mediums such as paintings, bronze sculpting, wood turning, multi-media, metal working, photography, and glass blowing.
For instance, a print from photographer Michael O’Brien’s photograph of billionaire investor Warren Buffett on top of Kiewit Plaza will be featured at the entrance.
In addition, artists will often perform live art demonstrations from both core and guest artists “to keep the gallery fresh and enable more art participation”.
For example, Shannon Parks will be showcasing silk scarf dye painting while artist Sally Johnson will exhibit wired jewellery making.
As the live art is created in the store, the storefront outside will feature two video screens that project the “live” action to passengers to further enhance the experience.
Two well-known artists will staff the store: Russell Christensen, a bronze artist that will have one of his famous eagles in the store; and his wife Penny Christensen, a painter and author.
“We looked for artists for nine months and had a jury selection process,” noted General Manager Christie Erwin. “We also tried to choose from the up-and-comer to the seasoned artist. There are a lot of up-and-comers that are very talented but may not get a chance at a gallery.”
Erwin also noted that local art would be widely featured. “Anytime you support local art, you support the local community,” said Erwin.
