CANADA. Edmonton International Airport is embarking on a new passenger experience project that connects the local art scene to the world.
The airport has partnered with local author and curator Jason Lee Norman, who compiled the acclaimed 40 Below Anthology, to gather pieces of work from local writers that can be printed by Canada’s first short-story dispensing machine. The installation marks the first time such a machine has been set up in a North American airport.
The free-to-use short story dispenser brings stories from the world to travellers and also takes Edmonton’s art scene to the world. Nearly 100 stories by local authors are available in the library and will be distributed to other machines worldwide. A mix of pieces from some of Edmonton’s non-stop European destinations have also been added to the collection.
Local authors including Edmonton’s former Poet Laureate Alice Major, Wendy McGrath and Steven Sandor will take part in readings of their short stories at the airport on 6 December. The event takes place in the Departures Lounge.
The machine was developed by French company Short Edition. It is a thin tower that functions similarly to an ATM. Users select either a one-, three-, or five-minute story that prints on receipt paper.
Edmonton is the second airport in the world after Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport to showcase one of these machines.
