In 2026, John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) will unveil its new $4.2 billion Terminal 6, developed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The new terminal will feature permanent artworks from Barbara Kruger, Charles Gaines, and 16 additional artists. Curated by the Public Art Fund, the planned artworks span multiple mediums, including sculpture, installations suspended from the ceiling, and glass mosaic.
The artists selected for the JFK commission include 10 New York–based artists. Among them are Sky Hopinka, Nina Chanel Abney, and Kambui Olujimi. The project will place works from established figures such as Kruger, Gaines, and Teresita Fernández alongside works by emerging talents, including Somalian artist Uman and Artsy Vanguard alum Felipe Baeza. Gaines and Kruger, along with Hopinka and Turkish German artist Nevin Aladag, will both contribute wall-based works. Meanwhile, the suspended sculpture will be produced by rising stars Abney, Haegue Yang, and Laure Prouvost.
Terminal 6 will also feature 10 large-scale glass mosaic floor medallions created by Candida Alvarez, Charline von Heyl, Shara Hughes, Eddie Martinez, Kambui Olujimi, GaHee Park, and Dyani White Hawk.
The art program has been allocated a budget of $22 million, entirely funded by JFK Millennium Partners, the investment consortium responsible for the development. The program follows art commissions incorporated in the recent redevelopments of LaGuardia’s Terminals B and C and Newark’s Terminal A. The $22 million budget for JFK is notably double that of the recent art commissions at both of LaGuardia Airport’s new terminals, which featured work from Rashid Johnson and Aliza Nisenbaum. The new terminal is expected to be the largest permanent collection at any New York airport.
“Public art that is inspiring and evocative of our region is an essential part of the Port Authority’s strategy to create world-class airports that are becoming destinations in their own right,” Port Authority executive director Rick Cotton said in a statement.
