Baton Rouge Gallery and the Baton Rouge Metro Airport are teaming up on a partnership that will showcase work from local artists in the airport.

The collaboration, called BRG@BTR, will bring the works of some two dozen Louisiana artists to the airport, which will display them in both concourses and also in a newly renovated space that was formerly a smoking lounge.

“The lounge was vacant and unused for years and we completely reimagined and refurbished it with proper lining to turn it into a great little gallery space,” says BRG President and CEO Jason Andreasen. “So, now visitors to our city can be exposed to our local artists.”

The initiative was funded in part by a $15,000 contribution from Visit Baton Rouge and is a way to enhance the experience of visitors to the airport while also generating broader exposure for the mostly Baton Rouge-based contemporary artists, whose works regularly show at BRG.

The 70 or so pieces at the airport, which will be rotated periodically, will have information about the contributing artists and will be available for purchase.

Displaying local art in airports is a growing trend around the country and has been well received.

Los Angeles International Airport found that 92% of travelers through its airport agreed or strongly agreed that the airport’s art program improved their travel experience. A similar survey at San Diego International Airport found that 75% said adding art in the terminals made using the airport less stressful and more enjoyable.

BTR is the first of what Andreasen hopes will be several nontraditional venues around the city to showcase Baton Rouge’s homegrown talent.

“Part of what we’re going to do in the future is find unusual spaces beyond Baton Rouge Gallery’s facility to bring artwork into the lives of more and more people, whether they’re residents or visitors,” Andreasen says.

The exhibit is now fully installed and viewable in BTR. This article was originally published in the October 20, 2021 edition of The Daily Report.