NEW ARTWORK CURATED BY ARTWISE COMMISSIONED FOR BRITISH AIRWAYS GALLERIES LOUNGES, HEATHROW TERMINAL 5

On March 27, 2008 British Airways will officially complete their move into Terminal 5, making the Richard Rogers’ designed terminal its brand new home at London Heathrow airport.

In celebration of the arrival, the airline commissioned four emerging artists and designers to create six major art works, through art curating company Artwise, to be installed in the brand new terminal’s lounges. Fittingly, all the lounges in T5 are being named "Galleries".

The new Terminal 5 art commissions will build upon an impressive portfolio of existing British Airways commissions also curated by Artwise that includes site specific works in other lounges world wide and in the BA’s own headquarters building at Waterside by artists such as: by Sol LeWitt, Andy Goldsworthy, David Nash, Janet Cardiff, Tord Boontje and Tjep Studio for Droog (which won the prestigious Dutch Design Award of the Year in 2004).

Troika, El Ultimo Grito, Christopher Pearson and Oona Cully are the selected artists who will be unveiling their new permanent site-specific commissions to the public on March 27, 2008. These emerging British based artists are already receiving significant recognition for their innovative and technologically ground-breaking practices. For the T5 art commissions, the works shown will be bringing together art and design in a fresh new way whilst showcasing new technology in a pioneering manner. Susie Allen, Founding Director of Artwise explains that In a decade which is daily experiencing technological breakthroughs, this special group of young artists are rethinking the classic understanding of art and design by fusing them in such a way that forces us to consider how art practice is being turned on its head. We are thrilled that British Airways are paving the way, not only in their own industry, but also showcasing the wealth of creativity produced in this country. This is a wonderful example of how the creative industries can work together to establish a first class product.

For the last 11 years British Airways has worked with Artwise to purchase and commission contemporary artworks for their Collection. The BA Collection has grown to over 1,500 pieces and includes works by prominent British artists such as Chris Ofili, Peter Doig, Anish Kapoor, Tracey Emin, Mark Titchner and Damien Hirst. Terminal 5 will see a rehang of the collection including a striking painting by Peter Ellis, a number of classic Bridget Riley’s from the Egyptian series, two major works by Toby Ziegler and one of Gary Hume’s most iconic pieces Tony Blackburn.

The 7 new site specific works in Terminal 5 are:

All the time in the world by Troika, 2008
Cloud by Troika, 2008
Oak Seasons by Christopher Pearson, 2008
Pegasus and the Winged Lion by Christopher Pearson, 2008
Willow Boughs by Christopher Pearson, 2006
Kidzones by El Ultimo Grito, 2008
Where the Winds Blow by Oona Culley, 2008

Additional art commissions in Terminal 5 Galleries lounges:

Art Screens
Built into the structure of the British Airways Galleries lounges are sets of free-standing glass screens that feature both permanent and temporary specially commissioned art works curated by Artwise. For the temporary screens (in First and Club Galleries Lounges) Oona Culley and Robert Orchardson are the selected artists who will commence this changing programme.

Heritage Screens
An additional four screens have been dedicated to celebrating the rich history of British Airway’s archival material. Artwise has taken on the challenge to restore and curate a selection of images from the collection of historic posters and printed matter to illustrate the legacy of the airline from Imperial Airways, B.O.A.C., B.E.A. through to British Airways. Similar to the temporary art screens mentioned above, the heritage screens will change periodically to exhibit newly curated archival material.

All of the commissions mentioned have been curated by Artwise for British Airways Heathrow Terminal 5.