Austin's airport is already full of art, but it sounds like the city isn't ready to settle. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is joining forces with 23 artist-led teams to find out what kind of art travelers and locals want to see in the future. Each team will make their own project once feedback has been gathered and processed.

The first stage of feedback gathering will take place December 8-12 at the airport, where artists will set up information tables. They'll get to meet whoever is passing through, including travelers and airport staff, and to get creative juices flowing, they'll offer some prompts to answer.

After that, they'll leave the airport to meet people who live in Austin. That'll happen at open houses, community activations, and "other events," says a city newsletter. This is the stage where they'll consult with subject matter experts to help inform their work.

Austinites who can't meet the artists in person can still send in their thoughts digitally via a survey. It's live now and will remain open through January 31, 2026. Questions include thoughts about Texas landmarks, personal experiences with airport art, and what makes travel easier or more joyful.

If taxpayers are seeing dollar signs, they should know that funds are coming from airport expansion project funding and revenue bonds. That means they're "generated by airline fees, concessions, and parking," so while some Austinites using the airport are certainly chipping into these things, they are also covered by tourists and aircraft operators.

Twenty team leaders are from Texas, the newsletter says, and half are from Austin. It does not offer information on the three artists who are from out of state, but it does say that they will act in a support role to the Austin artists through subcontracting opportunities. Further, the artists are leading teams of "local fabricators, material specialists, and experts in digital and technology platforms" who airport planners got in touch with at the inaugural AUS Public Art Makers Expo this summer.

This project also draws from the experience of the Art in Public Places Program team, which is responsible for recognizable art all over town. "Convergence," an immersive work completed at the airport this fall, is one example.

The newsletter emphasizes that art can take many forms, and projects could even be as involved as Austin's famous “Interimaginary Departures” installation by Brooklyn-based artist Janet Zweig, which provides a waiting area for Austinites "traveling" to fantasy places that they are assigned on an interactive screen.