Travelers passing through the Dillingham Airport will now be greeted with a burst of local color and creativity. The Dillingham Arts Council unveiled five donated pieces of artwork last month at their first-ever art exhibition, celebrating two local artists and the region's beauty.
A crowd of roughly 15 people gathered at the Dillingham Airport for the unveiling of the space's new artwork.
The collection, titled “Abundance,” features five scenery mosaics that now color the airport's once plain white walls.
Dillingham residents Patricia Walsh and Cindy Tripp Johnson are the artists behind the work. The pair have created mosaic art around town before, including the mural above the entryway at the local thrift store, Ullas.
They say making artwork for the airport felt like the natural next step. Their goal was to create pieces that represent the region.
“A number of years ago the local arts group had contacted when Pen Air was here about maybe doing something here. So it was in the back of our mind,” said Walsh. “So one thing led to another. The mosaics, the theme for the area, the abundance of the natural environment here. So the images just kind of developed from the idea of kind of featuring the area.”
Each of the mosaic panels depicts a different Bristol Bay inspired scene. Cool-toned orange and grey tiles shape a winter fox. Blues, greens, and browns form a lake with a canoe paddled by a moose and a bear in bright yellow life vests, with a float plane flying above. Blues and greens create a scene of irises and newly sprouted ferns.
“And our all-time favorite - the fish. That really sustains us,” said Johnson.
Johnson and Walsh started work on the mosaics last June. They finished them this spring just in time for the airport's busy summer season.
The installation was organized by the Dillingham Arts Council, a local non-profit that supports the arts through art education, events and outreach in the area. They received funding for the project from the Alaska State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and local donors.
This is the Dillingham Arts Council’s first installation, but organizers say more are on the way—they’re already collecting petitions for the next community project.
The mosaics are now on display at the Dillingham Airport, ready to be enjoyed by all who pass through.
